Tyson pulls out of June 21 card: Maskaev left hanging

By Ron Widelec

04.05 - This is the last article in a series dealing with the possible Mike Tyson/Oleg Maskaev match-up. The Previous articles were "Tyson v. Maskaev: Don't act so surprised" and "Team Maskaev Speaks Out".

A lot has happened since April 25th, when the second article in the series was posted. Tyson has possibly rekindled his dealings with Don King, he dropped out of the June 21st undercard/co-feature, and the June 21st fight card has been demoted from a PPV to a regular HBO championship fight.

Lost in all this mix is Oleg Maskaev. Maskaev had been off the heavyweight radar for a while after a few losses in recent years. Now with new management, promoters, and trainers, his name was suddenly atop of boxing headlines once again as Tyson's team named him as the most likely opponent.

As is always the case with Mike Tyson, the earning possibilities are extraordinarily high, and when waiting for a possible Tyson fight, all other possible bouts are on hold. As team Maskaev patiently waited for Tyson's team to make a decision their world was on hold. Several fights were passed up, and planning for a Tyson fight was put in to motion. Now Tyson is off the card, and therefore, so is Maskaev. At first, there was discussion of replacing Tyson with Wladimir Klitschko, but that fell through as well. I spoke with Fred Kesch about the all this chaos, and where Maskaev goes from here.

According the Kesch, Tyson pulled out of the fight as a result of Don King's influence. Don King and Mike Tyson has been involved in a huge lawsuit against one another. It appears that the two have come to some sort of agreement, and these two boxing powerhouses seem to be together again, at least for the time being. Kesch believes that King convinced Tyson to pull out of the June 21st card because he would have been on an undercard/co-feature.

Kesch informed me that he was very disappointed that the Tyson fight fell through, but would have been very happy to fight Wladimir Klitschko as well. Maskaev beat Wladimir's older brother, Vitaly, in a amateurs, and has been trying to set up a fight with either brother for some time.

As far as Maskaev's future, Kesch would like to see promoter Gary Shaw find a spot on the June 21st undercard for Oleg. Kesch voiced his frustration at not getting the fight, and having rejected other fights while waiting for a this fight to pan out. A spot on the undercard, and the exposure that would come with it, would help Oleg "regain his position in the division". If Oleg can not get a spot on the Lewis/Johnson card, Kesch is also interested in the June 20th ESPN card, also promoted by Gary Shaw, and told me "Oleg is willing to fight anyone in the division".

Despite the setback of losing a lucrative Tyson fight, Kesch is still optimistic about Oleg's potential, and hopes that a Tyson fight will still be in Maskaev's future. Maskaev is anxious to get back into the limelight, and show the new tactics he has been learning under new training and management. In today's heavyweight division, which is more open than it has been in years, any fighter is only one or two fights from a title shot, so Maskaev's next match-up will be very telling.

Any Questions or comments. Email me at Beowolf88@aol.com