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maskaev speaks out
www.fightnews.com
May 1, 2006
By Matt Richardson
Photo: Ed Mulholland
The last time heavyweight Oleg Maskaev stepped into the ring with Hasim Rahman he knocked him clean out of it - the ring, that is. So when the two re-engage on August 12 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas it should be the same result, right? Well that depends on who you ask.
It's been almost seven years since Rahman found himself in the unusual position of being in Jim Lampley's lap. Since that winter night in Atlantic City, New Jersey the careers of both men have taken noticeably different turns.
Rahman would go on to win and lose the heavyweight championship to Lennox Lewis, lose to Evander Holyfield, draw with David Tua and lose to John Ruiz before finally recollecting himself to obtain the WBC championship from the retired Vitali Klitschko. He has looked better recently in a win over Monte Barrett and a draw against James Toney in a fight many experts felt the "Rock" should have won.
Maskaev meanwhile would ride his fame from the knockout over Rahman into a series of appearances on HBO before getting knocked out of the ring himself by Kirk Johnson then losing to Lance Whitaker and Corey Sanders. Like Rahman did after losing to Ruiz though, Maskaev has also admirably recollected himself culminating in a WBC elimination fight last December in which he won a 12-round unanimous decision over Sinan Simal Sam.
So based on their recent performances should we expect Rahman to turn the tide and notch a successful defense of his championship? Or is this just another case of the better guy in the first fight still being the better guy in the second?
"I believe it's going to be a very tough fight. It doesn't mean what happened before," Maskaev conceded Sunday afternoon from his home in Staten Island, New York. "It doesn't mean that I knock him out because I'm not the same and Rahman's not the same. So it's going to be a totally different fight. I'm not thinking about what happened before in the past. I'm just going ahead with a different strategy for this fight."
"I'm going to get prepared like usual, even harder. I'll be in camp more than usual. I'm training already," continued Maskaev. Maskaev said he is currently doing some light training at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn and is sparring a couple of times per week. "But I'm going to go away I believe in the middle or the end of May," he said.
Much has been made recently of the fact that three of the four current heavyweight title-holders originate from the former Soviet Union. IBF title-holder Wladimir Klitschko was born in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, WBA titilist Nicolay Valuev was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia and WBO title-holder Sergei Lyakhovich is from Vitebsk, Belarus though he now lives in Arizona.
A win by Maskaev (born in Zhambul, Kazakhstan) would make it a clean sweep of the division. "Reality is reality. That's what's happening now," Maskaev reasoned. "Valuev is a very tall guy and Klitschko too. So it's not easy to fight against these guys."
So does this mean the end of the American heavyweight?
"I can't say that. It's a matter of time. Every division always changes. Today it's three of them from the former Soviet Union and tomorrow it's going to be somebody else."
As for now though the 37-year old Maskaev is just relaxing physically and mentally before preparations start for the biggest fight of his career. He was a solid underdog in his first fight with Rahman in 1999 and will likely be again when the two fight for the heavyweight championship this summer.
"Don't forget - Rahman's a good fighter. And he's a good boxer," Maskaev said. "He can box and fight, he has a punch."
"Honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen." he said. "But I know one thing - I will be ready for the fight and there's nothing to lose for me. I come to fight and I come to win."
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