Maskaev Stops Boruff in One, WBC Title Shot Next?

Mar 14, 2009 • 12:00 AM ET

By Mark Vester

Heavyweight Oleg Maskaev (36-6, 27KOs) returned to the ring and stopped Rich Boruff (17-3-1, 10KOs) in one round at the Ice Palace in Saransk, Mordovia. Maskaev easily put Boruff down to the mat and although he was able to beat the count, he appeared to be out on his feet and the ref waved off the contest.

Maskaev, a former WBC champion, was put in line by the sanctioning body to face the winner of next Saturday's bout between The Vitali Klitschko and Juan Carlos Gomez. Klitschko has made some legal moves to fight the ruling. He refuses to face Maskaev [if he beat Gomez next Saturday].