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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 [advised] me to retire, and I [considered] 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 [his 5-year-old daughter] 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 [coal mining] 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."
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 [advised] me to retire, and I [considered] 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 [his 5-year-old daughter] 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 [coal mining] 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."
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