Peter: I'm the best now! Maskaev:I'll be back

"Tomorrow." That was the singular answer of new WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter when asked if he was ready to take on WBC "Champion Emeritus" Vitali Klitschko in his next fight. "If they tell us we have to fight Vitali, he better get in the ring,"said Dino Duva, who along with Don King promotes Peter. "We´re willing to begin negotiations tomorrow,"Duva said. As for his sixth round knockout victory over Maskaev, Peter said it was what he had anticipated. "I was ready for this fight," he said. "I slowed him down with the body shot. I slowed him down with my jab." Peter (30-1, 23 KO´s) also said he was willing to take on recently unified champion Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch of a fight Peter lost in 2005. "I didn´t take that fight seriously," he said. "He´s a very good fighter but for now I´m the best heavyweight in the world." Duva agreed with his fighter´s assessment. "Samuel Peter stepped up tonight,"he said. "He´s bringing excitement back to the division." As for Maskaev, this could mark the end of the road. He´s been known to bounce back before but at 39 years old the ability to secure another title shot will likely be difficult. "He knocked me out,"Maskaev (34-6, 26 KO´s) admitted in the ring directly afterwards. "He shook me and he knocked me back. The ref did the right thing." "I hurt him a few times, yes, but I wasn´t able to finish him," continued Maskaev. "I´ll be back. My team and I will talk and we´ll put a few fights together." While Maskaev did not speak to reporters after the bout his team was visibly disappointed in the dressing room (actually a tent outside the bull ring) after the fight. "I thank God Oleg wasn´t hurt,"said Maskaev manager Fred Kesch. "He fought his heart out but Peter won the fight." "It was what I expected Peter to be," said Maskaev´s long time promoter, Dennis Rappaport. Rappaport said he was unhappy with how referee Guadalupe Garcia regulated the bout and that he felt Peter got away with too much rabbit punching. Still, he bemoaned the fact that Maskaev let Peter survive the fight, particularly after both men exchanged shaky moments in the third. "A couple of times I thought he had him," Rappaport said. "We need a little distance (to think about everything). We need to absorb this."