By Rick Reeno
The boxing world is buzzing with the prospect of November unification bout between heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko of the IBF, and newly crowned WBC champion Oleg Maskaev.
As soon as it was revealed that Shelly Finkel, the manager of Klitschko, offered a deal to Maskaev for the Klitschko bout, the promoters for both James Toney and Samuel Peter, stated that they are not going to let the bout happen, at least not with the WBC title at stake.
Not long after then WBC champion Hasim Rahman and James Toney battled to a draw on March 18, the WBC ruled that would have to face the mandatory challenger Oleg Maskaev, but the winner of the Rahman-Maskaev clash would have to face James Toney in the first defense.
Rather than waste time on the sidelines, Toney decided to seek a bout with top-rated contender Samuel Peter. Once a bout was set between James Toney and Samuel Peter for September, the president of the WBC, Jose Sulaiman, ruled that the winner of Toney-Peter would become the mandatory challenger to the winner of the rematch between Rahman and Maskaev.
On Sunday, Sulaiman, reasserted the WBC's position that Maskaev must face the winner of Toney-Peter. Dan Goossen, promoter of James Toney, said that after Toney beats Peter, he expects his fighter to receive his title shot against Maskaev.
"It's done as far as I'm concerned. The WBC has already ruled that Maskaev has to face the winner of the fight with James (Toney) and (Samuel) Peter. That's the next fight," Goossen voiced to BoxingScene.
Ivailo Gotzev, the manager of Samuel Peter, is also going to pursue a Maskaev bout for his fighter, should Peter win.
The respective teams of James Toney and Samuel Peter do not agree on much, but they do agree on one thing. If Maskaev is to go forward with the Klitschko bout in November, he should give up his WBC heavyweight title, or be stripped of the title for not complying with the WBC, which ruled that he must face the winner of Toney-Peter.
