13.11.05 – By Troy Ondrizek: This fight between Sinan Samil Sam and Oleg Maskaev was mocked and scorned by fight fans wanting to see the match between Rahman and Klitschko instead. Well for those who saw the fight, it can easily be said that this fight was far more interesting than anything a fight fan would’ve seen involving Rahman. Now I predicted Maskaev by a mid to late round KO, but Sam proved that he has some good whiskers and acted like a solid punching bag for the Old warrior Maskaev.
The action started early and continued throughout the entire match, with Oleg controlling the tempo throughout. Maskaev came with the boxing tools I expected to see out of Sam. He countered well and caught the Bull with many flush hooks and jabs. Seemingly every time that Sam came in with a combo, Maskaev would cover-up or parry the shots and counter with two or three of his own. Maskaev boxed well, showed more defensive skills than I thought he could possess and he was much faster than the younger Sam. I didn’t see the pure power from Maskaev as he has shown in the past, but apparently an old dog can learn some new tricks, as Maskaev did in learning how to box and pace and pressure effectively.
Earlier on we heard that Wladimir is planning on traveling to see Don King and finalizing a fight with Chris Byrd. This makes things intriguing for Maskaev as Lamon Brewster has made it clear he wanted to fight the winner of Rahman/Klitschko, or now just a unification fight with Rahman. Even though Oleg is now Rahman’s mandatory, the question is whether or not Rahman will take an exemption like Vitali did and fight a non-mandatory title belt with Brewster for a very possible lucrative fight? Or will he fight Maskaev for probably a lot less money, but he can try to avenge his previous loss to Maskaev and gain some credibility as a Champion. I personally think Rahman is in a lot of trouble either way. Brewster will most likely dominate Rahman late and win, and with what Oleg Maskaev showed tonight, Rahman might not be able to handle what “The Big O” can bring to the ring.
As I stated before, Alexander Povetkin looked very good as he outclassed a hard-headed Canadian in Stephane Tessier, to take an UD in four rounds. Povetkin has become a favorite in Germany and might sneak in one more fight this year on another Sauerland promotions fight. Hope to see more of this young talented fighter.