Oleg Maskaev vs. Samuel Peter
Written February 11, 2008 by Jack Jones
The fight for the undisputed WBC heavyweight world championship between world champion Oleg Maskaev and interim world champion Samuel “ The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter will be held in Cancun, Mexico at the Plaza de Torros on Saturday, March 8. This fight was originally set to place at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 6, 2007 but the fight was called off due to an injury to Maskaev. This then caused the WBC Board of Governors to vote Peter to be named interim heavyweight champion. Peter went ahead and defended his title on Oct. 6 against Jameel “Big time” McCline. Though it wasn’t a dominating performance from Peter, he was able to win by unanimous decision. That win, along with the two prior fights in which he defeated James “Lights Out” Toney, making him the mandatory challenger to Maskaev. So a little over a half a year later we are finally set for the fight to find out the true heavyweight champion. Before we tell you which fighter we like to win, lets take a look at both fighters and what they bring to the ring.
Oleg Maskaev (34-5 26KOs)
Maskaev is a well-rounded fighter from Kazakhstan, but has resided in the U.S. since 2004. This will be Maskaev’s second title defense, as he defeated Hasim “The Rock” Rahman by way of technical knockout in the 12th round. This fight may have been a true turning point for Maskaev as he was able to take many of Rashman’s furious blows and not fall to the floor. What makes this so important is that all five of Maskaev’s losses have come by the way of knock out. Maskaev is known for bringing not only a very powerful punch, but also he brings a lot of heart and desire to win to the ring. Maskaev is coming into the fight riding a 12 game winning streak, but the injury that caused him to drop out of the previous scheduled fight may be something of concern. Maskaev says that he is now 100% from the back damage he suffered from two herniated discs and a bulging disc. While we wouldn’t expect Maskaev to come in saying he wasn’t 100%, it won’t take long for everyone to see just how healthy he is.
Samuel Peter (29-1 22KOs)
In what Don King labels as the next Mike Tyson of boxing, Peter will have the chance to prove him right as he looks to be the first Nigerian to hold the WBC heavyweight championship without the interim label. Peter comes in as the much younger fighter at the age of 27 compared to the veteran Maskaev who is 38. Peter’s 75% knockout ability has fans loving him and opponents ending many of the fights in dreamland lying on the mat. Many are concerned about Peter’s last fight in which McCline was able to expose Peter’s chin with a fury of uppercuts. We expect a much more prepared Peter to show up in Mexico to fight Maskaev.
Our Pick: Samuel Peter -450 found at Sportsbook.com
We really like Peter in this fight, and though the odds might be a little hard to bet, we don’t see it being a problem. Our main reason for thinking this way is we don’t believe that Maskaev is going to come in at 100%. He might be able to look good for a round or two but we figure by about round 7 Peter will send him to the floor. Maskaev hasn’t even stepped in the ring for over a year. Peter will come in to the fight in better shape and will be able to last till the end if need be. Lets just hope that Maskaev doesn’t pull out again and gets the beating he had coming to him back in October.
Head over to Sportsbook.com right now and get your bet in on the fight. Sportsbook.com offers fast and easy service that will get you set up in no time. Also, check back as we will be previewing some of the big fights that are set to take place on April 12th. As always feel free to leave any comments in the comment box.
