27.09.07 – By Matthew Hurley: In the wake of Oleg Maskaev pulling out of his scheduled bout with number one contender Samuel Peter, Peter was deemed by the World Boxing Council as interim champion. So, a fight had to be scheduled and, WBC politics being as nefarious as our current political system, Jameel McCline was mandated as challenger. Jameel McCline? Nothing against the big galoot, who has lost every big fight he’s been in, but this mandatory defense, for an INTERIM champion just proves how pathetic the heavyweight division truly is.
The fact is, McCline isn’t even rated in the top ten of the World Boxing Council rankings. From top to bottom this is the list – Samuel Peter, Vladimir Virchis, Oliver McCall, Hasim Rahman, Juan Carlos Gomez, Nicolay Valuev, Alexander Dimitrenko, Donnell Holmes, Alexander Povetkin and David Tua. Jameel McCline isn’t even in the top twenty. And he gets a title shot?
According to a report by the WBC, Oleg Maskaev basically suffered a slipped disc in his back and that led him to pull out of his mandated bout with Samuel Peter. But anyone with half a brain knows that Maskaev never wanted anything to do with Peter. Maskaev, who seemed to be a shot fighter, came back, strung up a series of victories over marginal opponents and then found himself in a title rematch with Hasim Rahman. Rahman is arguably the most underachieving, slightly talented heavyweight who has ever had the belt wrapped around his waist. Maskaev won, made a nondescript title defense and basically called it a day. He doesn’t want to fight Peter, or any other tough fighter in the WBC’s top ten. Good for him. He’s a good guy, but he’s a lousy heavyweight title holder.
So now, with Maskaev on the bench (hopefully permanently) Samuel Peter finds himself with a title belt despite not getting the chance to win it in the ring like he’s always wanted to. And his first opponent will be an undeserving Jameel McCline. McCline has always looked the part of a top heavyweight, big and imposing. And yet he’s never proven himself in the ring. He is a gate keeper. The type of fighter that will stay in there for as long as he can but despite his size and musculature is skittish. Many of his faults come from the fact that he simply turned pro because that was his only recourse. He had no amature background and it shows. Now, because the heavyweight division is what it is, a nightmare, this boxer gets yet another chance at a title belt.
It’s not McCline’s fault. In fact, he’s a pretty nice guy who at least trains hard and tries to win. The problem lies with the WBC. Look for a second at McCline’s record. His seven losses do not inspire. Nikolay Valuev, Zuri Lawrence, Calvin Brock, Chris Byrd, Wladimir Klitschko, Greg Pickrom and Gary Bell all bested “Big Time” McCline. In the final analysis that really isn’t a murderous row of opponents, and he lost to these guys. But he gets a title shot nonetheless. The fact remains, there are much more deserving heavyweight fighters out there – take your pick.