By Mark Vester
It appears the reason WBC heavyweight champ Oleg Maskaev is refusing to sign the contract for his bout with mandatory challenger Samuel Peter is because of the WBC's decision to order what he and his promoter Dennis Rappaport view as an unfair purse split of 55-45 in Maskaev's favor. The usual split is 75-25 in favor of the defending champ.
BoxingScene's Keith "What The Heck" Idec reported in the New Jersey Herald News that Rappaport has filed lawsuits against Peter's co-promtoters Dino Duva and Don King and against the WBC, claiming that King's close relationship with WBC president Jose Sulaiman influenced the sanctioning body to order a 45% split of the purse for Peter. Maskaev is set to receive $1.76 million, while Peter would get $1.44 million.
If Maskaev continues to hold out, Duva told Idec that he will petition the WBC to strip Maskaev and order a bout between Peter and the highest available contender for the October 6 date.
"If he doesn't sign the bout agreement very, very soon," Duva said, "we're going to petition the WBC to strip Maskaev and have Samuel fight the next available contender for the vacant title on Oct. 6. I respect Oleg Maskaev as a warrior, but he was able to win the title because the WBC made sure he got his mandatory shot. And now, because his mandatory happens to come against a tough fighter, he's trying every which way but loose to avoid making it. That's just not right. And the fact is, without the WBC belt, fighting Oleg Maskaev is meaningless. His promoter is messing with his whole career right now."
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingscene@hotmail.com