“Maskaev pounds The Rock, and raises his stock”

By Mike Casile Philaboxingreport.com

The steady sound you heard last night in the Thomas Mack arena in Las Vegas, was not the clock ticking closer to midnight, for the 37 year old Cinderella man ,Oleg Maskaev (33 – 5, 26 KO’s), but rather the beautifully placed left hooks, he seemed to surprise the “lackluster” Hasim Rahman (41 -6 -2, 33KO’s) with. Last night personified the death of the American heavyweight champion, all “fluff”, but when it came time to dig down, “no Stuff”. Oleg was being chased around the ring, from the first bell, not just fighting Rahman, but the ghost of the other 5 knockout’s he suffered. He knew that they key to his victory would be head movement, which he never seemed to develop throughout his long career. He looked stiff in the opening rounds, moving with the grace on an elephant on roller skates, but he only needed a few hard right hands to the jaw, to wake up, and remind himself what he said to The Philadelphia Boxing report in a recent interview, quote, “ It is all on my shoulders, my family, my friends, my team, are all counting on me. I will not let them down”. He seemed to be fighting with something American heavyweights have long forgotten about. He “willed” himself to victory. While Rahman was the 2 to 1 favorite, had fought a better quality of opponents, had the whole “American last line of defense” thing going for him, he just did not have the “will” to fight Maskaev, the way he should have. Rahman’s jab seemed to be working for him early on, but decided not to use it later, in fear of having to mix it up, with seemingly stronger, and better conditioned Maskaev. Jay Nady must have wanted some face time last night, because he gave Maskaev multiple warnings about holding, which was ridiculous, considering how the fight was progressing, and it must have annoyed Maskaev , because at one point, he turned to Nady, and said “I “m not holding”. As a former soviet officer, Maskaev had the discipline, to shrug off the seemingly lopsided refereeing performance by Nady, and stick to his plan. He showed much less boxing ability, than his last fight, due to a back injury he suffered in camp that he revealed after the fight, but his head movement, took just enough sting, off Rahman’s looping, undisciplined right hand. The Rock seemed to crack under the newly discovered left hook of Maskaev, and going into the final round, The Rock began to sink, under the will and the pressure, of the Cinderella story from Staten Island. Maskaev proclaimed, “I am a proud Russian American”, after the fight. He reminded us all of something, he is American, and maybe there is nobody better, to remind us, of what an American heavyweight should be.

Mike Casile
Philaboxingreport.com
MC@philaboxingreport.com