Last weekend HBO offered a very mediocre card on pay-per-view. It’s like when you watch an infommercial for a product you think is stupid, and then find out it costs $150. This card was not very good on paper yet the asking price was $50. I wouldn’t be surprised if this PPV garnered the lowest buyrate of the last 5 years for HBO. The main event was a rematch between heavyweights Hasim Rahman and Oleg Maskaev. Maskaev knocked Rahman out of the ring in their first fight and that was the only thing they used to sell the rematch on pay-per-view. If you missed it, here you go:
Hasim Rahman vs. Oleg Maskaev II
For what it’s worth, this PPV turned out to be a lot better than it looked on paper. It still wasn’t worthy of the $50 price tag but action-wise, brought more drama than many of HBO’s past offerings. Hasim Rahman is best known for his one-punch knockout of a disinterested Lennox Lewis. Now Rahman is the only American heavyweight to hold a belt, coming off of a draw against James Toney.
Oleg Maskaev was getting his first shot at a world heavyweight title and had won ten fights in a row since his last loss to Corey Sanders in 2002. If Maskaev were to win the title, all four major heavyweight titles would be held by members of the former Soviet Union.
Hasim Rahman was a heavy favorite to win this fight. He was not the fighter he was when Maskaev knocked him out in 1999 and Rahman showed it early. The reigning WBC Heavyweight champion appeared to be in good shape and dictated the pace early with his jab. Maskaev, to his credit, remained patient. Rahman built an early lead but started to fade in the middle rounds, allowing Maskaev to catch up later in the fight. When the twelfth and final round started, it appeared as though it could go either way but as the saying goes, never leave the fight in the hands of the judges.
A left hook from Maskaev halfway through the last round put Rahman to the canvas. Rahman got to his feet and received a standing eight count, but he wasn’t fully recovered from the shot. Maskaev nearly knocked Rahman out of the ring once again with that power shot. The pressure was applied by Maskaev and Rahman didn’t have enough wits about him to properly defend himself. Referee Jay Nady decided to stop the fight with 43 seconds left in the round, making Maskaev the new WBC Heavyweight champion.
Talks have already begun for a unification bout between Oleg Maskaev and Wladimir Klitschko. That bout would take place in November, so Maskaev won’t have much time to relish his first world title. As of now, the other Soviet-born champions (Nicolay Valuev and Sergei Lyakhovich) aren’t scheduled to face each other in another unification bout. Valuev is scheduled to fight Monte Barret in October while Lyakhovich has had trouble finding an opponent since defeating Lamon Brewster in April.
James Toney Conference Call Highlights
On September 2nd, James Toney will face Samuel Peter in an intriguing heavyweight matchup to be televised on Showtime. Peter is a powerful puncher but Toney ought to give him fits. A national conference call was conducted to promote the fight and as usual, James Toney had plenty to say.
When asked how he would approach a fight with a stronger Sam Peter:
Toney:“I don’t approach any fight different. If you know me, you haven’t ever seen me change my style for anybody. I am not that type of fighter. I do what James does best, and that is just fight. Ruiz is bigger than Sam Peter, and Rahman. Both are stronger than me. You see where that went. So it doesn’t matter. I just know how to fight, period. And that is what this is all about. James Toney flat out knows how to fight. The best fighter in the boxing world, period, ever born.”
His thoughts on the Rahman/Maskaev rematch:
Toney:“Nobody wanted to see that fight. Oleg Maskaev hasn’t done anything since he beat Rahman seven years ago. If he (Rahman) had beaten me like they said he would, he should have knocked me out, as bad shape as I was in when he fought me. He did all this whooping before the fight, but when that bell rang, you saw how tentative he was.”
His response to getting older and Father Time:
Toney:“Father Time? I don’t even know what that is.”
Toney and Peter also got into a few heated exchanges via conference call. This is what transpired when both men were asked to make a prediction:
Toney:“I am knocking him out. I am knocking him out. Sammy, you are getting knocked out.”
Peter:“You are still dreaming.”
Toney:“Speak English.”
Peter:“I am speaking English. You are an American and you can’t even understand me.”
Toney:“You have a little Russian behind you.”
Peter:“I am from Africa.”
Toney:“Yes, you are from Africa.”
Peter:“You don’t even know where you are from. Do you know where you are from? You don’t even know where you are from.”
Toney:“I am from my mama, where are you from? I am going to send you back on a banana boat, punk.”
Floyd Finds A Foe
It wasn’t easy, but Floyd Mayweather Jr finally found an opponent for his November 4th, HBO PPV date. In what turned out to be a swerve but then regressed back into an anti-swerve, Pretty Boy Floyd will challenge Carlos Baldomir for his WBC Welterweight championship. Mayweather was originally rumored to fight Baldomir, when suddenly those rumors changed to Cory Spinks as recently as three days ago. Spinks’ manager claimed a deal with Mayweather was 99% done. I guess that final 1% was a dealbreaker.
Carlos Baldomir reemerged in the fight plan and he’s a far better choice. The ideal matchup would be against Ricky Hatton but when Cory Spinks is the alternative, Baldomir suits me just fine. This is an important fight for Mayweather to silence the critics that say his welterweight bout with Zab Judah was for a paper championship. The only reason Judah held any titles for his fight with Mayweather is because Baldomir didn’t make enough money in his title fight with Judah to pay all the sanctioning fees. Baldomir is the true welterweight champion and Mayweather needs to defeat him to be able call himself a welterweight champion.
Personally, I don’t think Mayweather will have a problem defeating Baldomir. It should be a good fight since I don’t think Baldomir will be intimidated by Floyd’s persona. I just believe Mayweather will be too fast for the durable Argentinean. Baldomir looked like a million bucks against Arturo Gatti. Unfortunately, Mayweather looked like a trillion bucks against the same man. It will be interesting to see Floyd handle Baldomir’s relentless assault, but I see no way that it overpowers him. Regardless, I’m just happy he isn’t fighting Cory Spinks.
Results From Last Week
– Grady Brewer defeated Vinroy Barrett in a first round fight from The Contender.
– Heavyweight Alonzo Butler remained undefeated with a lopsided unanimous decision over Marcus Wheeler.
– Verno Phillips earned a TKO over Teddy Reid in the final round of their 12-round battle. Reid was knocked down in the ninth round.
– Brian Viloria was upset by Omar Nino Romero, losing a unanimous decision as well as his WBC Light Flyweight title.
– Brian Minto knocked out Andy Sample in the first round.
– Monty Meza Clay defeated Dean White by TKO in the 6th round.
– Exciting lightweight Edner Cherry overcame an injured right hand in his 12th round TKO of Daniel Alicea on Friday Night Fights.
– Joe Mesi continues his comeback with a 2nd round TKO over Dennis Matthews.
– Former world featherweight champion Derrick Gainer defeated Phillip Payne by split decision. Gainer is attempting a comeback as well but a split decision over a guy with a record of 16-19-1 is a bad sign.
– Aaron Pryor, Jr. eked out a split decision over Danny Jevic.
– Humberto Soto earned a title shot with the Barerra/Juarez winner after defeating Ivan Valle by TKO in the 4th round.
– David Diaz scored an upset over Jose Armando Santa Cruz to win the WBC Lightweight Title. Santa Cruz was comfortably ahead on all the cards when Diaz landed an uppercut in the tenth round that rocked Santa Cruz’s world. Diaz put the champ down twice in the tenth round and finally registered a TKO victory later in the round.
Spit Bucket
Eugene Tierney has the new MLB power rankings.
Daniels gives his AFC predictions.
For more NFL news, check out Pancakes In the Age of Enlightenment.
Matt Basilo is back with A Case of the Mondays.
Josh Clinton puts up with a week’s worth of MTV shows.
