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Rahman vs. Maskaev, Part II - Maskaev KOs Rahman
By Frank Gonzalez Jr. August 12th, 2006.
Art imitates life and life imitates art. James Braddock did it. Russell Crowe re-did it in the movies and Oleg Maskaev did it Saturday night in Las Vegas. Had Rahman won, he would have done it too. It’s the classic story of rising, then falling from grace and then finding a way to rise again. How the story ends depends on your own imagination.
Oleg Maskaev (33-5, 26 KO’s) won his 11th fight in a row in route to winning the WBC Heavyweight Title by scoring a TKO 12 Win over well-trained and seasoned, Hasim Rahman (41-6-2, 33 KO’s), who once again proved unable to successfully defend his Title.
Maskaev was the underdog coming into the fight in spite of having a spectacular, ‘through the ropes’ KO Win over Hasim Rahman on his resume from their November 1999 battle in Atlantic City NJ. Since then, Rahman has fought the better opponents and won and lost a World Title. Maskaev lost a few key fights after his promising 1999 stature, then practically disappeared from the radar, though he kept on fighting.
In his fight against Sinal Sam, Maskaev showed vastly improved boxing skills and discipline. In his last fight against James Toney, Rahman showed consistency and improved ring smarts. On paper, this should have been a good match up and it was.
My main criticism of Rahman has always been his lack of consistency. He’s either very good—or very bad. Hey, he’s only human. But when he’s good, he’s one of the toughest guys in the division. Lately, Rahman has been consistently using his jab, setting up his shots and wisely following the advice of his corner. His improved overall skills and mental discipline have
made him into a formidable contender.
Rahman’s first Title was earned when he knocked out the over confident, Lennox Lewis back in 2001, only to lose that Title in a rematch with Lewis seven months later by a thunderous KO punch.
Rahman’s recent incarnation as WBC Champion was practically handed to him when the actual WBC Champ, Vitali Klitschko suddenly retired from Boxing. A pair of wins over Kali Meehan and Monte Barrett hardly qualifies one to be called a World Champion. But Rahman proved his quality. Even his loss Saturday night.
The Fight
Rahman gave a good account of himself as he dominated the first five rounds with textbook jabbing and combination punching. He was the aggressor and controlled the tempo for the first half of the bout. Maskaev did very little and was trying to land one big shot.
The referee was Jay Nady, who was more than a bit overzealous with his warnings to Maskaev about holding. Oleg did some holding, but it was mostly strategic, what you do when a guy is coming in with punches that might otherwise hit you. It’s a realistic part of any defensive strategy in boxing. Of course, there’s a limit how often you can hold but it wasn’t red light excessive.
Both guys did some holding. Oleg held a more but not enough to be saddled by the referee, who gave the impression of being an agent of the Rahman camp for the first six rounds.
To his credit, Nady did let them fight and never took any points from Maskaev. He eventually eased up on the warnings too. In a way, Nady helped Maskaev win the fight because he forced Oleg to make a serious adjustment—not to hold and to punch more.
By the sixth, the tide had turned as Maskaev adapted to the Nady factor and actually started using his jab and lead right hands more instead of holding when Rahman came in. Oleg was finding his rhythm and catching Rahman with rights, body shots and left hooks that were starting to take a toll and slow the more athletic Rahman down.
This fight was the tale of three punches—the jab, the right cross and the left hook. Early on, it was Rahman’s jab; later on, it was Oleg’s left hooks, ending with Oleg’s big right hand crashing into Rahman’s face and body.
By the 8th, Rahman shifted the momentum back his way with pressure from his jab. Maskaev was looking tired and uninterested in winning rounds so much as landing that big punch that would end things. Rahman continued to land the cleaner shots through the 9th round.
In the 10th, Maskaev landed several punches to the body and head of Rahman, who pressed forward ineffectively and was starting to fade. The tide had turned again in favor of the guy in the better condition—Maskaev.
The 11th featured Maskaev blasting Rahman with multiple left hooks that saw Rahman go into holding mode. Maskaev landed a low blow that hurt Rahman. Nady gave a warning. Maskaev landed two more unanswered shots at the bell.
Nady called a Timeout to address loose tape on Rahman’s glove at the start of the 12th. The crowd booed until action resumed. Then, the 12th round proved to be the most exciting of the fight. Maskaev caught Rahman with a big right, followed by a left hook that staggered Rahman towards the ropes. Oleg landed a glancing right that made Rahman lose his balance and fall. It
was properly ruled a knockdown, though Rahman protested the call. The crowd was on their feet, screaming. Nady counted.
When action resumed, Maskaev landed a series of punches, right, right, left, left. Rahman grabbed Maskaev and held on for dear life, dragging his feet in a wrestle across the ring and eventually falling to the canvas near the ropes. Shades of November 1999 looming in Rahman’s mind as he got up. Nady rightly ruled it a slip. But it was more than a slip, it was the beginning of the end for Hasim Rahman, who was losing the contest of stamina.
Maskaev went for the finish, using lead rights to direct Rahman into the corner, where Maskaev teed off on him with a left, right, right, right, left, left, then another right…Nady stepped between them and waved it off. It was over.
Oleg Maskaev raised his hands in victory.
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A Cinderella story? Maybe. Like James Braddock, Maskaev did come back from being a written off contender to becoming a HW Champion. If there were only ONE Champion, the Cinderella tag would be more applicable. To me, it’s the classic story of faith and perseverance. Maskaev kept active, retooled his style, hooked up with new people and believed in himself enough to allow his career to blossom late.
Better late than never.
Oleg Maskaev lives in Staten Island New York (by way of Kazakhstan). Before that, he lived in my hometown of Brooklyn. He’s an American citizen, so I didn’t quite get the promotional suggestion that Rahman was the last American HW Champion when he was in fact, fighting another American, who would be still an American Champion if he won. Hasim Rahman sounds like a guy from Somalia but he’s from Baltimore Maryland. Both guys are Americans so either guy would have represented America in the world of Boxing, so what’s the big whoop?
Congratulations to the new WBC Heavyweight Champion, Oleg Maskaev. He showed a lot of heart, a good chin, patience and enough discipline to deal with a momentarily obnoxious referee. Maskaev also proved to be surprisingly well conditioned for a 37 year old.
There is talk about Maskaev fighting IBF Champion, Wladimir Klitschko in November. Klitschko is an athletic, skillful, power boxer with long arms and a hell of a jab. His chin is still suspect since his losses to Corrie Sanders in 2003 and Lamon Brewster in 2004, but he seems to have rebounded from those catastrophic losses with convincing wins over Sam Peter, the brawler and Chris Byrd, the boxer. Like Maskaev, Klitschko has adopted a better defensive style and the use of strategic holding. Klitschko is faster and easily as strong as Maskaev but how will he handle Maskaev’s power? Hopefully, time will tell.
The other Champions include WBO Champ, Sergei Liahkovich of Belarus and WBA Champ, Nicolay Valuev of Russia. Liahkovich is a very good boxer that fights smart. The gigantic sized Valuev is still a mystery to many fight fans on this side of the globe. His only real claim to fame so far is a close win over John Ruiz and that’s not saying much. Hasim Rahman can still be very much in the mix if he chooses to. I expect he will continue to fight and get even better. He’ll be a dangerous proposition to anyone in the division. This loss will have little bearing on that reality. As for all the Champions, it would be great if the four of them faced off in a Heavyweight Tournament to determine who really is the HW Champion of the World.
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Comments can be emailed to dshark87@hotmail.com
Oleg Maskaev: Boxing’s new Cinderella Man
14.08.06 – By Geoffrey Ciani: Saturday night, Oleg Maskaev won the WBC heavyweight championship of the world when he knocked out reigning champ, Hasim Rahman, in dramatic fashion. For Maskaev, this was the perfect ending to a storybook career. In fact, this is the type of story that Hollywood scripts are based on.
The first time these two pugilists met was nearly seven years ago. At the time, both were younger, stronger, faster, and exhibited better skills in the ring. However, one thing remained constant over the course of those seven years – both Maskaev and Rahman are very evenly matched. Furthermore, both possess similar fighting styles which make for entertaining bouts.
The fight began much like the first one with both fighters feeling each other out using their jabs. The big difference this time: Neither fighter’s jab is quite as good as it once was. Regardless, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and the success of both Maskaev and Rahman has always depended on how well each is able to get the jab working. Rahman got his going first.
Meanwhile, Maskaev looked like an aging fighter who had very little left in the tank, especially over the first few rounds. He looked painfully slow, and it was obvious early on that Rahman was the more athletic and better skilled of the two. Rahman was able to control the fight when he used his jab, but inexplicably, he never seemed focus enough to utilize this obvious advantage. Instead, he became sluggish and unfocused and seemed unwilling to press his natural strengths.
Consequently, this afforded Maskaev the opportunity to discover a weapon that helped him get back into the fight – that being, his left hook. Time and time again, Maskaev began finding the mark with his left hook, which scored often and helped narrow the gap on the scorecards. As a result, Maskaev began having a bit more success with his jab, which in turn, allowed him to start landing his right.
The right hand has always been Maskaev’s money punch. It was this punch that sent Rahman through the ropes in their first encounter seven years ago. Rahman seemed so preoccupied with Maskaev’s right hand that he allowed him to begin finding success with the left hook. The strangest thing about all of this is that Rahman refused to use his natural advantages in speed and skill. When Rahman jabbed, he invariably got off first and he rarely missed the mark.
After eight rounds, the fight was pretty much even. However, it seemed that Maskaev was beginning to slow down. In fact, it appeared that the 37 year old pugilist was running out of gas, and that his younger opponent was about to regain control of the fight, but things didn’t play out this way. After Rahman had regained his composure in the 8th and 9th rounds, Maskaev got a second wind, and at this point, Rahman was the one who appeared exhausted.
Maskaev would go on to win the 10th and the 11th, and it appeared that Maskaev may have hurt Rahman towards the end of the 11th round. At this point, the fight was too close to call, and it seemed plausible that whoever won the final round would win the fight.
Then it happened: Maskaev dropped Rahman early in the twelfth round with a crushing right hand. Apparently, Rahman had been hurt in the previous round, and it became obvious that Rahman was running on fumes. To his credit, he got up and tried to regain his composure, but it was already too late. His legs had clearly abandoned him, and he did everything in his power to simply survive the round.
Unfortunately for Rahman, Maskaev seized the moment, and began unleashing a series of powerful right hands which refused to miss their mark. Rahman was being beaten badly, and slowly began to sink. Referee Jay Nady wisely stopped the bout with just 43 seconds left to go.
This was the perfect ending for Oleg Maskaev, both in terms of the bout itself and in terms of his boxing career. That Maskaev won the title at age 37 after fighting his way in and out of contention for so long is truly a perfect ending to a storybook career. Let’s not forget, this was a man whose career was managed very poorly, as evidenced by the fact that he was thrown in with Oliver McCall in just his seventh professional fight.
Whatever he does after this is a moot issue. Maskaev may well go on to fight for a big payday in a finale fight, but the last page of his career has been perfectly written. His name will forever be linked with Hasim Rahman’s – the man who once bested the great Lennox Lewis.
Oleg Maskaev is boxing’s new Cinderella!~
Maskaev stuns and stops Rahman in the 12th! In Russian, it’s “Zolushka!”
By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza
The fight between challenger, Oleg Maskaev, and champion, Hasim Rahman, had come down to the twelfth and final round. Oleg Maskaev seemed barely able to stand on his feet, and while also visibly tired Rahman seemed to have more left in the tank. In the corner of Maskaev, over the indiscernible instructions of his trainer Victor Valle, I could hear the distinct voice of a chief second, yelling in Russian to Oleg, “Do it for your parents,” Do it for your daughters,” “Do it for your family,” and, finally, “Do it for your homeland.” Its funny to think about now seeing as the whole debate about where Oleg is from and what country he represents dominated the pre fight hype.
Personally, as a fan, I am more proud of Oleg Maskaev’s victory over that of all the other champions in the heavyweight division. I am more proud because like my family, Oleg and his came to this country looking for a chance at a better life. I am more proud because I, like most fans, remember the vicious knock outs at the hands of Corey Sanders, Kirk Johnson, and Lance Whitaker, and the heartless conclusion from most writers claiming that Oleg should give it up
I am proud because even though Oleg is compared to the real Cinderella Man, James Braddock, his story is that much sweeter because Hasim Rahman was not looking to make it “last a few rounds,” and wanted to punish Maskaev in retribution for the first memorable bout. . I am more proud of Oleg Maskaev because like me he loves and represents this country for all the wonderful opportunities it provides. People say, “in America you will get your chance,” well to this I add, “if you want it bad enough, America will give you many more than that. Hey, just look at Oleg Maskaev.”
There were three minutes to go and I was pleading with the TV for Oleg to at the very least stand up until the final bell. On my card, I had Maskaev up 7 to 4, and all he needed to do was stand on his feet for three minutes. This by no means seemed definite, since as I mentioned, Maskaev was so spent and so tired. At the same time, throughout the length of the fight, Oleg never lost a somewhat faint, and confident smirk on his face. He knew he was not going anywhere this time.
The round began but stopped twenty seconds in, as Jay Nady noticed problems with the tape on Rahman’s glove. As they worked on it in the corner, I breathed a short sign of relief, knowing Maskaev was getting his few seconds of rest and might have enough to finish the bout. Little did I know what awaited Rahman and fans all over the world. Thinking about it now, perhaps that is what the little grin of Maskaev’s was all about?
As the action resumed, both men went back to work and suddenly Rahman found himself on the end of a punch that hurled him back towards the ropes and had him visibly hurt. I could not say what punch caused the damage because by that time I was yelling my head off, and jumping up and down as Oleg put Rahman down for the count. On my card, Oleg had punctuated the fight with a clear 10-8 and even though Rahman looked somewhat fine, he was going down either on points or punches. Maskaev sensing he did not need the judges anymore, went in for the kill. Rahman reeling fell one more time, this time ruled a slip, and clutched Oleg’s leg trying to hold out as long as possible, trying to survive. It was at this point that the impossible seemed to be unfolding right before our eyes. Jay Nady was giving Rahman every opportunity to survive until the bell, like he did with Vargas - Trinidad, but it was obvious, as Rahman sprawled and slid down to the canvas on the ropes that there was nothing left for Nady to do but step in to stop the fight.
Oleg Maskaev seemed so exhausted that as he turned around to walk into the arms of his cornermen he had no strength to raise his arms. All that was missing was the melody from the end of the Rocky films. I like to believe fans of Oleg Maskaev, myself included, did enough cheering to compensate for Oleg’s inability to show much emotion seconds after the faithful and historic Cinderella like victory.
Now that the emotional high has passed, I would like to offer up a somewhat brief summation of the tactical aspects of the fight. Maskaev’s victory could not have been possible had Rahman not been serious about trying to win this fight in impressive fashion. This was precisely the reason why Oleg Maskaev has now given us two memorable endings and two memorable victories. As I suggested, this was not Max Baer looking to give Braddock a few rounds, just for the hell of it. Instead, Rahman was trying to get inside enough to put some leverage Maskaev’s chin and put him down for the count, as a form of revenge for the devastating KO of 99. THIS was precisely what Maskaev, the shorter arm length fighter wanted, seeing as he was eating the Rahman jab all night. Had Rahman looked to win a boring UD, via Spinks run and gun, jab and hold, or jab and move, Maskaev would have most likely landed a few good shots but lost a decision. Instead, Rahman walked in and gave Maskaev the chances needed to take it.
Oleg started slow and Rahman was able to control the early third of the fight, even though, to be honest, the second round was Oleg’s due to the cleaner and more effective punches. The same could be argued about the fourth and after that Oleg was taking round after round due to the better inside fighting.
As the fight dragged on, both men were getting tired, but as in the first fight Maskaev was the one working downstairs and to the body and that also gave him the edge late. Late in the fight, when both men did not have enough strength to punch high, Oleg smiled and dug combinations to Rahman’s body, winning the judges attention.
An important issue in the fight was, as with most recent fights, that of holding and clinching. While Oleg did hold a bit early, enough so to warrant a single warning (though Nady gave two), as the fight dragged on, it was obvious that in part this was due to Rahman’s bullrush tactic. As I alluded to, Rahman moved in close often and at times did so much like a bull charging in not looking to keep his balance. This was exactly how Rahman was able to headbutt Maskaev early and cause the cut above his eye in the second, seeing as he bulled in and landed head first ala Holyfield. Were it not for Maskaev grabbing Rahman’s arm, he might have very well been pushed through the ropes, and in fact almost was on a few occasions. I suspect that Rahman, did this on purpose, sensing he could get a point, and also get Maskaev off balance kept rushing in and leaning on Maskaev who had to hold to maintain his balance. Don’t get me wrong Oleg did hold, but it was impossible not to in some of those instances.
This is also why I respect Jay Nady as a referee since, even though he got on Oleg’s case, he was aware enough to see what Rahman was doing. Furthermore, as the bout dragged on, Rahman did his fair share of holding as well. Nady did his job well and really compared to the other two referees in tonight’s fights, Joe Cortez, and Richard Steele, he was the ref of the show.
Anyway, returning to the fight, besides going to the body, Maskaev also employed a killer left hook, which worked wonders when Rahman was gunshy. Also, even though Oleg was standing in the corner and on the ropes too much, he was also bending to his waist in a very crafty way in order to duck under Rahman’s right. Although this was a bit “unfair,” since the opponent has no chance to hit, Maskaev knowing he lacked head movement compensated as best he could and in part why he won. Rahman bent the rules as well and that is why besides this drama this fight was worth it for all the tactical nuances the fighters threw into the fray.
As far as the future is concerned, yes, it is now official, and now all the champions at heavyweight come from my former homeland. Even though Oleg Maskaev is older, slower, shorter, and possibly more chinny than the other three champions, they just cannot match him in the heart department. Even if all the other guys had huge hearts in overcoming their setbacks, their knockouts, and their obscurity, it was Oleg’s full circle journey that we were able to witness live. Sure, he will be the underdog against Sergui Lyakhovich, Wladimir Klitschko and Nikolay Valuev, but as Jim Lamply said, “if it’s an uphill climb, then Oleg Maskaev has you exactly where he wants you.”
In 1993, Oleg Maskaev fought Alexander Miroshnichenko, in Zhambul, Kazakhstan, in what was effectively the first all ex-Soviet Super fight. It is abundantly clear now, that we will be seeing more of these ex-Soviet Super fights in the future. Maskaev won that bout via third round knockout, and started on the long and faithful road to the top as an underdog against one top contender after another. All of it leading him to this one night, and this one moment in time. Congratulations to the Russian “Zolushka,” the Russian Cinderella Man, and the first Russian American heavyweight champion of the world Oleg Maskaev.
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