By Dave Dominico: I recently read an article from ring magazine offering its opinion of the Klitschko, Maskaev, and Peter debacle. I really felt the article made a very good argument, and I would like to reiterate that here on this site to hopefully put an end to any bickering. As of now, It appears that vitali klitschko will face Maskaev in June for the WBC heavyweight boxing title. The controversy was based on #1 contender Samuel Peter’s right to face Maskaev next, and his camp felt he was unfairly pushed aside. The argument comes down to who has the fight to fight Maskaev next? Peter or Vitali K.? My vote goes to Vitali, and true to my style, here are five reasons why:
#1) Vitali Klitschko never actually lost the title in the ring. He retired as the recognized linear champion. He was awarded the status as “Heavyweight Champion Emeritus”; this status clearly stated that if he were to return to boxing, he would get an automatic shot at the title. Now, if that does not give him the right to challenge Maskaev next, then what was the point of having it? If they are going to give awards like that, they have to back it up. End of story.
#2) did Sam peter really do enough to earn his shot legitimately? We all know that the rankings canand often are manipulated in favor of certain fighter depending on who is backing them up. Peter is no exception. Was defeating a faded out of shape fighter like James Toney are true quantifier of his status? Maybe, but Klitschko was the boxing champion. his champion status logically holds more clout than Peter’s status.
#3) The Buzz factor. There is much more appeal for having Klitschko face Maskaev rather than Peter. The event is much more lucrative overall. Considering the history between the two fighters, and the fact that it is a huge boxing venue in Russia. Overall, the event status is higher having Klischko as the challenger over Peter.
#4) Peter still makes out anyway. For all the bickering, Sam Peter gets a very lucrative step aside fee which is arguably very undeserved. plus the stipulation clearly stated that peter must fight the winner, which almost guarantees a huge purse for fighting the winner of Maskaev and Klischko. Especially if Klitschko cones out the victor. Peter in many ways gets the best deal from this fight no matter what. So what is the problem? Either way, this is a win, win for Sam Peter.
#5) Can we argue that there is definitely some underlying bias here? A while back Bernard Hopkins was pushing for a title shot against Maskaev without him having a preliminary fight at Heavyweight. No one seemed to care. Nor did anyone gripe when Roy Jones Faced John Ruiz for a Heavyweight fight without having a prior tune up at that boxing weight class as well. Many parties are now griping that Klitschko a natural “super” heavyweight must fight his way back into contention before he deserves a title shot. Do you see a bias here? I do. Klitschko’s return to boxing is a good thing overall. We have to wait and see where it goes from here. There you have it.