14.02.07 – Dino Duva, promoter of WBC #1 heavyweight contender Samuel Peter, wishes to issue the following response to recent public comments made by representatives of WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev and former champion Vitali Klitschko. Currently in informal talks over who will face Maskaev in his next defense, Duva says he’s troubled by the insinuations being made by the other two fighters’ teams.
“I feel I needed to respond to their insulting comments. I’ve been reading these reports in the media that the Maskaev and Klitschko people have been putting out, where they’re saying that the money they’re offering is ‘life-changing’ money for Samuel and how it’s insane to turn this much money down. I resent them talking like Sam Peter is some sort of flash-in-the-pan peasant. It’s an insult. The two and half million dollar step-aside fee that they have offered is a fraction of what Samuel Peter will earn in his career, so don’t insult us with these comments. The fact is that Dennis Rappaport, Maskaev’s promoter is the one who is trying to grab as much money as he can for one fight because he doesn’t have enough confidence in his own fighter to think long-term. I believe Oleg Maskaev is more of a champion than that and that Rappaport is the one trying to convince Maskaev not to fight Sam Peter.”
Duva also expresses a sincere wish that Team Maskaev and Team Klitschko can keep the rest of their “propaganda” out of the public forum. “I prefer to stay out of this petty talk in the media, but I needed to respond on behalf of Samuel. We have made proposals back and forth and the fact is that we’ve offered very lucrative deals to them as well. And above all, what we have offered them sets things the way they should rightfully be. We are making the good-faith effort to work this out, but it’s still our firm position that Samuel has the right to the Maskaev fight immediately. And if a deal doesn’t get made very soon, both the Maskaev and Klitschko camps better stop dreaming about the money they can make fighting each other and prepare to dish out a lot of legal fees. We are prepared for that 100%, are they?”