“Samuel Peter has the heart of a champion, great fighters have the heart to win when they are down,” said Dino Duva, promoter of the WBC interim Heavyweight Champion following his fight at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Peter, the knockout artist known as the Nigerian Nightmare, was having a nightmare of his own, when challenger Jameel McCline knocked him to the canvas late in the second round, and several times in the third. But Peter rose from the canvas, dusted himself off, and proceeded to dominate McCline the rest of the way. Add to the mix that Peter had badly injured his left hand during training camp, and you have an even more impressive performance.
“Sam, with a champion’s heart, went through with the fight in spite of the injury, unlike several champions who have pulled out of major fights recently,” said Duva.
Slugger has Fan-Friendly Style
“Sam’s not at his full potential yet, not even close,” said Duva. “You witnessed the beginning of a new era in the heavyweight division, the Sam Peter era, a new era of excitement and explosion in the heavyweight division. Sam’s an exciting slugger and brawler, who loves to mix it up. It’s a style that the fans and television love. His style will have fans flocking back to the heavyweight division.”
Peter now has his sights set on unifying the heavyweight division. In line are Oleg Maskaev, the original opponent for the Garden fight before an 11th hour back injury forced him to the sidelines, IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, WBA titlist Ruslan Chagaev, and the winner of the upcoming WBO championship featuring Sultan Ibragimov against Evander Holyfield.
“Sam’s goal is to fight all of the champions and become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” said Duva. “He clearly showed on Saturday that he’s the man to do it. You can’t keep a good man down.
“We are honored and grateful to the WBC and Jose Sulaiman to be the first to recognize Sam as the heavyweight champion.”