Alex Povetkin not only stopped American Chris Byrd inside 11 rounds of an IBF eliminator in Erfurt, Germany on Saturday (Oct 27) but almost certainly ended the 37 year-old’s career in the top flight.
Povetkin, the 2004, Olympic Gold medalist, produced a strong performance against an experienced opponent in an exciting fight. Povetkin’s accurate combination punching did most of the damage and forced the American’s corner to eventually throw the towel in after 1.52 of the 11th round.
The 28 year-old Povetkin made a cautious start but soon upped the pace from the second round onwards, working away at Byrd’s body. Byrd responded by firing in fast combinations. Povetkin was cut in the third round from a accidental clash of heads but it did not effect him too much and he continued to compete at a high work rate.
Byrd fought back in the fourth session connecting with a well timed right hand to the head. In the sixth round Povetkin trapped Byrd in the corner and with a series of ferocious combinations.
Byrd, though, game as ever-returned fire to finish the round strongly. Povetkin continued to rain in several big combinations in the seventh and eighth rounds to slowly break down the former WBO and IBF heavyweight titleholder. The pattern continued through to the 11th when Byrd’s corner finally rescued their brave but out-gunned charge.
Povetkin.14-0-(11), will now face either Eddie Chambers or Calvin Brock in a final eliminator for Wladimir Klitschko’s IBF heavyweight crown. Byrd falls to 40-4-(21).
Speaking about Povetkin after the fight Byrd said: "You have to give him credit. He is a very strong fighter and on his way to the title. He will go a long way from here."
Prediction is not a easy job to do, it has the capacity to make you or floor you. Yet I stock out my head last week to give Alex Povetkins an edge over Chris Byrd who by estimation is gone past his prime. I also wish to say that, it was for deep rooted respect for Byrd that worked against Alex. Who would have given Byrd more vicious beating that would have made him consider other job than boxing.
I wish Alex all the best as he begins to climb his way to the top.
Some parts of this article was culled from www.secondsout.com
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
ALEXANDER POVETKIN VS CHRIS BYRD
October 27, Germany.
The fight between Povetkin and Byrd is part of a special four-man heavyweight tournament administered by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), which will ultimately result in a mandatory challenger for its heavyweight champ, Wladimir Klitschko. The other "semi-final" bout will feature Calvin Brock against Eddie Chambers on November 2 in Tacoma. Considering that Brock and Byrd have both lost to Wladimir already (in Byrd's case, twice), the tournament lacks a certain lustre. But it is meaningful nonetheless.
Analyzing the Contestants.
POVETKIN (13-0, 10 KO's) originally made his mark in kick-boxing, winning titles in both the amateur and professional ranks. He was as successful an amateur heavyweight as has been seen in the last twenty years. Povetkin won almost every amateur tournament he entered, and capped it off in the Athens Olympics with a gold medal in the super heavyweight division. As a pro he has disposed of thirteen opponents. Only Friday Ahunanya, who has stood in with some good fighters, and former Olympian Larry Donald were noteworthy, and Donald, at 40 years of age and off a year and a half of inactivity, was clearly on the downside. But Povetkin was indeed impressive, scoring a shutout decision. He has cleared every hurdle that has been thrown in front of him without much of a problem. Many observers consider him to be the best prospect in the heavyweight division.
BYRD (40-3-1, 21 KO's) is, of course, the former IBF and WBO heavyweight champ, and a long-time amateur standout. His biggest wins were probably over Vitali Klitschko, who suddenly quit with an injury when he was well ahead on the cards after nine rounds; David Tua, a masterful performance over a big puncher without finesse or boxing technique; and Evander Holyfield, who he dominated over 12 rounds to win the IBF crown in 2002. He's also had some close calls, namely a draw with Andrew Golota and disputed decision wins over Fres Oquendo and Jameel McCline. Some would argue that Byrd hasn't really been impressive for almost five years.
In terms of "last appearances" I wouldn't read too much into Byrd's win over the less-than-estimable Paul Marinaccio, which lasted seven rounds back in April. When fighters know they have nothing more than a tune-up fight, you can't expect them to prepare for it with the same level of intensity as they would for a fight with real significance. Povetkin's win over Donald, on the other hand, came in what was the biggest fight of his career up to that time.
In terms of how these two match-up, I'm sure Povetkin isn't too worried about the fact that Byrd is a southpaw, because he probably faced many of them in the amateurs. What is of some concern, though, is the style this one southpaw in particular brings to the table. Povetkin hasn't necessarily seen everything there is to see in the pro ring, but Byrd is the kind of fighter who is troublesome for anyone to match up against. He moves, he clinches, he comes at different angles. He often makes for horrible fights, but has also been known to have opponents "sleep-walking" around the ring. He doesn't care if he puts on a boring show; he wants to be effective.
The way to overwhelm Byrd is with power and all-around size, because he really is not the ideal "natural" heavyweight (in fact, Byrd once fought in the Olympic Trials at 139 pounds). That is why he had so much difficulty with the likes of Wladimir Klitschko and Ike Ibeabuchi. Povetkin is not a particularly big heavyweight, coming in at 225.5 pounds for the fight with Donald, with 226 being his career high. He may have an inch or two in height over Byrd, but that is nothing compared to what Byrd had to go through against the Klitschko brothers. Povetkin is an aggressive type, holding his hands high and coming forward at his opponent. He is one guy who is not afraid to let his hands go.
But in a sense, that is the kind of opponent that is tailor-made for Byrd - someone he can parry, who comes without a lot of odd angles, who stands in front of him and can probably be frustrated if he's not landing with the accuracy rate he's used to. You can bet that if Byrd isn't a completely shot fighter (and that is so hard to gauge, since it can happen overnight), his game plan is centered around making it difficult to be hit, throwing Povetkin's timing off, and in general taking advantage of his opponent's inexperience in the pro ranks. I know that Byrd is considered to be a stepping stone by many, but the fact that he was not handpicked means that this isn't a case of "matchmaker's calculation."
Povetkin is the younger guy (by about nine years). He is fresh. He is talented. He is accomplished. He is the fighter on the rise. And by the way, in case you're not aware, he is the "house" fighter, living in Russia but fighting out of Germany for promoter Wilfred Sauerland. If you thought it was hard to win on the road in football, it's even harder in boxing. Some European countries are more difficult than others, and in Germany it is extremely difficult. They do not roll out the red carpet for fighters from the U.S., and the boxing commission out there plays a lot of games.
Even so, I do not think I would lay this much of a price (-550 at BetUS) with a guy who has not proven himself at this level AS A PRO. Byrd has a very big experience edge; if he comes in shape, and in any way resembles the Byrd we have seen through the years, he can make this is a very awkward evening for the Russian who has never really encountered anyone like him. I might add that for someone who has been more than six rounds just once, the 12-round distance has the potential of depositing him into no man's land. At this point, Povetkin is probably the guy with more of a future, but as far as an evaluation of this fight and this price, Byrd (+400 at BetUS) is worth a small boxing betting play.
Culled from www.betus.com
In Opinion I give Alex the edge cos he is younger and has great technique. Chris for me has passed his prime.
The fight between Povetkin and Byrd is part of a special four-man heavyweight tournament administered by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), which will ultimately result in a mandatory challenger for its heavyweight champ, Wladimir Klitschko. The other "semi-final" bout will feature Calvin Brock against Eddie Chambers on November 2 in Tacoma. Considering that Brock and Byrd have both lost to Wladimir already (in Byrd's case, twice), the tournament lacks a certain lustre. But it is meaningful nonetheless.
Analyzing the Contestants.
POVETKIN (13-0, 10 KO's) originally made his mark in kick-boxing, winning titles in both the amateur and professional ranks. He was as successful an amateur heavyweight as has been seen in the last twenty years. Povetkin won almost every amateur tournament he entered, and capped it off in the Athens Olympics with a gold medal in the super heavyweight division. As a pro he has disposed of thirteen opponents. Only Friday Ahunanya, who has stood in with some good fighters, and former Olympian Larry Donald were noteworthy, and Donald, at 40 years of age and off a year and a half of inactivity, was clearly on the downside. But Povetkin was indeed impressive, scoring a shutout decision. He has cleared every hurdle that has been thrown in front of him without much of a problem. Many observers consider him to be the best prospect in the heavyweight division.
BYRD (40-3-1, 21 KO's) is, of course, the former IBF and WBO heavyweight champ, and a long-time amateur standout. His biggest wins were probably over Vitali Klitschko, who suddenly quit with an injury when he was well ahead on the cards after nine rounds; David Tua, a masterful performance over a big puncher without finesse or boxing technique; and Evander Holyfield, who he dominated over 12 rounds to win the IBF crown in 2002. He's also had some close calls, namely a draw with Andrew Golota and disputed decision wins over Fres Oquendo and Jameel McCline. Some would argue that Byrd hasn't really been impressive for almost five years.
In terms of "last appearances" I wouldn't read too much into Byrd's win over the less-than-estimable Paul Marinaccio, which lasted seven rounds back in April. When fighters know they have nothing more than a tune-up fight, you can't expect them to prepare for it with the same level of intensity as they would for a fight with real significance. Povetkin's win over Donald, on the other hand, came in what was the biggest fight of his career up to that time.
In terms of how these two match-up, I'm sure Povetkin isn't too worried about the fact that Byrd is a southpaw, because he probably faced many of them in the amateurs. What is of some concern, though, is the style this one southpaw in particular brings to the table. Povetkin hasn't necessarily seen everything there is to see in the pro ring, but Byrd is the kind of fighter who is troublesome for anyone to match up against. He moves, he clinches, he comes at different angles. He often makes for horrible fights, but has also been known to have opponents "sleep-walking" around the ring. He doesn't care if he puts on a boring show; he wants to be effective.
The way to overwhelm Byrd is with power and all-around size, because he really is not the ideal "natural" heavyweight (in fact, Byrd once fought in the Olympic Trials at 139 pounds). That is why he had so much difficulty with the likes of Wladimir Klitschko and Ike Ibeabuchi. Povetkin is not a particularly big heavyweight, coming in at 225.5 pounds for the fight with Donald, with 226 being his career high. He may have an inch or two in height over Byrd, but that is nothing compared to what Byrd had to go through against the Klitschko brothers. Povetkin is an aggressive type, holding his hands high and coming forward at his opponent. He is one guy who is not afraid to let his hands go.
But in a sense, that is the kind of opponent that is tailor-made for Byrd - someone he can parry, who comes without a lot of odd angles, who stands in front of him and can probably be frustrated if he's not landing with the accuracy rate he's used to. You can bet that if Byrd isn't a completely shot fighter (and that is so hard to gauge, since it can happen overnight), his game plan is centered around making it difficult to be hit, throwing Povetkin's timing off, and in general taking advantage of his opponent's inexperience in the pro ranks. I know that Byrd is considered to be a stepping stone by many, but the fact that he was not handpicked means that this isn't a case of "matchmaker's calculation."
Povetkin is the younger guy (by about nine years). He is fresh. He is talented. He is accomplished. He is the fighter on the rise. And by the way, in case you're not aware, he is the "house" fighter, living in Russia but fighting out of Germany for promoter Wilfred Sauerland. If you thought it was hard to win on the road in football, it's even harder in boxing. Some European countries are more difficult than others, and in Germany it is extremely difficult. They do not roll out the red carpet for fighters from the U.S., and the boxing commission out there plays a lot of games.
Even so, I do not think I would lay this much of a price (-550 at BetUS) with a guy who has not proven himself at this level AS A PRO. Byrd has a very big experience edge; if he comes in shape, and in any way resembles the Byrd we have seen through the years, he can make this is a very awkward evening for the Russian who has never really encountered anyone like him. I might add that for someone who has been more than six rounds just once, the 12-round distance has the potential of depositing him into no man's land. At this point, Povetkin is probably the guy with more of a future, but as far as an evaluation of this fight and this price, Byrd (+400 at BetUS) is worth a small boxing betting play.
Culled from www.betus.com
In Opinion I give Alex the edge cos he is younger and has great technique. Chris for me has passed his prime.
Know your Nigerian Boxer
This blog hopes to among other things bring you information about Nigerian boxers scattered abroad. Today we shall feature Friday Ahunanya, a Nigerian boxer based in the U.S.A
Friday Chinedu Ahunanya, born November 19, 1971 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is a professional boxer. He is a journeyman heavyweight best known for his appearances on ESPN fight cards.
Known as Friday "The 13th", Ahunanya began his career in 1998 with a good deal of promise, winning his first 16 fights including a victory over undefeated Nate Jones, and he was thought to be a future contender. In 2001 he lost a decision to future titlist Serguei Lyakhovich and in 2004 was blasted out in the 4th by Lance Whitaker. The loss to Whitaker was the beginning of decline for Ahunanya. He went on to lose to Taurus Sykes, draw with Dominick Guinn, and most recently lose to undefeated prospects Sultan Ibragimov and Alexander Povetkin.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friday Chinedu Ahunanya, born November 19, 1971 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, is a professional boxer. He is a journeyman heavyweight best known for his appearances on ESPN fight cards.
Known as Friday "The 13th", Ahunanya began his career in 1998 with a good deal of promise, winning his first 16 fights including a victory over undefeated Nate Jones, and he was thought to be a future contender. In 2001 he lost a decision to future titlist Serguei Lyakhovich and in 2004 was blasted out in the 4th by Lance Whitaker. The loss to Whitaker was the beginning of decline for Ahunanya. He went on to lose to Taurus Sykes, draw with Dominick Guinn, and most recently lose to undefeated prospects Sultan Ibragimov and Alexander Povetkin.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
QUEST FOR GLAMOUR
February 2, 2008, has become an important date in the history of boxing. This is the day that has been chosen to stage what I call the contest of repute. It is the day that Oleg Maskaev and Nigeria’s Samuel Peters would clash to determine who the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world become. The venue will be the prestigious Madison Square Garden in New York. By the time this fight will be taking place Samuel would be making another history, as the African to have stepped into the new ring a record second time, the first was when he defeated Jameel McCline.
The fight is made possible by the Don King Promotions; like I said some time ago, the Don is scheming well. Having said that, if you have been following this page judiciously, you recall I said “My dream is only Maskaev away”. That dream of mine and perhaps that of other well meaning boxing fans across the country will come to physical manifestation; an African will become the Heavyweight Champion of the world. Another angel to the announcement of the association is that the winner of the fight must battle with Vitali Klitschko, that apart and given the performance of Samuel Peters against Jameel McCline , the question now is can Samuel Peters defeat Oleg Maskaev? An answer to this question should be devoid of hast and emotions that stems out of patriotism. At the moment both men are good fighters; for me the best for now, until we see what Vitali Klitschko really looks like.
A deep glance at both men popped up some of these facts: Records: Maskaev has fought 39 times, his records stands at 34-5, out of which 26 were via Knock outs. This proves that Oleg is a seasoned and experienced professional. Samuel Peters on the other hand, has fought for 29 times and has won 28 times and lost one ( only to wladimir Klitschko), Oleg has an edge over Samuel, but we have to also realize that Samuel Peters is coming up strong.
Quality Of Opposition: Oleg has fought against Hasim Rahman on two occasion (The man Vitali Klitschko tried very hard to avoid), Tua, Kirk Johnson, Derric Jefferson, Sinan Sam, David Defiagbon, Oliver McCall, Alex Stewart and many other top class opponent. Samuel on the other hand has fought Wladimir Klitschko, James Toney on two occasions and Jameel McCline. Prior to the James Toney’s fight he has knocked out Julius Long in one round. Others include Charles shufford, Taurus Sykes and Jeremy Williams. He was stretched by both Shufford and more recently Robert Hawkins, who incidentally was knocked by Oleg Maskaev in round four, that fight took place in 1995.At this too; Oleg has got an edge over Samuel Peters. Another factor to really look at is what Ted Sares calls boxing I.Q. No doubt Maskaev is good, but very importantly Peters is getting better. Samuel Peters has the tendency to get frustrated and a little in a hurry, when this facts come alive he tends to use what is called clubbing, (which can get him disqualified), he showed against James Toney and was warned by the referee, but he has tremendously improved on those limitations. However, he still needs to polish his offensive and defensive techniques, against McCline he was suspect. Oleg has an edge here but once more that gap has closed. He showed tremendous character against McCline and relied on his strength to win the fight on points.
Chin: According to Ted Sares “Peters chin has lost its granite reputation”, Maskaev’s chin is questionable which was evident in knock out loose to Oliver McCall, Tua, Feather-fisted Lance Whitaker and Torey T-Rex Sanders. To this end both men has suspect chin. Another area of comparison is power. Oleg is known for having a powerful punch. Peters punch can send any one to dream land as was evident in his fight against Jeremy Williams. Both boxers have late round power, we must also appreciate that Maskaev punch can really hurt, yet if Samuel Peters can land some shots on Oleg, it might just be goodnight.
Having stated all this, another important area to focus on would be, on Maskaev’s injury, has he fully recovered and will he be fit for the fight on second February 2008. I dare to ask, was he ever injured or was he by the side to see how Peters will fare against McClien.? What has suddenly motivated Maskaev and his team to ask for the fight early next year? Is it because of his quest for glamour? Or hunger to keep his belt or the assumption that Peters may just fall like pack of cards. Well whatever it is that spurred up Maskaev’s determination it will be greeted with the best opposition available. Meanwhile I sense that, the association is lining up fight to either make Sam slip or actually become a true Champ.
First he fought two times against James Toney (the second fight was totally unnecessary), then he fought Jameel McCline, now he will face Maskaev and if he wins he will defend same title in November against Vatali Klitschko. The schedule looks tough. I trust that God will strengthen him and grant him the capacity, tenacity to remain the pride of the Heavyweight class. In my view the glamour of the Heavyweight class will be restored if Samuel Peter could just put up a championship performance, until that dream comes alive the quest for glamour continues.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Oliver McCall Losses
Juan Carlos Gomez remains a fringe contender in the heavyweight sweepstakes after scoring a unanimous decision over former heavyweight titlist Oliver McCall Friday night at the Estrel Convention Center in Berlin, Germany.
The bout was an awkward affair, with both fighters showing their age and with their best days clearly far behind. Gomez was far more matador than Black Panther, with his jab and straight left enough to neutralize "The Atomic Bull" and avoid most of the incoming over the first half of the fight. It wasn't pretty, but certainly effective enough for the former cruiserweight king to build an early lead on the cards.
Thanks to open scoring, those in the arena who spoke or even understood German were informed that Gomez was pitching a shutout on all three scorecards after the first four rounds. McCall didn't have to sprechten Sie Deutsches to know that he was already running out of rounds as early as the fifth.
The 42-year old began closing the gap as the fight entered the second half, sensing he was already in desperate need of a knockout. The moment would never come, though McCall had Gomez marked up after eight rounds. However, the judges wounds ran deeper, with open scoring revealing a 4, 6 and 8 point deficit on the cards with just four rounds to go.
McCall turned up the heat in the 9th, with Gomez reluctant to engage, fighting in reverse in avoiding any potential incoming. It worked for much of the round and into the 10 th, before McCall landed a right hand that shook the transplanted Cuban. A four punch combo ended what was undoubtedly McCall's best round of the fight.
However, poor conditioning – a statement rarely attributed to McCall throughout his career – led to fatigue, with McCall all but giving away the 11 th. Gomez took advantage, turning a fight back into a boxing match as he put the final nail in the coffin.
Well aware that he needed a knockout to win heading into the final round, McCall danced as hard as his 42-year old body would let him. Unfortunately for Oliver, Gomez wasn't settling for sitting on a lead, throwing and land just enough to not only prevent a dramatic ending but also take the round on all three cards.
There was no doubt who won the fight at nights end, with the announcement of the official scores a mere formality. Final scores of 118-110 (2x) and 116-112 gave Gomez his fourth straight win, running his record to 43-1 (35KO). He is unbeaten in his past seven fights (6-0-0-1 NC, 4KO), following the lone loss of his career, a shocking upset 1 st round TKO at the hands of Yanqui Diaz.
Gomez was the announced winner over McCall in their first fight two years ago, but the official verdict was changed to a no-contest after Gomez tested positive for cocaine. He vehemently denies having used the drug, calling the test a false positive, but was still forced out of the game for a year before returning to the ring last December.
McCall falls to 51-9 (36KO) with the loss, snapping a six-fight win streak. He was somewhere in the WBC mix, having won an elimination bout against Sinan Samil Sam four months ago. The win placed him as a mandatory challenger, due to fight the winner of the cluster that is the Oleg Maskaev-Samuel Peter-Vitali Klitschko triangle.
It's understandable why McCall would take a tune-up in the interim. Why he would take a rematch with Gomez, though, is anyone's guess, though financial compensation obviously played a big part. Drug test notwithstanding, Gomez handled McCall with relative ease their first time around, and it's clear that McCall, at age 42, wasn't about to adjust his game to somehow solve Gomez' style.
McCall took this fight and a $400,000 payday that came with it, having turned down a $100,000 offer as a late replacement for Samuel Peter after Maskaev pulled out of their October 6 bout.
Jameel McCline took the bout, thrice dropping Peter before letting his foot off of the gas and giving away a decision. It's not unreasonable to suggest that, paydays aside, McCall will second guess the decision-making process in this one, perhaps the closest he'll ever again get to fighting for an alphabet title.
Gomez takes McCall's place, though a shot at an alphabet title isn't exactly around the corner. Peter is due to face Maskaev in February, with the winner ordered to face Klitschko, in the event that Vitali elects to actually go through with his comeback. Wherever Gomez lands in that mess, he's still in a better place than he was a year ago – completely irrelevant, which is saying a lot considering the state of the division then, now and in the foreseeable future.
A pair of prospects offered impressive showing in the evening's two swing/walkout bouts. Gomez stablemate and heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis (6-0, 5KO) starched American-based punching bag Jeremy Bates inside of two rounds. Solis, a gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics and six-time Cuban national champion, defected from the Cuban squad last year to sign with German-based outfit First Artist. He can stand to lose at least 15-20 of blubber, but Solis continues to impress within the ropes. Turning pro in April, Solis racked up his sixth win in just under six months.
Bates is on the other end of the spectrum, suffering his fifth straight knockout loss, none lasting longer than two rounds. Bates is infamously known as the comeback opponent of choice for Evander Holyfield and Andrew Golota, both of whom blasted the West Virginian out in two rounds.
For those who cry "wasteland" when discussing the state of today's featherweight division, remember the name Yurierkor Gamboa. Solis' amateur teammate and fellow defector finished his nights work in the same amount of time, against a far more established opponent in Samuel Kebede (25-2), knocking him out in two rounds of their scheduled eight. Just six fights into his pro career, Gamboa (6-0, 5KO) is raising the bar for prospects, with his opponents boasting a combined record of 107-21-3 prior to entering the ring with the 25-year old featherweight phenom.
This story was culled from Jake Donovan
The bout was an awkward affair, with both fighters showing their age and with their best days clearly far behind. Gomez was far more matador than Black Panther, with his jab and straight left enough to neutralize "The Atomic Bull" and avoid most of the incoming over the first half of the fight. It wasn't pretty, but certainly effective enough for the former cruiserweight king to build an early lead on the cards.
Thanks to open scoring, those in the arena who spoke or even understood German were informed that Gomez was pitching a shutout on all three scorecards after the first four rounds. McCall didn't have to sprechten Sie Deutsches to know that he was already running out of rounds as early as the fifth.
The 42-year old began closing the gap as the fight entered the second half, sensing he was already in desperate need of a knockout. The moment would never come, though McCall had Gomez marked up after eight rounds. However, the judges wounds ran deeper, with open scoring revealing a 4, 6 and 8 point deficit on the cards with just four rounds to go.
McCall turned up the heat in the 9th, with Gomez reluctant to engage, fighting in reverse in avoiding any potential incoming. It worked for much of the round and into the 10 th, before McCall landed a right hand that shook the transplanted Cuban. A four punch combo ended what was undoubtedly McCall's best round of the fight.
However, poor conditioning – a statement rarely attributed to McCall throughout his career – led to fatigue, with McCall all but giving away the 11 th. Gomez took advantage, turning a fight back into a boxing match as he put the final nail in the coffin.
Well aware that he needed a knockout to win heading into the final round, McCall danced as hard as his 42-year old body would let him. Unfortunately for Oliver, Gomez wasn't settling for sitting on a lead, throwing and land just enough to not only prevent a dramatic ending but also take the round on all three cards.
There was no doubt who won the fight at nights end, with the announcement of the official scores a mere formality. Final scores of 118-110 (2x) and 116-112 gave Gomez his fourth straight win, running his record to 43-1 (35KO). He is unbeaten in his past seven fights (6-0-0-1 NC, 4KO), following the lone loss of his career, a shocking upset 1 st round TKO at the hands of Yanqui Diaz.
Gomez was the announced winner over McCall in their first fight two years ago, but the official verdict was changed to a no-contest after Gomez tested positive for cocaine. He vehemently denies having used the drug, calling the test a false positive, but was still forced out of the game for a year before returning to the ring last December.
McCall falls to 51-9 (36KO) with the loss, snapping a six-fight win streak. He was somewhere in the WBC mix, having won an elimination bout against Sinan Samil Sam four months ago. The win placed him as a mandatory challenger, due to fight the winner of the cluster that is the Oleg Maskaev-Samuel Peter-Vitali Klitschko triangle.
It's understandable why McCall would take a tune-up in the interim. Why he would take a rematch with Gomez, though, is anyone's guess, though financial compensation obviously played a big part. Drug test notwithstanding, Gomez handled McCall with relative ease their first time around, and it's clear that McCall, at age 42, wasn't about to adjust his game to somehow solve Gomez' style.
McCall took this fight and a $400,000 payday that came with it, having turned down a $100,000 offer as a late replacement for Samuel Peter after Maskaev pulled out of their October 6 bout.
Jameel McCline took the bout, thrice dropping Peter before letting his foot off of the gas and giving away a decision. It's not unreasonable to suggest that, paydays aside, McCall will second guess the decision-making process in this one, perhaps the closest he'll ever again get to fighting for an alphabet title.
Gomez takes McCall's place, though a shot at an alphabet title isn't exactly around the corner. Peter is due to face Maskaev in February, with the winner ordered to face Klitschko, in the event that Vitali elects to actually go through with his comeback. Wherever Gomez lands in that mess, he's still in a better place than he was a year ago – completely irrelevant, which is saying a lot considering the state of the division then, now and in the foreseeable future.
A pair of prospects offered impressive showing in the evening's two swing/walkout bouts. Gomez stablemate and heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis (6-0, 5KO) starched American-based punching bag Jeremy Bates inside of two rounds. Solis, a gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics and six-time Cuban national champion, defected from the Cuban squad last year to sign with German-based outfit First Artist. He can stand to lose at least 15-20 of blubber, but Solis continues to impress within the ropes. Turning pro in April, Solis racked up his sixth win in just under six months.
Bates is on the other end of the spectrum, suffering his fifth straight knockout loss, none lasting longer than two rounds. Bates is infamously known as the comeback opponent of choice for Evander Holyfield and Andrew Golota, both of whom blasted the West Virginian out in two rounds.
For those who cry "wasteland" when discussing the state of today's featherweight division, remember the name Yurierkor Gamboa. Solis' amateur teammate and fellow defector finished his nights work in the same amount of time, against a far more established opponent in Samuel Kebede (25-2), knocking him out in two rounds of their scheduled eight. Just six fights into his pro career, Gamboa (6-0, 5KO) is raising the bar for prospects, with his opponents boasting a combined record of 107-21-3 prior to entering the ring with the 25-year old featherweight phenom.
This story was culled from Jake Donovan
Monday, October 15, 2007
Holyfield Humbled But Stays On
Evander Holyfield failed in his attempt to win the world heavyweight title for a record fifth time in Moscow on Saturday night, but he insists that there is more to come and he refuses, at 44, to retire. I guess he does not know the gift of stopping now, and might be stopped the hard way.
Holyfield was easily out pointed by Sultan Ibragimov for the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight belt in a fight that appeared to thrill the Muscovites, but probably did very little to raise the fallen stock of a heavyweight division that has turned increasingly farcical.
The veteran from Atlanta first won a version of the heavyweight title 17 years ago, but he entered the ring on Saturday night as a credible challenger and arguably the best-known active heavyweight in a division that has not recovered from the retirement of Lennox Lewis and the miserable excesses of Mike Tyson.
Ibragimov is nearly 14 years younger than Holyfield, but is clearly yet to discover the dedication necessary to extend a heavyweight fighter's career because on Saturday night he looked ponderous and often hesitant. Holyfield has made a habit, a very lucrative habit, of defying the form book and concocting a plan that leaves less experienced fighters bemused, but on Saturday he was simply too predictable and slow for a very average defending champion.
Once the punches had stopped and the lively and satisfied crowd had left the Ice Palace, Holyfield predictably grabbed the microphone and uttered the phrase he has been using for about the last 10 years: "I will fight on."
In the present climate, which often leads to fighters of limited skills with awful records receiving a call-up for a world heavyweight title fight, there is every chance that, during the next six months or so, Holyfield will once again venture into the slipstream of another anonymous world champion.
"I lost this one, but I will sit down and watch the tape and see what I did wrong," said Holyfield, who was having his 53rd fight and is surely one of boxing's greatest fighters. "Now I will just have to get back in line and wait for another chance."
More to come on Holy Field.
Holyfield was easily out pointed by Sultan Ibragimov for the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight belt in a fight that appeared to thrill the Muscovites, but probably did very little to raise the fallen stock of a heavyweight division that has turned increasingly farcical.
The veteran from Atlanta first won a version of the heavyweight title 17 years ago, but he entered the ring on Saturday night as a credible challenger and arguably the best-known active heavyweight in a division that has not recovered from the retirement of Lennox Lewis and the miserable excesses of Mike Tyson.
Ibragimov is nearly 14 years younger than Holyfield, but is clearly yet to discover the dedication necessary to extend a heavyweight fighter's career because on Saturday night he looked ponderous and often hesitant. Holyfield has made a habit, a very lucrative habit, of defying the form book and concocting a plan that leaves less experienced fighters bemused, but on Saturday he was simply too predictable and slow for a very average defending champion.
Once the punches had stopped and the lively and satisfied crowd had left the Ice Palace, Holyfield predictably grabbed the microphone and uttered the phrase he has been using for about the last 10 years: "I will fight on."
In the present climate, which often leads to fighters of limited skills with awful records receiving a call-up for a world heavyweight title fight, there is every chance that, during the next six months or so, Holyfield will once again venture into the slipstream of another anonymous world champion.
"I lost this one, but I will sit down and watch the tape and see what I did wrong," said Holyfield, who was having his 53rd fight and is surely one of boxing's greatest fighters. "Now I will just have to get back in line and wait for another chance."
More to come on Holy Field.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
McCLINE DECLINED: PETERS REMAINS CHAMP
Jameel McCline has failed for the fourth time to grab the Heavyweight title despite Samuel Peters, ugly start of any fight since he gained lime light.
In my last article before the fight, I made it clear (when I did a review on McCline) that he does not have a solid amateur background, secondly, I noted that a ranked boxer can spring surprises and third, that when it matters most, McCline lacks the will or desire to succeed. All these factors came to play in Saturday’s fight. First He (McCline) Started up surprisingly and knocked down Samuel Peters in the second and twice in the third round, in my opinion a “good” boxer would have finished Peters in the fourth round because Peters leg was still wobbling but amazingly McCline declined to take what would have made him the “Big Time”. More so and true to fact, McCline lacked the will and desire to succeed, from the fourth round those wonderful combinations of his hands fizzled out, it was like he had no fire in those hands any more, as the match progressed he began to tire and Peters gained confidence. I think strongly that McCline poor amateur background is taking a toll on him and it did also in that fight and more importantly you don’t assume you have won a fight when the opponent is standing right in front of you or maybe Peters relentlessness sparked fear in him, for he obviously had no ideas of what next to do, especially from round five. According to the great Mohammed Ali “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, and a vision. They have to have last minute stamina; they have to be a little faster, they have to have skill and will but the will must be stronger than the skill”. And it was the will that was lacking; maybe a pep talk from the great one would have done the magic.
On the other hand, Samuel “the Nigerian Nightmare” needs to thank God and perhaps the unwillinglyness of McCline to be a Champion or put differently McCline just declined to be a Champion. This is not to take away anything from the bravery of the Champion. He showed a tremendous trait of a true Champion and becomes one of the few Heavyweight Champions that survived knock down and still went ahead to win the fight, Larry Holmes and Klitschko been the other two who survived such obstacles. The great Mohammed Ali never did. According to Ron Borges of ESPN “Peter pulled himself back up again despite moving as if walking across a sheet of ice on a frozen sidewalk, McCline oddly began to retreat. Further More, Promoter Don King said “Like a toddler, he learnt a lesson tonight, he learned to get up”, A lesson Mike Tyson never learnt until his career wind down. Kudos must also go to the Peters corner they were exceptional, they helped him gain back confidence and came back into the fight by the 10th round Peter become sharp, landing some good jabs that moved sweat off McCline’s face. Between the 10th and 12th round he landed only one punch but by that time Peter knew he was well ahead and maintained composure. I called up my editor by the end of the fourth round and he asked me “any hope?” I said yes but only if he can regain confidence and that he did. Another aspect to it is the fact that the Champion proved that he can win by either a knock out or by points, he can take beating and can also give out, he showed class against Toney and a against s declined McCline he amazingly showed he could pick out points, I guess his corner made him slow down and gradually picked up those valuable points. An important observation must be taken into cognizance, Peter defended poorly, McCline almost strolled into him and that why he could land some super shots at Peters. Almost through out the fight He lands a shot with one hand and leaves the other low, that was why McCline caught with a right shot to the chin. But from the 8th round Peter began working on McCline’s body which was the most appropriate thing to do, since the opponent was bigger and had a longer reach. Another fundamental question is, what happened to Samuel’s left hand, where the fire power usually is. He did not seem to use the hand much as I expected, after the fight, Peter informed that he had broken the hand in training but refused to inform the commission so that he could go on to fight. If that is truthful, then he fought like a Champion enduring pain to ensure he retains his title.
All three Judges scored in favour of Peters (115-110,115-112,113-112) the commentator was able to record 114-111, McCline did not contest the decision, in his words “I let him away, I could have finished him, I should have finished him but I didn’t”, he now has a pedigree “allowing Champions go free” I guess he forgot his wife was at the ring side.
Peter won, we thank God, my dream is a Maskeav away but the truth is that a good fighter would have punished Peters and to add to that He is beatable and looks very vulnerable, except he improves. Note also that Vitali Klitschko is itching for a fight early next year and most probably against the interim Champ and that would be big pay and a fitting heavyweight clash.
In my last article before the fight, I made it clear (when I did a review on McCline) that he does not have a solid amateur background, secondly, I noted that a ranked boxer can spring surprises and third, that when it matters most, McCline lacks the will or desire to succeed. All these factors came to play in Saturday’s fight. First He (McCline) Started up surprisingly and knocked down Samuel Peters in the second and twice in the third round, in my opinion a “good” boxer would have finished Peters in the fourth round because Peters leg was still wobbling but amazingly McCline declined to take what would have made him the “Big Time”. More so and true to fact, McCline lacked the will and desire to succeed, from the fourth round those wonderful combinations of his hands fizzled out, it was like he had no fire in those hands any more, as the match progressed he began to tire and Peters gained confidence. I think strongly that McCline poor amateur background is taking a toll on him and it did also in that fight and more importantly you don’t assume you have won a fight when the opponent is standing right in front of you or maybe Peters relentlessness sparked fear in him, for he obviously had no ideas of what next to do, especially from round five. According to the great Mohammed Ali “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, and a vision. They have to have last minute stamina; they have to be a little faster, they have to have skill and will but the will must be stronger than the skill”. And it was the will that was lacking; maybe a pep talk from the great one would have done the magic.
On the other hand, Samuel “the Nigerian Nightmare” needs to thank God and perhaps the unwillinglyness of McCline to be a Champion or put differently McCline just declined to be a Champion. This is not to take away anything from the bravery of the Champion. He showed a tremendous trait of a true Champion and becomes one of the few Heavyweight Champions that survived knock down and still went ahead to win the fight, Larry Holmes and Klitschko been the other two who survived such obstacles. The great Mohammed Ali never did. According to Ron Borges of ESPN “Peter pulled himself back up again despite moving as if walking across a sheet of ice on a frozen sidewalk, McCline oddly began to retreat. Further More, Promoter Don King said “Like a toddler, he learnt a lesson tonight, he learned to get up”, A lesson Mike Tyson never learnt until his career wind down. Kudos must also go to the Peters corner they were exceptional, they helped him gain back confidence and came back into the fight by the 10th round Peter become sharp, landing some good jabs that moved sweat off McCline’s face. Between the 10th and 12th round he landed only one punch but by that time Peter knew he was well ahead and maintained composure. I called up my editor by the end of the fourth round and he asked me “any hope?” I said yes but only if he can regain confidence and that he did. Another aspect to it is the fact that the Champion proved that he can win by either a knock out or by points, he can take beating and can also give out, he showed class against Toney and a against s declined McCline he amazingly showed he could pick out points, I guess his corner made him slow down and gradually picked up those valuable points. An important observation must be taken into cognizance, Peter defended poorly, McCline almost strolled into him and that why he could land some super shots at Peters. Almost through out the fight He lands a shot with one hand and leaves the other low, that was why McCline caught with a right shot to the chin. But from the 8th round Peter began working on McCline’s body which was the most appropriate thing to do, since the opponent was bigger and had a longer reach. Another fundamental question is, what happened to Samuel’s left hand, where the fire power usually is. He did not seem to use the hand much as I expected, after the fight, Peter informed that he had broken the hand in training but refused to inform the commission so that he could go on to fight. If that is truthful, then he fought like a Champion enduring pain to ensure he retains his title.
All three Judges scored in favour of Peters (115-110,115-112,113-112) the commentator was able to record 114-111, McCline did not contest the decision, in his words “I let him away, I could have finished him, I should have finished him but I didn’t”, he now has a pedigree “allowing Champions go free” I guess he forgot his wife was at the ring side.
Peter won, we thank God, my dream is a Maskeav away but the truth is that a good fighter would have punished Peters and to add to that He is beatable and looks very vulnerable, except he improves. Note also that Vitali Klitschko is itching for a fight early next year and most probably against the interim Champ and that would be big pay and a fitting heavyweight clash.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
THE INTERIM CHAMP OR THE REAL CHAMP
The world Boxing Council (WBC) had on Monday night 24th September named Nigeria’s Samuel Peters the interim WBC heavyweight Champion. This is because Oleg Maskaev pulled out of their schedule October 6th date, due to a back injury he sustained during training.
The decision of the Association (WBC) is seen as a good move, because no association at that level wants to toy with inactivity. In my last article, I asked a question, when will the new date be? Is it a pullout or a boycott? In an attempt to answer the question I tried to analyze what happened between Hasim Rahman and Vitali Klitschko. That incident remains fresh on my mind. First the fight was fixed for April 30th 2005.Klitschko injured his thigh while training for the fight, so it was rescheduled for June 18. As the date approached, Klitschko’s camp said that the thigh had not fully healed; The WBC made July 23 the new fight date, soon after the second postponement, Vitali’s doctor reportedly discovered back injuries that they said demanded minor-yet immediate corrective surgery. The WBC pushed Rahman’s title shot again, this time to November 12.
After this third rescheduling, Rahman, tired of the delay’s needlessly risked his guaranteed title shot by fighting for a WBC “interim” Heavyweight Championship. Rahman defeated the number 2 contender at that time: Monte Barret on August 13, 2005 via a unanimous decision in what was seen as an uninspiring effort (Both men were friends though).
At this point Kiltschko was told that, he will be stripped of his title (now disputed) if he refuses to fight Rahman as his first opponent after recovery. On November 7th, it was announced that Klitschko had suffered severe right knee injury during training; to this end the WBC announced that it would strip him of the title, if he was unable to box within 60-90 days of the a soon to be announced base date. However, on November 9th, Vitali retired. The following day 10th November, 2005, the World Boxing Council awarded its heavyweight championship to Rahman (Wikipedia.org)
The same Vitali came out of retirement and wanted to fight Oleg Maskaev for the same title, which helped to cause delay on the Maskaev-Peters fight. If we take that action into account one might be tempted to say it was a plot to avoid Rahman. But we can’t say that for Maskaev, especially at the moment. Anyway Don King is working very hard to get a replacement for Samuel Peters; the first on the list was Andrew Golota but the unimpressive record of the polish man made WBC reject him and in his place is packaging James McCline and talks are going on smoothly, I hope they beat the time. McCline was billed to actually fight Vitali Klitschko on September 22,2007 but was put off because Klitschko also sustained a back injury. He was to feature as one of the under card on October 6th, against Davarr1 Williams.
The issue now is that Samuel Peters is not ready to take a pay cut for the fight but Show Time wants to significantly slash the license fee for the replacement and King is desperately negotiating with the boxers to ensure a purse is agreed upon, but peter appear resolute at the moment.
Meanwhile Maskaev will be out for three months, we wish him a quick and happy recovery. As it stands now, many boxing followers believe that if the fight had taken place Peters would have come, tops. So is it a method of avoiding the real champ or are doctors working tirelessly to get him fit for the best fight in the heavyweight. According to Gotzev Peters Manger “Peters is happy. He felt like a Champion all along, especially after he beat James Toney two times in a row. We always considered James Toney the toughest fight of his career. We considered it a harder fight than we thought the Maskaev fight would have been. But Maskaev tied to get out of the fight so many times. Then the injury, if you believe it, we’re in this to make fight happen not to make excuses and to avoid fights”.
So if we take the words of Gotzev into account then Peters “the Nigerian Nightmare” is the real champ not just interim: it’s only a mater of time. Meanwhile according to the rules governing the WBC it states as follows:
The decision of the Association (WBC) is seen as a good move, because no association at that level wants to toy with inactivity. In my last article, I asked a question, when will the new date be? Is it a pullout or a boycott? In an attempt to answer the question I tried to analyze what happened between Hasim Rahman and Vitali Klitschko. That incident remains fresh on my mind. First the fight was fixed for April 30th 2005.Klitschko injured his thigh while training for the fight, so it was rescheduled for June 18. As the date approached, Klitschko’s camp said that the thigh had not fully healed; The WBC made July 23 the new fight date, soon after the second postponement, Vitali’s doctor reportedly discovered back injuries that they said demanded minor-yet immediate corrective surgery. The WBC pushed Rahman’s title shot again, this time to November 12.
After this third rescheduling, Rahman, tired of the delay’s needlessly risked his guaranteed title shot by fighting for a WBC “interim” Heavyweight Championship. Rahman defeated the number 2 contender at that time: Monte Barret on August 13, 2005 via a unanimous decision in what was seen as an uninspiring effort (Both men were friends though).
At this point Kiltschko was told that, he will be stripped of his title (now disputed) if he refuses to fight Rahman as his first opponent after recovery. On November 7th, it was announced that Klitschko had suffered severe right knee injury during training; to this end the WBC announced that it would strip him of the title, if he was unable to box within 60-90 days of the a soon to be announced base date. However, on November 9th, Vitali retired. The following day 10th November, 2005, the World Boxing Council awarded its heavyweight championship to Rahman (Wikipedia.org)
The same Vitali came out of retirement and wanted to fight Oleg Maskaev for the same title, which helped to cause delay on the Maskaev-Peters fight. If we take that action into account one might be tempted to say it was a plot to avoid Rahman. But we can’t say that for Maskaev, especially at the moment. Anyway Don King is working very hard to get a replacement for Samuel Peters; the first on the list was Andrew Golota but the unimpressive record of the polish man made WBC reject him and in his place is packaging James McCline and talks are going on smoothly, I hope they beat the time. McCline was billed to actually fight Vitali Klitschko on September 22,2007 but was put off because Klitschko also sustained a back injury. He was to feature as one of the under card on October 6th, against Davarr1 Williams.
The issue now is that Samuel Peters is not ready to take a pay cut for the fight but Show Time wants to significantly slash the license fee for the replacement and King is desperately negotiating with the boxers to ensure a purse is agreed upon, but peter appear resolute at the moment.
Meanwhile Maskaev will be out for three months, we wish him a quick and happy recovery. As it stands now, many boxing followers believe that if the fight had taken place Peters would have come, tops. So is it a method of avoiding the real champ or are doctors working tirelessly to get him fit for the best fight in the heavyweight. According to Gotzev Peters Manger “Peters is happy. He felt like a Champion all along, especially after he beat James Toney two times in a row. We always considered James Toney the toughest fight of his career. We considered it a harder fight than we thought the Maskaev fight would have been. But Maskaev tied to get out of the fight so many times. Then the injury, if you believe it, we’re in this to make fight happen not to make excuses and to avoid fights”.
So if we take the words of Gotzev into account then Peters “the Nigerian Nightmare” is the real champ not just interim: it’s only a mater of time. Meanwhile according to the rules governing the WBC it states as follows:
Rules 1.26 (4) and 1.27 of the WBC Rules and Regulations explicitly allows the WBC, in an instance where an interim title is applicable, to recognize as interim champion the winner of a previous elimination fight. Samuel Peter won not only one, but two final elimination bouts in a row against James Toney in September, 2006, and in January, 2007.
Rules 1.26 and 1.27 read:
1.26 Vacant Title. If a title becomes vacant for any reason, the Board of Governors may in its discretion take whatever steps or actions it deems necessary or appropriate to fill the title, including but not limited to: 1) authorize and cause to be instituted a tournament or elimination contest among leading available contenders in the division of the vacant title, with the winner being recognized as the new champion; or 2) authorize or cause to be instituted a direct bout between the two highest rated available boxers and recognize the winner as the champion; or 3) appoint as challenger the champion of a lower or higher division to contend against the highest rated available boxer of the division for the vacant title; or 4) recognize as champion the winner of a previous elimination bout. This list is non-exclusive.
The Board of Governors may impose such conditions as it deems proper and necessary in its discretion upon the new champion winning a vacant title, including but not limited to: 1) designating the boxer against whom the first defense of the title must be made (who may be selected from the highest rated available boxers or a boxer selected through a final elimination bout); 2) ordering the new champion to make his first mandatory defense within ninety (90) to one hundred and twenty (120) days of acquiring the title; 3) if requested and feasible, to approve one voluntary defense, with the condition that the winner must meet his official mandatory challenger next. This list is also non-exclusive.
1.27 Interim Championship. The WBC may order an interim title bout when a world champion will be temporarily inactive and unable to defend his title for a period to exceed 6 months due to:
a) certified medical reasons
b) a legal impediment; or
c) reasonable cause strictly beyond his control.
In ordering the interim championship, the WBC will follow any of the steps mandated in Rule 1.26. If the inactivity is estimated to exceed one (1) year, the title shall be declared vacant.
Upon the return of the champion, the WBC will order a mandatory bout for the undisputed WBC title with the interim champion. Both boxers are bound to participate in this bout and cannot participate in an intervening contest, except in special circumstances approved by a majority vote of the Board of Governors. If the bout is promoted through purse offer procedures, the purse split will be 55% for the champion and 45% for the interim champion. The WBC may alter this split at its discretion pursuant to the provisions of Rule 2.11(d).
If the champion does not return after a year of inactivity, he will forfeit the title to the interim champion, who will automatically become the undisputed WBC champion.
The World Boxing Council will present interim world champion Samuel Peter his WBC interim world champion title in the following days. Lets Maskaev gets well fast and we shall know if he has the will to battle The Interim Champ.
MASSIVE MASKAEV
The pound for pound game has just gotten better. Suspense, Tension, Hope has come alive. The boxing fraternity has waited for a long time to witness an exciting heavy weight clash.
The two gladiators are few of the world’s best performers in recent times .Dreaming is normal for anyone who is asleep, how about someone who is not, and walks the streets dreaming? Well that has become my case, there is virtually no day that I don’t dream about the October 6, 2007 epic, destiny fulfilling fight between Samuel
(The Nigerian nightmare) Peters and the Russian Oleg Maskaev.
However, I dropped my anchor when I realized that Samuel Peters is up against one hell of a fighter, reality dawned on me, reasoning also caused me to take a close look at the man Oleg Maskaev .My reason for taking a close look at the Russian was strongly challenged by the spirit of patriotism but thank God for my left hook that leaves every emotional opponents on the canvass.
The man Maskaev has seen the high and low of life ,worked in a farm back in the days, had a stint with the Russian army ,rose to the position of lieutenant .This was before he turned to boxing and since then there has been no stopping the one I call the “Rushing Russian”.
Having been mismanaged by his team it came to a point, his fair-whether friends deserted him, his promoter left him and his trainer advised him to quit boxing. It was a moment of despair, a psychological blow, circumstance was about to hand him a knockout but the man knew what it means to never give up as he hung on, something dramatic took place. Maskaev was called by another trainer, who assembled a team for him what followed immediately was simply amazing. He won 9 fights in a row, 8 by knockout and David Defiagbon was one of the victims. According to B.Bradly, he is one of the few foreign boxers who have scored unanimous decision in Germany, in over 30 years.
In his fight against Hassim “The Rock” Rahman, he showed class. In the first fight, Rahman led on points but in the 8th round, he scored a knockout in what has been described as one of the finest knockouts in boxing history .Maskaev’s right hand ensured that Hassim slipped through the ropes, landed on the television table before landing on the floor. In the second fight he floored Rahman in the 12th round ,when Rahman got up to continue ,he wished he never did for he was smothered with a barrage of punches and referee Jay Nady had no choice but to save the victim. That victory over Rahman was not just another upset, it was an example of a man who found inner strength within himself and triumphed over agony and adversity.
Having said that, another question that must be given answers is “what makes Maskaev thick both as a boxer and as a person?” The answer is not far fetched. As a boxer, Maskaev has got a great team behind him, from Dennis Rappaport, Manager Fred Kesch and trainer Victor Valle and all others, have helped shaped the one time no good boxer to a man that is simply amazing. Outside boxing, he is a devoted Christian, a family man with 4 children and a loving husband. He is also a very strong investor in Real Estate.
The man is complete; he has the quality any one would dream to have. He is fearless, has a strong will, focused and an indomitable spirit. Oleg Maskaev is not a boxer one can push over, today his life is described as that of a Cinderella. His career has produced 34 wins, 26 knockouts, 5 Loses. No draws. As the battle comes closer, I advice Sam Peters to remain, focused and work more on his reflex its my utmost belief that the Nigerian will come out tops as I had dreamt and keep dreaming.
The two gladiators are few of the world’s best performers in recent times .Dreaming is normal for anyone who is asleep, how about someone who is not, and walks the streets dreaming? Well that has become my case, there is virtually no day that I don’t dream about the October 6, 2007 epic, destiny fulfilling fight between Samuel
(The Nigerian nightmare) Peters and the Russian Oleg Maskaev.
However, I dropped my anchor when I realized that Samuel Peters is up against one hell of a fighter, reality dawned on me, reasoning also caused me to take a close look at the man Oleg Maskaev .My reason for taking a close look at the Russian was strongly challenged by the spirit of patriotism but thank God for my left hook that leaves every emotional opponents on the canvass.
The man Maskaev has seen the high and low of life ,worked in a farm back in the days, had a stint with the Russian army ,rose to the position of lieutenant .This was before he turned to boxing and since then there has been no stopping the one I call the “Rushing Russian”.
Having been mismanaged by his team it came to a point, his fair-whether friends deserted him, his promoter left him and his trainer advised him to quit boxing. It was a moment of despair, a psychological blow, circumstance was about to hand him a knockout but the man knew what it means to never give up as he hung on, something dramatic took place. Maskaev was called by another trainer, who assembled a team for him what followed immediately was simply amazing. He won 9 fights in a row, 8 by knockout and David Defiagbon was one of the victims. According to B.Bradly, he is one of the few foreign boxers who have scored unanimous decision in Germany, in over 30 years.
In his fight against Hassim “The Rock” Rahman, he showed class. In the first fight, Rahman led on points but in the 8th round, he scored a knockout in what has been described as one of the finest knockouts in boxing history .Maskaev’s right hand ensured that Hassim slipped through the ropes, landed on the television table before landing on the floor. In the second fight he floored Rahman in the 12th round ,when Rahman got up to continue ,he wished he never did for he was smothered with a barrage of punches and referee Jay Nady had no choice but to save the victim. That victory over Rahman was not just another upset, it was an example of a man who found inner strength within himself and triumphed over agony and adversity.
Having said that, another question that must be given answers is “what makes Maskaev thick both as a boxer and as a person?” The answer is not far fetched. As a boxer, Maskaev has got a great team behind him, from Dennis Rappaport, Manager Fred Kesch and trainer Victor Valle and all others, have helped shaped the one time no good boxer to a man that is simply amazing. Outside boxing, he is a devoted Christian, a family man with 4 children and a loving husband. He is also a very strong investor in Real Estate.
The man is complete; he has the quality any one would dream to have. He is fearless, has a strong will, focused and an indomitable spirit. Oleg Maskaev is not a boxer one can push over, today his life is described as that of a Cinderella. His career has produced 34 wins, 26 knockouts, 5 Loses. No draws. As the battle comes closer, I advice Sam Peters to remain, focused and work more on his reflex its my utmost belief that the Nigerian will come out tops as I had dreamt and keep dreaming.
THE COUNT DOWN: OCTOBER 6TH 2007
This date (October 6, 2007) will mean different thing to different people. To some its only another October in 2007, but to the boxing fraternity, it means a date with destiny, a day that can possibly re-write the history of the African continent and put her on the global map, it’s a day that possibly millions of Nigerians could be put in the hearts of million of boxing faithfuls around the globe. It could be a day when a Nigerian could be listed along side names like Sony Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Leon Spinks and the great one Mohammed Ali.
As a child, I watched with passion those days, when Chuka Momah will present “THE BIG FIGHT OF THE DECADE” for me it was pure gold, fifteen rounds of solid punches, high test of mental alertness, a great display of psychology and a medium through which the mind is tested.
October 6, 2007 will be for me another moment of education, a moment of strength, a day I will once again recall those good old days but this time a fellow country man will be performing the art of self defense, I shall be watching with so much passion and the blood of patriotism will flow through my vain and firmly I believe that my joy will not be short lived.
As the day to this history making event draws near, I can’t help but feel like am the one going for this epic battle, I wonder what will be going through the minds of both fighters as the game of boxing is highly unpredictable.
October 6, 2007, therefore becomes the date where those long hours in the gym will tell us who prepared most; “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under the lights”. So states Mohammad Ali. October 6, 2007, is an important date for our boxing (especially now that the game is suffering much here at home) Samuel Peters may just become the first Nigerian to wear the heavy weight belt round his waist.
Go Samuel and make your country look great while we continue the repair here at home, God helping us. You have my support and the support of millions of other well meaning Nigerians.
As a child, I watched with passion those days, when Chuka Momah will present “THE BIG FIGHT OF THE DECADE” for me it was pure gold, fifteen rounds of solid punches, high test of mental alertness, a great display of psychology and a medium through which the mind is tested.
October 6, 2007 will be for me another moment of education, a moment of strength, a day I will once again recall those good old days but this time a fellow country man will be performing the art of self defense, I shall be watching with so much passion and the blood of patriotism will flow through my vain and firmly I believe that my joy will not be short lived.
As the day to this history making event draws near, I can’t help but feel like am the one going for this epic battle, I wonder what will be going through the minds of both fighters as the game of boxing is highly unpredictable.
October 6, 2007, therefore becomes the date where those long hours in the gym will tell us who prepared most; “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under the lights”. So states Mohammad Ali. October 6, 2007, is an important date for our boxing (especially now that the game is suffering much here at home) Samuel Peters may just become the first Nigerian to wear the heavy weight belt round his waist.
Go Samuel and make your country look great while we continue the repair here at home, God helping us. You have my support and the support of millions of other well meaning Nigerians.
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