11.12.06 – By Kirk Allen: WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev (34-5, 26 KO’s) easily cruised to a 12-round unanimous decision over Ugandan challenger, Peter Okhello, (18-5, 16 KO’s) on Sunday at the Olympiysky Sports Arena, in Moscow, Russia. The final judge’s scores were 120-107, 118-109, 120-107. In the first round, it was immediately clear that Okhello was going to be having problems with Maskaev’s superior power and skill, as the big 6’4″ Ugandan was continuously tagged with right hand power shots by Maskaev. Fighting out of a crouch, and looking like a modern day Rocky Marciano, Maskaev was able to duck under most of Okhello’s shots, often making him miss badly.
Leaving aside an occasional jab landed by Okhello, the fight was entirely controlled by Maskaev. Okhello, 34, was knocked down in the 10th round, after getting hit with a huge right uppercut from Maskaev, leaving Okhello entangled in the ring ropes.
From there, it appeared that the fight was going to be stopped, and perhaps it should have for when Okhello got up, he was badly battered around the ring by Maskaev.
In the 11th and 12th rounds, Okhello threw very few punches, as he seemed both tired and badly hurt from the sustained beating he had absorbed during the ten previous rounds. During this time, Maskaev landed numerous power shots, from left hooks, to straight right hands, all of which were unanswered by Okhello. My thoughts were at the time, why wasn’t Okhello’s corner people trying to stop the fight, because he was receiving brutal punishment and it was clear, at least to me, that he didn’t have a chance at landing a big shot to stop Maskaev. Trust me, if Okhello was landing punches, I could understand the fight carrying on, but he was taking a beating that rivaled the one-sided shelling that Joe Calzaghe inflicted on Jeff Lacy in 2005. Whatever the case, the referee had no problems with letting the fight continue, and the huge Russian crowd, 12,000 strong, loved it.
In rounds 1-3, Okhello stayed away from Maskaev, circling constantly, while now and then flicking a harmless jab. However, Ohello’s power, or lack there of, was a major problem for him, since he was unable to establish any respect from Maskaev. However, in the 3rd round, Okhello’s best round of the fight, he landed a three punch combination that opened a cut over Maskaev’s left eyebrow. The comination, which was thrown while Okhello was backed against the ropes, gave him the round. That said, that was essentially the only punches that Okhello landed in the entire round. In between that time, Maskaev landed a truckload of left hooks and right hands to the head and body.
In rounds 4 through 8, Maskaev stepped it up, throwing hard power shots, and seemingly trying to take Okhello out. To his credit, though, Okhello absorbed the shots well, while constantly backing away from Maskaev. Once in awhile, though, Okhello would fire back a right hand or a jab, but Maskaev easily ducked most of the punches, partly due to Okhello’s slow hand speed, but also because he was badly telegraphing his punches. Maskaev, on the other hand, was landing numerous three punch combinations that were bruising the face of Okhello. In between this time, Maskaev would back off for a few moments, then would duck his way back inside, and land another three punch combination.
In rounds 9-12, Maskaev threw the majority of punches and landing most of them. Okhello was bleeding from the inside of his mouth, and his eye was badly swollen. In the rare instances that Okhello would land any punches, Maskaev would immediately retaliate like a mad bull, throwing quick, powerful punches. As I mentioned earlier, Okhello was knocked down in the 10th round, by a Maskaev right hand uppercut. From that point on, the fight was a massacre, with Maskaev unloading often, and without next to zero in the way of opposition from Okhello.
While I have a lot of respect for Ohkello for absorbing the punishment dished out by Maskaev, I think he needs to consider another line of work. Okhello showed no power, despite his huge 6’4″ 254 lb frame, and seemed to slap with his punches. Which is why, I suppose, he was selected in the first place for Maskaev’s first title defense. As mentioned by many others, this fight was meant to be a safe fight for Maskaev, one where he could look good in front of his home crowd, while at the same time picking up a nice payday.
With this victory behind him, it’s expected that Maskaev will fight a unification bout with one of the other three heavyweight champions, with possibly Wladimir Klitschko having the best shot of landing the bout. Of the three, I personally think Maskaev matches up well with Wladimir, who I feel would have a hard time landing his big shots against Maskaev. With his crouching fighting style, Maskaev would be taking away Wladimir’s best weapon, his right hand, and would be forced to deal with Maskaev with only his left jab. Besides that potential fight, former middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins has expressed interest in fighting Maskaev. This, too, would be a good match up for Maskaev, and likely a big money fight as well. With his power and size advantage, I think Maskaev would be too much for the slender Hopkins, who would likely come into the fight weighing little more than 200 lbs compared to Maskaev’s 240. Hopkins, who likes to fight on the inside, would be simply overpowered by Maskaev, in my opinion.