NEW YORK — Oleg Maskaev's unlikely reign as heavyweight champion ended not with a knockout, but with a decision: a vote by the World Boxing Council's board of governors to name Samuel Peter as its interim titleholder.
His manager thinks the WBC didn't give Maskaev a fair shot.
Fred Kesch, who has worked with the former Russian Army lieutenant during the fighter's career revival over the last four years, denounced the WBC decision as "absurd," "reprehensible" and "disgraceful."
"There's no rhyme or reason to it," Kesch said before the injured fighter paid a Wednesday visit to the doctor treating his bad back. "There's no logic, no intelligent path. This is like fiction — and it's being rewritten with every stroke."
Last week, Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs) pulled out of his scheduled Oct. 6 Madison Square Garden fight against Peter. The champion, who captured the belt in 2006 with a knockout of Hasim Rahman, was idled by herniated discs.
On Monday, the WBC board voted to name the Peter its interim champion with the intention of finding a replacement for Maskaev. An angry Kesch charged the decision was a slap at his fighter, along with a way to perhaps cut Maskaev's purse when he does get back in the ring.
"I have nothing against Samuel Peter, but they don't even give Oleg a chance to recuperate," Kesch said. "Where does it say if Oleg is injured, it's automatic that the opponent becomes interim champ?
"When Mike Tyson was injured, when Evander Holyfield was injured, who became interim champ then?"
WBC President Jose Sulaiman said he understood Kesch's frustration, but insisted that his organization handled the case correctly.
"He has the right to defend his fighter," Sulaiman said. "But the WBC has the right to do whatever is better for boxing. The case here is that Oleg, who is a very nice person, has not defended the title for 10 months. We want activity in the most important division of boxing."
A Wednesday call to Peter's promoter, Dino Duva, who had pressed for his fighter to get an Oct. 6 title shot despite the Maskaev injury, was not returned.
Maskaev captured the WBC belt with a surprising knockout of Rahman in August 2006, and defended his title four months later with a unanimous decision over Peter Okhello. He hasn't fought since.
Nothing official was announced, although it appears Peter will face Jameel McCline in the interim title fight at the Garden. McCline, a 37-year-old American, is 28-7-3 with 23 KOs.
Kesch said Maskaev needed about three months to work through his injury and face Peter (28-1, 22 KOs.) And he suggested the decision to name an interim champ was aimed at cutting into Maskaev's earnings in a fight against the winner of the bout.
"The champ usually gets a 70-30 split," Kesch said. "Oleg was going to do this fight for 55-45. He was getting robbed of 15 percent already. Now that he's hurt, he's getting robbed even further. It's outrageous."
Kesch felt Peter, if victorious, would insist on a bigger portion of the split. According to the WBC rules, Maskaev will receive a mandatory bout for the undisputed WBC title with the interim champion upon his return.
