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| Date | 12 August 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBC Heavyweight Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maskaev wins via 12th-round TKO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hasim Rahman vs. Oleg Maskaev II, billed as America's Last Line of Defense, was a professional boxing match contested on 12 August 2006, for the WBC heavyweight championship. [2]
Since the retirement of Vitali Klitschko elevated him to a two time Heavyweight Champion, Hasim Rahman had made one defence, a majority draw against James Toney. Despite calls for a rematch Rahman's promoter Bob Arum stated that Rahman would face his mandatory challenger Oleg Maskaev, who had beaten former European champion Sinan Şamil Sam in a WBC eliminator bout the previous November. [3]
The two had faced each other in November 1999 where Maskaev stunned Rahman with an 8th-round KO where Rahman was sent out of the ring, landing next to HBO's Jim Lampley.
The bout was billed as "America's Last Line of Defense" in recognition of the fact that Rahman was the only US born heavyweight who currently held a version of the heavyweight title, this despite Maskaev being a naturalized US citizen. Although Arum had been pursuing a defense against Calvin Brock in November, it was hoped that a Rahman victory would set a New Year clash with IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, [4] despite Klitschko adviser Shelly Finkel coming to terms with Shannon Briggs to fight Klitschko on 11 November, the deal had remained unsigned in the hope that Wladimir would face the winner of Rahman vs Maskaev.
Rahman controlled most of the early rounds, using his jab and combination punching to dictate the tempo of the fight. Maskaev was consistently warned by referee Jay Nady about excessive holding, which the ringside HBO commentators, which included Lennox Lewis, felt was unwarranted and one-sided.
Maskaev knocked down Rahman early in the final round, with a left right combination. Rahman made it up but soon he was holding on to the rope to stay on his feet. Maskaev landed a flurry of blows prompting the referee to wave off the bout in order to save Rahman from further punishment.
Two of the three judges Jerry Roth and Glenn Trowbridge had Maskaev ahead with scores of 104–105 & 103–106, while Anek Hongtongkam had it for Rahman 106–103. [5]
HBO's Harold Lederman had the bout scored 104–105 for Maskaev going into the 12th round, ESPN.com's Dan Rafael had it 106–103 for Rahman, with his colleague David Cooper having it 105–104 for Rahman. [6]
Speaking after the fight Maskaev said "I'm proud of where I come from, but I consider myself a Russian-American...this is a message to everyone: European fighters are tough." [7]
There was talk of Klitschko fighting Maskaev in a title unification match at Madison Square Garden in November, however Maskaev oped to face the little known Okello Peter in December while Klitschko faced Brock. [8] [9] [10]
Confirmed bouts: [11]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 United States | HBO |
Lennox Claudius Lewis is a boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and held the undisputed championship. Holding dual British and Canadian citizenship, Lewis represented Canada as an amateur at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics; in the latter, he won a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division.
Cornelius Johannes Sanders was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, which was considered one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history; The Ring magazine named it the Upset of the Year. In 2004, having vacated the WBO title, Sanders faced Wladimir's brother Vitali Klitschko in an unsuccessful challenge for the vacant WBC and Ring heavyweight titles. He also held the WBU heavyweight title from 1997 until 2000 and the South Africa national heavyweight title in 1991.
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC title again from 2005 to 2006. He was ranked as a top 10 heavyweight by BoxRec from 2000 to 2007, and reached his highest ranking of world No.6 in 2000.
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held the world heavyweight championship twice, including the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and Ring magazine titles. A strategic and intelligent boxer, Klitschko is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. He was known for his exceptional knockout power, using a strong jab, straight right hand and left hook, quick hand speed, great physical strength which he employed when clinching opponents, and his athletic footwork and mobility, unusual for boxers of his size.
Samuel Okon Peter is a Nigerian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008, when he stopped Oleg Maskaev in six rounds. In his prime, he was known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers, having faced Wladimir twice and Vitali once. Peter was named among the 20 greatest athletes in the history of independent Nigeria by The Punch in 2023, while his capturing of the WBC heavyweight title was ranked the 26th most memorable moment in independent Nigeria's sports history by Premium Times in 2020. He was ranked by The Ring among ten best heavyweights at the conclusion of a year from 2005 to 2008, reaching his highest ranking of world No.2 in 2007. Peter is known for his punching power and holds a 78.9% knockout-to-win ratio.
Oleg Alexandrovich Maskaev is a Russian-American former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2006 to 2008.
Calvin Vance Brock is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2007. He was ranked as the world's No.7 heavyweight by The Ring at the conclusion of 2005. Calvin Brock was trained by Tom Yankello. In 2006, he won Ring Magazine's Knockout of the Year for his win against Zuri Lawrence and challenged for the IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. Brock was forced to retire after receiving retinal damage in his right eye following his loss to Eddie Chambers.
Derrick Lavon Jefferson is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for the WBO title in 2001, and is perhaps best remembered for his brutal left hook-knockout of Maurice Harris in 1999.
Edward Chambers is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by The Ring at the conclusion of 2009. A defensively-oriented fighter, Chambers has been widely credited for his counterpunching skills and particularly praised for his hand speed and footwork. He has also been one of the first heavyweights with ability to switch between fighting orthodox and southpaw.
Lennox Lewis vs. David Tua, billed as Royal Rampage, was a professional boxing match contested on November 11, 2000 for the WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight championships.
Hasim Rahman vs. Lennox Lewis II, billed as Final Judgment, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal champion Hasim Rahman and former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. The bout took place on November 17, 2001 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada, and served as a rematch of their April 22 bout in which Rahman scored a major upset.
Chris Byrd vs. Evander Holyfield was a professional boxing match contested on December 14, 2002 for the vacant IBF heavyweight championship.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman, billed as "X-Plosive", was a professional boxing match contested on 13 December 2008 for the IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight championship.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Corrie Sanders, billed as The Next Big Thing was a professional boxing match contested on 8 March 2003 for the WBO Heavyweight Championship.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Alexander Povetkin, was a professional boxing match contested on 5 October 2013 for the WBA, IBF, WBO, The Ring and IBO heavyweight championship.
Hasim Rahman vs. James Toney, billed as The Big Boys are Back, was a professional boxing match contested on 18 March 2006 for the WBC heavyweight championship.
Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder was a professional boxing match, billed as Return to Glory, was a professional boxing match contested on 17 January 2015 for the WBC heavyweight championship.
Oleg Maskaev vs. Samuel Peter, billed as Championship Heat, was a professional boxing match contested on 8 March 2008, for the WBC heavyweight championship.
Samuel Peter vs. Vitali Klitschko, billed as Dangerzone, was a professional boxing match contested on 11 October 2008, for the WBC heavyweight championship.
