Maskaev vs. Hopkins???

EXCLUSIVE: Maskaev Speaks Out! October 9, 2006 By Matt Richardson Should Carlos Baldomir upset Floyd Mayweather Junior next month when the two fight for the undisputed welterweight championship, Baldomir will be all but assured his right to be named the fighter of the year. Baldomir’s recent success in beating Zab Judah and Arturo Gatti consecutively is testament to a fighter’s confidence and dedication despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But there was another boxer this year who personified similar characteristics in a march to the top of his respective division. WBC Heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev, 33-5, 26 KO’s is not necessarily in the running for fighter of the year consideration, but he will likely be the comeback story of 2006. That Maskaev “came back” anywhere is quite stunning and one of the feel good stories in a sport that frequently doesn’t have enough. It wasn’t that long ago that Maskaev went on an unremarkable stretch of 2-3, all three losses coming by violent knockout at the hands of Kirk Johnson, Lance Whitaker and Corrie Sanders, respectively. But Maskaev kept on punching; kept on rising early to do his roadwork and continued his daily trek into Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York. Soon Maskaev would have a new team – Victor Valle Junior as his trainer, Fred Kesch as manager and Dennis Rappaport as his promoter. And before you knew it, he was once again securing those W’s on his ledger. A few here, a few there then the ultimate prize – a repeat match with Rahman, a fighter he had already knocked out (of the ring) seven years prior. Only this time it would be for Rahman’s belt. But if anyone had learned anything from Maskaev’s upset win over Rahman the first time, you wouldn’t have known it when he stepped into the ring at the Thomas & Mack Center. Maskaev was almost a 3-1 underdog by fight time. Most members of the press, the majority of fans and even Rahman himself expected Maskaev to fall. Quickly, too. But he didn’t. Not only was Maskaev competitive - he won the fight; knocking Rahman out in the twelfth and final round. “This is great proof to everybody,” Maskaev told Fightnews over the weekend from his new home in Sacramento, California. “Especially for those guys who didn’t believe in me. They said ‘this is Oleg’s last chance,’ this and that. And especially somebody said ‘this will be his last chance to fight for the championship and that’s it, he’s not going to be around anymore,’” Maskaev recalled. “I’m very happy that didn’t happen. And I won the fight. And everybody saw that I knocked this guy out like I did the first time. But this time I think I hurt him more physically and mentally. He was destroyed.” Since winning the title Maskaev all but assured himself future multi-million dollar purses as well as big fights against fighters ranging from Wladimir Klitschko to Nicolay Valuev to yes, even Bernard Hopkins. Team Klitschko had preferred Maskaev for the Madison Square Garden November 11 date that subsequently went to Calvin Brock. But it was too soon after Maskaev’s bruising win over Rahman and when Maskaev’s elbow seemed to be injured the fight was scrapped. “My elbow is much, much better,” said Maskaev. “There is no problem with my elbow; the problem is gone.” But isn’t he upset he couldn’t unify against the IBF title-holding Klitschko? “No, I’m not upset about that. The date wasn’t good for me. It was too early.” So Klitschko will instead fight the former Olympian Brock. And Maskaev has now moved on to fight the Peter Okhello (18-4, 16 KO’s) in the first heavyweight championship bout to be held in Moscow, Russia. The bout will be held on December 10th and will be officially announced this week. “He’s a tough guy (Okhello). He can punch and he can fight. I saw a couple of his fights. I mean to have a big fight in Russia, it’s very important for me,” Maskaev said. “I will show Russians and all the world that Oleg became a champion and he wants to defend his title. I just want to be champion as long as I can.” Should Maskaev win against Okhello he will likely return to the United States for another big fight. It’s possible he could fight the winner of the Samuel Peter – James Toney rematch (the winner will be Oleg’s WBC mandatory) or there’s even the chance Maskaev will indeed fight Hopkins. “If he wants to fight me and if my management will approve this fight – then there’s no problem,” Maskaev said in reaction to one of the sport’s juiciest rumors. “I don’t know, I don’t know. A lot of people are saying a lot of things but we have to see what is behind his word.” “We’ve gotten several calls from Golden Boy and Richard Schaefer,” Kesch confirmed to Fightnews. “Richard had said that Bernard is very serious. We understand that Hopkins is seriously considering it. But we’ll take it one step at a time. I’m open to talking to anybody; it doesn’t hurt to talk,” Kesch said. “I respect Bernard very much,” continued Kesch. “He’s a great fighter and champion who deserves a great retirement. But getting hit by Oleg is a lot different then getting hit by some of the other guys he fought.” Maskaev agrees with his manager’s assessment. “It’s not easy to jump from one weight to another,” said Maskaev. “He’s a great fighter and what happened is guys like him think they’re going to gain some more pounds; they can fight at heavyweight and become a champion. But in reality it’s not easy. To be a natural heavyweight and to put on twenty pounds to become a heavyweight, it’s a different thing. Whether it’s commercial or for real we’ll see later.” “We haven’t decided anything because we’ve got this fight in December. But with the rematch between Peter and Toney it could leave an opening,” Kesch reasoned. But for now Maskaev is still basking in the sun of his post-title winning experience. He is splitting his time living with his family in California and training in New York. “There are a lot of things going on but I’m in California with my family and I’m not checking out the internet and what’s happening,” he said. “I’m staying away from the boxing. Because I know in like a week or so my team might call me back to the camp. So we’re going to start working hard again pretty soon. That’s why I just want to mentally relax. I’m still running; I’m still doing physical work.” “My life is the same, you know. What happened is that a lot of fans of mine; I have more attention from them. That’s all.” As for the future, Maskaev says he would like to unify the belts. “I want a fight with the great champions. Whoever is going to become a champion and we’ll see. Dennis, my promoter, we’re going to sit down and talk and if it’s going to work why not? I’ll fight any of them.” Despite boxing better than he ever has before, Maskaev is still 37 years old. He has been in some physically grueling fights which will only continue now that he has a belt. So, the question then arises, how much longer does he want to keep on doing this? “It depends,” he says. “God bless my health. It’s not going to be hard to notice if something won’t work out for me good. Then we’re going to sit down. I think I have a great team and we’re going to sit down and talk and we’ll decide what I’m going to do. But right now I feel great. Physically and mentally I’m strong, thank God. And especially I’m very happy I have a great team, they support me all the way and that’s a lot for me.” Four years ago the thought of Oleg Maskaev with a title belt around his waist was inconceivable. But in 2006, it’s the feel good story of the year.