Heavyweight News! Peter Gets Title Fight!

[H2O Man]

"Seconds Out" just announced that Samuel Peter will get the fight against Oleg Maskaev that he earned -- twice -- by beating James Toney.

Certain forces in boxing did not want the most powerful puncher in the heavyweight division to get a chance Oleg Maskaev, who won his version of the "title" by KOing Hasim Rockman last year. Though Maskaev is a tough competitor, there are concerns that because he is slow, aging, and easy to hit, that he would be made to order for Peter.

Thus, when Vitali Klitschko announced his intention to return to the ring, those forces attempted to have him take Peter's place as the next challenger for Maskaev. This led to a conflict among promoters, which included Peter refusing a $2 million bribe to step aside.

Don King, who has an interest in Peter, helped to make sure the Maskaev v Klitschko fight plan fell apart. Instead, Oleg will defend against Samuel Peter, with the winner to defend against Vitali in their next fight.

This should add some excitement to the heavyweight division. I do not think Oleg will last four rounds against Peter. I have doubts if Vitali will actually fight again; there are rumors that training is taking a toll on his aging bones. If he does fight, I think it may be against Shannon Briggs.

King is looking to match the giant Nicolay Valuev against Vitali's brother Wladimir. That may be one of the more interesting fights in some time. Valuev is three fights away from tying the great Rocky Marciano's "official" record of 49-0. As Larry Holmes found out, that's a difficult record to match.

2007 will be the most important year in the heavyweight division in two decades.

[H2O Man]

1. WBC Press Release:

Press Release: The World Boxing Council officially announced today that the proposed fight between the WBC heavyweight world champion Oleg Maskaev and former WBC world champion and current WBC Champion Emeritus Vitali Klitschko will not take place at this time as the representatives of Maskaev, Klitschko and Samuel Peter did not reach an agreement to that effect.

Therefore, the WBC is ordering an immediate mandatory defense by Oleg Maskaev of USA-Russia against official challenger Samuel Peter of Nigeria, with a purse offer to be held on April 20 if the free negotiations between the parties, which start today, are not successful. Additionally, the WBC is ordering that Vitali Klitschko shall be the next mandatory challenger in the heavyweight division.

The WBC offered every possible opportunity and all types of support for all the parties involved to reach an alternate agreement that would satisfy them all, but to no avail.

As previously noted , the WBC found itself placed between competing claims for the position of next mandatory challenger in the division. With this action, the WBC has overseen the resolution of this controversy and look forward to these great upcoming bouts for the WBC Heavyweight Championship of the World.

[H2O Man]

2. AP article .....

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- Former WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko gave up his bid to fight for his old title in June, allowing No. 1 challenger Samuel Peter to take on Oleg Maskaev. Bernd Broente, Klitschko's manager, said Thursday the Ukrainian is guaranteed to fight the Maskaev-Peter winner later this year.

The decision ends months of wrangling between Klitschko and Peter. The Nigerian refused $2.5 million to step aside and let the Ukrainian sign for a lucrative title bout in Moscow. "A lot of reasons came together in this decision," Broente said. Among them is that Klitschko's trainer, Fritz Smudek, is seriously ill.

Klitschko attempted to get into the title fight under a WBC clause that allowed the former champion, if he was forced to give up the belt without losing it in the ring, to get the next shot at the champion. When Klitschko announced his comeback several months ago, Peter had twice beaten James Toney in elimination fights to earn his own chance at Maskaev. The last fight for Klitschko (35-2, 34 KOs) before back and knee problems forced the 36-year-old heavyweight to retire was an eighth-round win over Danny Williams on Dec. 11, 2004. He is also a former WBO champion.

[dr.zoidberg]

3. Thanks God!

There is a sense of sanity in this world. Th idea that Klitschko could sit on his ass for, what was it--two years?, and get a title shot immediately is just insulting to everyone's intelligence. Of course, this should come as no surprise from the WBC. They seem to do this on a regular basis. Still, they are better than the WBA, what with all this super champion and regular champion bullshit.

[H2O Man]

4. The new World Boxing

has an interesting editorial that states that those promoters, managers, and journalists who keep advocating for the sanctioning bodies need to change; it notes that Dino Duva, for example, recognizes them so long as it lines his pockets.