20.09.07 – By Geoffrey Ciani: When James J Braddock shocked the world by defeating heavyweight champion Max Baer, his name became permanently etched in the great lure of boxing history. Braddock was better known as ‘The Cinderella Man’ for having overcome great odds in his long quest towards winning the championship. In any otherwise less-than-extraordinary career, Braddock had his moment in the spotlight..
Of course, as is often the case, his moment in the spotlight was short lived. In his very next bout, he was stopped in the eighth round against Joe Louis. After losing the title to Louis, he had a final bout (which he won) before heading off into the sunset. Despite losing the title in his very next fight, Braddock had achieved something that no man could every take away from him—he was a former heavyweight champion of the world!
Last August, Oleg Maskaev shocked the world when he defeated Hasim Rahman to capture the World Boxing Council portion of the heavyweight throne. Like Braddock before him, Maskaev had overcome incredible odds in order to receive his long-awaited crack at the title. When the opportunity finally surfaced, he took advantage much in the same way Braddock did, making him a modern day ‘Cinderella Man’.
On October 6, Maskaev defends his crown against the top-rated challenger, Samuel Peter. Unfortunately for Maskaev, Peter represents a stylistic nightmare for the aging pugilist. In fact, dare I say, Sam Peter is to Oleg Maskaev what Joe Louis was to James Braddock. Put differently, Sam Peter will inevitably bring an end to the storybook career of Oleg Maskaev making his moment “short-lived” in the Braddock mold.
Now I’m not ordinarily one to make bold predictions, but in this case, I am making an exception: Oleg Maskaev has no chance against Sam Peter.
Now many of you are probably wondering how I can make such a bold prediction? After all, boxing is a sport defined by the improbable. I admit, it’s ironic considering I’ve just given two instances wherein improbable underdogs, Maskaev and Braddock, each overcame great odds to miraculously capture championships late in their respective career. In fact, not only is it amazing that these two men won championships, but it is also a marvel they ever earned a title shot in the first place.
So how can it be that Maskaev has no chance at beating Peter?
Well, I suppose something out of the ordinary can happen to help Maskaev salvage his title. Peter could suffer a freak injury during the bout, or perhaps he’ll get careless and throw repeated Golota-esque combos below the belt? However, neither scenario seems very likely, and all things being equal, Peter is going to stop Maskaev inside the distance.
Right now, there aren’t too many boxers (not named Wladimir Klitschko) who have much of a chance against the menacing Nigerian Nightmare. He has tremendous power, an incredible chin, and an uncanny desire to win. Combine this with the fact he is younger and quicker than Oleg, and this spells doom for Maskaev’s championship reign.
It is true that Maskaev packs a pretty good punch, but on the other hand, he is painfully slow, and if Wladimir Klitschko was unable to drop Peter, I’m hard-pressed to see how Maskaev will be able to do so. Maskaev has never been known for having a great chin, as evidenced by various KO losses suffered throughout his poorly managed career. He’s also never been known as a tactical boxer; he is incapable of maintaining a properly orchestrated game plan. These facts do not bode well for Maskaev, giving him virtually no chance of outboxing his foe and an even lesser chance at knocking him out.
Maskaev and Peter are both essentially punchers who look to hurt their opponent in the hopes of preventing the bout from going to the scorecards. Style-wise, there is very little Oleg can do to avoid Peter’s ferocious power. If Maskaev had trouble standing up against the best shots of Mount Whitaker, Kirk Johnson, and Corey “T-Rex” Sanders (not to be confused with the semi-pro golfer, Corrie Sanders), does anyone realistically expect him to stand up against Peter? I didn’t think so.
At the end of the day, when Peter’s hand is raised in victory after Oleg is either counted out or mercifully saved by his corner or the referee, he can still hold his head high. Like Braddock before him, this unlikely success story will always have one thing that nobody can ever take away from Maskaev—he will have been a former heavyweight champion of the world, and that’s more than most can ever dream of!
To read more by Ciani, please visit The Mushroom Mag:
http://www.eatthemushroom.com/mag
To contact Ciani:
geoff@eatthemushroom.com