Maskaev will win...

The final round killed me haha.

man.... i am so happy ..... I'm with you man! That last round was awesome!

man.... i am so happy .....

Well, I root for Maskaev, and I hope he will win. I also think that Maskaev is hugely underappreciated by the public. Maskaev has a very decent boxing record: he beat Vitaliy in the amateurs by TKO2, and also beat a number of good other boxers, including Rahman by a spectacular KO. Maskaev is a very good boxer, and not just a good puncher. In fact, he never lost a fight on points! You often hear that the "lucky punch" was the decisive factor in Maskaev's victory over Rahman. I strongly disagree -- Maskaev boxed very well, landing and taking some good punches himself -- the KO was not an unlikely outcome. In fact, I had the fight even at 4:4 at the point of the KO (so did Larry Merchant). Regarding the 5 losses by KO, I think many of those losses would not even be on Maskaev's record, had he had a proper management team and a decent trainer to begin with. McCall and Tua fights were taken too early in his career (though Maskaev was thoroughly beating Tua up to the point of TKO stoppage -- and the stoppage, without giving any proper count, seemed controversial under such circumstances). Further, taking on Whitakker immediately after the KO loss to Jonhson was a highly unreasonable move, which resulted in another KO loss that should have been avoided. All in all, I believe that Maskaev can pull this off. Braddock came back to win HW championship after more than 20 losses. What one man can do, another man can. bump.......................... maskaev won BOTH on the official scorecards and by KO !!!

OK Yaman 5,000,000 points on Maskaev Winning If Rahman wins you get 5,000,000 points. :boxing:

Maskaev is going to beat Rahman, I am about 80% sure of it.

Vitali would have beat Maskaev in the pros. I believe so. However, Vitaliy was not quite the amateur when he fought Maskaev; he had become the World Kickboxing champion in the pros then.

klitschko had a fractured leg or somethin and had fought like a week before well, in the amatuers you can fight twice or more in the same day

Vitaly wasnt matured yet. Can you believe David Tua was KTFO in the amateurs by a right hand that didnt look that hard. Then he grew and had one of the best chins in history. Vitali would have beat Maskaev in the pros.

Out of shadows Maskaev emerges as contender for Rahman's heavyweight title By Lem Satterfield sun reporter Originally published August 10, 2006 When heavyweight Oleg Maskaev met trainer Victor Valle Jr. nearly 3 1/2 years ago at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, N.Y., Maskaev was shadow-boxing and - it appeared - a shadow of the fighter he once was. "I was alone, just going through the motions," Maskaev said, recalling an 18-month period when, at the age of 33, he had gone 2-3 and was knocked out three times. "My management and my trainer had me to retire, and I it," Maskaev said. "I felt I had something left, but nobody wanted to work with me." Except Valle. "Victor worked with me a couple of days, told me I still was a good fighter with skills and the mind to learn," Maskaev said. Valle later introduced Maskaev to promoter Dennis Rappaport and manager Fred Kesch, whose careful matchmaking led the Russian-born heavyweight to 10 straight wins, eight of them by knockout. On Saturday in Las Vegas, Maskaev takes a newfound confidence against Baltimore native Hasim Rahman in a World Boxing Council title bout. Their bout is a rematch of Maskaev's eighth-round knockout of Rahman in November 1999. "My trainer is teaching me the right things. My manager and a promoter guided me in the right way," said Maskaev, 6 feet 3, 235 pounds. "I feel like a new fighter." Maskaev, 37, has lived in Staten Island, N.Y., since 1999 with his wife, Svetlana, 39, and their four daughters, ranging in age from 5 to 22. Coming off a November decision over Sinan Samil Sam of Germany, Maskaev hopes to use the $1 million he will earn against Rahman to help pay for the home he purchased last month in Sacramento, Calif. Having become a U.S. citizen two years ago, Maskaev said he is offended by the bout's promotional hype - "America's Last Line of Defense" - a reference to Rahman's being the lone American-born titlist among the four different heavyweight belt-holders. The other champs - Wladimir Klitschko of the International Boxing Federation, Nikolai Valuev of the World Boxing Association and Serguei Lyakhovich of the World Boxing Organization - come from former Soviet bloc countries. "Yes, it bothers me," Maskaev said. "I'm a proud Russian-American. Victoria is an American, too - she was born here. I have a great opportunity to get a good education for my kids and a house to make my wife happy. Whoever wins is going to be an American." Born in Zhambul, Kazakhstan, Maskaev grew up farming cows and sheep and escaped a near-death experience as a 16-year-old coal miner - the age at which he also became a father. "We were hauling wagons full of coal weighing as much as 6,000 pounds. It was dangerous," said Maskaev, whose father was his foreman. "Sometimes, the supporting ropes would break and the wagons would crush people. I once noticed a breaking rope. I jumped out of the way as it hit a wall. I was lucky. My father found out and said, 'That's it for you.' " Things moved swiftly from there for Maskaev, who still was 16 when he left home with Svetlana and enrolled in a Russian sports academy to learn to box. At 18, Maskaev joined the army. "Being in the military until I was 25, becoming a lieutenant in six years, being a father - I had lots of responsibilities," said Maskaev, who fathered two children before marrying Svetlana at age 22. "I almost went to the war in Afghanistan, but being a boxer for my country, my trainer arranged for me to be pulled out. I was fortunate." While competing as an amateur in 1992, Maskaev fought Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko, whom he stopped with a left hook in the first round. "I put him on the canvas three times before his corner threw in the towel," Maskaev said. Klitschko went on to win the WBC title before retiring due to injury and yielding the crown to Rahman. Maskaev turned pro in his hometown of Zhambul with a knockout of Alex Miroshnichenko, a fighter who entered at 21-0 with 15 KOs; stopped Jimmy Harrison in '95 in his U.S. debut in Boston; and rose to 5-0 with a decision over Joe Thomas, who was 23-1-1 with 19 KOs coming in. But his career lost momentum when, twice in his first 12 bouts, he was overmatched in fights with seasoned veterans Oliver McCall and David Tua. Maskaev lost both fights, matches that he said his management forced him into. "I was a baby, just learning English. I knew nothing of the professional boxing business," Maskaev said. "I trusted people who didn't really care about me." That's all different now, Maskaev said, and he will take a positive attitude into the ring Saturday. "He's the champion, but that doesn't matter," Maskaev said. "I'll win because I am Oleg Maskaev." lem.satterfield@baltsun.com

From Batimore Sun: "While competing as an amateur in 1992, Maskaev fought Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko, whom he stopped with a left hook in the first round. "I put him on the canvas three times before his corner threw in the towel," Maskaev said. Klitschko went on to win the WBC title before retiring due to injury and yielding the crown to Rahman.

am i hearing this correctly?? was that quit on the stool or an actually TKO ? where he dropped vitali. :eek: :eek: id love to see that!!!!! Apparently he knocked down Vitaliy once or twice, and the Vit's trainer stopped the bout between the round. Trainer said that Vit fought with an injurred hand. from NY Times: "Maskaev grew up on a farm in Abai, Kazakhstan. When he was 17 he went to work in the coal mines near his home with his father and brother, a mining engineer. For two years he toiled in the dirty, dangerous environment. It was not the kind of place for a talented amateur boxer. When Maskaev was 19, he joined the Russian Army, with whom he honed his boxing skills. During one of the military meets he ran into an officer from Ukraine named Vitali Klitschko. Maskaev stopped Klitschko in the first round."

5,000,000 points on Maskaev Winning. Anybody ? :cool: So do you want it or not? I can put it in my sig.

5,000,000 points on Maskaev Winning. Anybody ? :cool: I think Rahman will win :) How about it.

5,000,000 points on Maskaev Winning. Anybody ? :cool:

Yes Oleg Maskaev will win. Rahman could not even beat James Toney. Maskaev is difficult to spot him a smile on his face. More importantly, he's an American. Maskaev resides with his wife, Svetlana, and their four daughters in Staten Island, where they've lived for more than seven years. He has been an American citizen for two years. And to be painted as someone other than a full-blooded patriot pains Maskaev, who is 32-5-0 with 25 KOs. "It bothers me because it's not a factor," Maskaev said. "Whoever wins will be an American. "I'm a proud Russian-American. I'm a citizen of America, of the United States. I have four kids, the last of them, she's an American, too. She was born here. I had a great opportunity here to get a good education for my kids and a house and to make my wife happy. ... This is the American Dream." :boxing:

Rahman might surprise us all and pull a Lamon Brewster. Im reffering to Lamons 1st round ko of Golota.. LOL, I hope not ...

Rahman might surprise us all and pull a Lamon Brewster. Im reffering to Lamons 1st round ko of Golota..

Imagine this: You wake up Sunday morning, August 13th and something about the world is different. The sun shines less brightly, sweet food is a little less so, and some intangible quality, something you can't put your finger on, has changed. When you turn on the television, your hair a mess and sleep still in your eyes, the news you hear shocks you: "American has no heavyweight champion. Every belt is held by a European." You realize Hasim Rahman has lost. You don't know how it happened, or why, you missed the fight- but Oleg Maskaev holds the WBC Heavyweight title. The land of the free, home of the brave, statue of libery, red, white and blue America has no champion to carry the hopes of its people. Good. I'm glad. If I was there I would say to you, "About time." Why? Because everyone is breathing easier because America has at least one heavyweight title holder. Hasim Rahman is 'America's last line of defense'. Bullshit. We need a fire lit under our asses. The American boxing scence is complacent. Is it really that hard for us to produce one, just one, good, solid heavyweight to mix up the division? I've already said this but I could care less what country a fighter is from. I respect what I see in that ring. Every race, religion, and ethnicity are equal in that ring, if unfortunatley not everywhere in modern society. So, why should I care if an exciting fighter comes from Russia, France, Africa or China? As long as they are exciting to watch, and good. Yet with one American heavyweight left this country is producing nothing....if there were no American fighters left, no American holding a heavyweight belt, I know there are some nationalistic assholes out there who will rush into finding us the next big thing. The next champ. Rahman is not the next big thing....and until he's out of the picture I see people continuing to see the American heavyweight prospects as 'decent'. If Rahman falls people have to realize we need to look towards the young up-and-comers for something special. I hope Oleg takes America's last belt. Who says the USA needs to be everywhere, always? May the best man win...and may that man be named Maskaev. Nice post, but if you are not fan enough to watch the fight or read round by round, why would the results of the fight be the first thing you check in the morning? Just messing, point well made.

Imagine this: You wake up Sunday morning, August 13th and something about the world is different. The sun shines less brightly, sweet food is a little less so, and some intangible quality, something you can't put your finger on, has changed. When you turn on the television, your hair a mess and sleep still in your eyes, the news you hear shocks you: "American has no heavyweight champion. Every belt is held by a European." You realize Hasim Rahman has lost. You don't know how it happened, or why, you missed the fight- but Oleg Maskaev holds the WBC Heavyweight title. The land of the free, home of the brave, statue of libery, red, white and blue America has no champion to carry the hopes of its people. Good. I'm glad. If I was there I would say to you, "About time." Why? Because everyone is breathing easier because America has at least one heavyweight title holder. Hasim Rahman is 'America's last line of defense'. Bullshit. We need a fire lit under our asses. The American boxing scence is complacent. Is it really that hard for us to produce one, just one, good, solid heavyweight to mix up the division? I've already said this but I could care less what country a fighter is from. I respect what I see in that ring. Every race, religion, and ethnicity are equal in that ring, if unfortunatley not everywhere in modern society. So, why should I care if an exciting fighter comes from Russia, France, Africa or China? As long as they are exciting to watch, and good. Yet with one American heavyweight left this country is producing nothing....if there were no American fighters left, no American holding a heavyweight belt, I know there are some nationalistic assholes out there who will rush into finding us the next big thing. The next champ. Rahman is not the next big thing....and until he's out of the picture I see people continuing to see the American heavyweight prospects as 'decent'. If Rahman falls people have to realize we need to look towards the young up-and-comers for something special. I hope Oleg takes America's last belt. Who says the USA needs to be everywhere, always? May the best man win...and may that man be named Maskaev. Tight post. You're right on. If you look at the up and coming HW's, most of them are non-American, and most of the American HW's are the past, just still hanging around. So whether Oleg wins or not, the level of American boxing contention has probably not even hit bottom yet, esp the HW's.