By James Blears
Jameel McCline has landed the October 6th WBC title fight against Interim Heavyweight Champion Sam Peter, in the new Madison Square Garden Ring, after both of their former Eastern bloc opponents suffered injuries.
A herniated disc in the back put WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev out of action for several months at least and Vitali Klitschko has also suffered serious back problems. Both needing operations.
The WBC has agreed to Peter vs. McCline clash to salvage the resulting stalemate, especially as both are fighting fit peaked. President Jose Sulaiman insisted: “We don’t want any more negotiations or criticism. The WBC Heavyweight Champion must be an active champion and we want the fight!”
McCline was ranked number eight by the WBC, but dropped when he fought Nikolai Valuev for the WBA title. Paradoxically Jameel had to concede defeat in that fight due to a severe injury to his right knee which has since been corrected by surgery.
But now he’s right back in the mix and has another opportunity to finally gain a coveted world crown.
As for injured WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev, Don Jose wished him a speedy recovery saying:
“Even though he will be more than a year without a fight, the WBC will consider him to continue defending his title, when the doctors allow him to get back to boxing.”
