Oleg Maskaev

Oleg Maskaev
Statistics
Real name	Oleg Maskaev
Nickname(s)	The Big O
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Reach	201 cm (79 in)
Nationality	Russian
Born	March 2, 1969 (1969-03-02) (age 42) Zhambyl, Soviet Union
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	43
Wins	36
Wins by KO	27
Losses	7
Draws	0
No contests	0

Oleg Alexandrovich Maskaev (Russian: Олег Александрович Маскаев; born March 2, 1969, in Zhambyl, Kazakh SSR) is a Russian professional boxer and a former WBC heavyweight champion. He is an ethnic Mordvin.

Boxing career

Maskaev, a former mine worker, began his career in the 1980s as an amateur boxer in the Soviet Union, where he held a victory over world champion Vitali Klitschko. He was the champion of the Soviet Army and later the national cup winner. His professional boxing career began in 1993.

Oleg is known for his powerful right-hand punch: he has knocked out former WBO heavyweight challenger Derrick Jefferson, contender Alex Stewart, and twice knocked out former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. However, he is also noted for a weak chin that was evident in his knockout losses to contenders Oliver McCall, David Tua, Kirk Johnson, Lance Whitaker, Corey Sanders and journeyman Nagy Aguilera.

His most famous victories have been his two wins over Hasim Rahman. Maskaev knocked Rahman off balance, sending his rival out of the ring in the 8th round on November 6, 1999. This fight is also notable for the famous "chair incident", in which noted referee, Steve Smoger, who was backup referee for this fight, was struck in the head by a chair thrown by a fan who was later arrested.

He later fought Rahman again and defeated him for the WBC heavyweight title by knocking him out in the 12th round on August 12 2006. His second win over Rahman was preceded by a streak of victories that helped rejuvenate Maskaev's career and earned him the "Comeback fighter of the Year" award in The Ring magazine in 2006.

Maskaev won his first title defense against Peter Okhello on December 10 2006 by unanimous decision.

Maskaev fought against Samuel Peter for the WBC Heavyweight title on March 8 2008 and was doing well in the early rounds, despite Peter's repeated rabbit punching and the referee's warnings. In the 5th round Maskaev landed some of his best shots on his opponents chin, but to no avail: Peter was seemingly unaffected, visibly shaking Oleg. He lost 5 of the 6 rounds, with Peter winning by TKO with 3 seconds remaining in the sixth round.

In late 2008 he beat opponent Robert Hawkins by UD after 10 rounds and then defeated but unheralded Rich Boruff on March 14, 2009 via first round KO, giving him mandatory contender status to the WBC Heavyweight Championship currently held by Vitali Klitschko. He fought Nagy Aguilera on December 11 in Sacramento, California at the Memorial Auditorium in a tune up fight for his eliminator with Nagy Aguilera, but was shockingly knocked out in the first round. Getting stunned with a overhand right-left hook combo and knocked down soon after, another barrage by Aquilera hit Maskaev hard knocking him out. Maskaev did not land a punch in the fight, and has since stated that he may retire following the loss.

Nationality

Maskaev was born in Taraz to Mordvin parents. He has lived in the U.S. since 1999 with his wife, Svetlana, and four daughters. He acquired US citizenship in 2004. He currently resides in West Sacramento, California. Before his first encounter with Hasim Rahman in 2006, he said "I would say I'm a proud Russian-American. So right now, I'm a citizen of America, of [the] United States... Whoever is going to win is going to be American."^[1] In the run-up to his title defense against Peter Okhello, he stated regarding his citizenship: "Russian. I don't want to talk about that anymore. I will walk to the ring under the Russian flag and Russian anthem as I'm now a Russian citizen."^[2] Russian president Vladimir Putin granted him Russian citizenship on December 9, 2006.^[3]

Professional boxing record

36 Wins (27 knockouts, 9 decisions), 7 Losses, 0 Draws [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	36–7	Nagy Aguilera	TKO	1 (10)	11/12/2009	Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, United States	Maskaev was down prior to knockout.
Win	36–6	Rich Boruff	TKO	1 (10)	14/03/2009	Ice Palace, Saransk, Russia
Win	35–6	Robert Hawkins	UD	10	06/09/2008	Red Square, Moscow, Russia
Loss	34–6	Samuel Peter	TKO	6 (12)	08/03/2008	Plaza de Toros, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico	Lost WBC heavyweight title. In round 6, a right hand connected flush on Maskaev during a sustained flurry, and he fell back toward the ropes. The referee stopped the fight since Maskaev was badly hurt.
Win	34–5	Okello Peter	UD	12	10/12/2006	Olympisky Sport Hall, Moscow, Russia	Retained WBC heavyweight title.
Win	33–5	Hasim Rahman	TKO	12 (12)	12/08/2006	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Won WBC heavyweight title. Rahman was knocked down early in the final round. Maskaev landed a flurry of blows with Rahman unable to defend himself. The referee stopped the bout to save Rahman from further punishment.
Win	32–5	Sinan Samil Sam	UD	12	12/11/2005	Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany	Won WBC International heavyweight title. WBC heavyweight title eliminator. Samil Sam suffered a broken jaw during the 2nd round & lost a point in round 11 for a headbutt.
Win	31–5	Livin Castillo	TKO	3 (10)	24/06/2005	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Castillo was knocked down twice in the 3rd round. Following the second knockdown, the referee asked Castillo to step forward, and then elected to stop the bout.
Win	30–5	Quinn Navarre	KO	3 (10)	22/01/2005	Coushatta Casino Resort, Kinder, Louisiana, United States
Win	29–5	David Defiagbon	SD	10	23/07/2004	Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States	Defiagbon down in round 6.
Win	28–5	Craig Tomlinson	TKO	2 (10)	16/04/2004	Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	27–5	Julius Francis	TKO	2 (10)	27/11/2003	Olimpyskiy Sports Palace, Chekhov, Russia
Win	26–5	Dennis McKinney	TKO	1 (10)	25/09/2003	Huntington Townhouse, Huntington Station, New York, United States
Win	25–5	Sedreck Fields	TKO	9 (10)	06/09/2003	Sport Palace, Kiev, Ukraine	Fields corner threw in the towel.

Sources

1. ^ espn.com
2. ^ fightnews.com
3. ^ lenta.ru

External links

• Professional boxing record for Oleg Maskaev from BoxRec

Sporting positions
Preceded by Hasim Rahman	WBC Heavyweight Champion August 12, 2006 – March 8, 2008	Succeeded by Samuel Peter

Persondata
Name	Maskaev, Oleg
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 2, 1969
Place of birth	Zhambyl, Soviet Union
Date of death
Place of death