Maskaev's American Anthem
European-born Maskaev scores second KO over Hasim Rahman for WBC heavyweight title

Ringside by Matt Richardson
and Albert Howell

Photos by Chris Cozzone / FightWireImages

For about a year now, promoter Dennis Rappaport would tell anyone who would listen that his heavyweight fighter, Oleg Maskaev, was the modern day "Cinderella" story - a humble fighter who overcame a rough background and bigger odds to reach the pinnacle of sports, the world heavyweight championship.

Maskaev, who went on a stretch of 2-3 just four years ago, completed the fairy tale his promoter predicted, last night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, in one of the best heavyweight title fights in recent memory, when he upset Hasim Rahman (41-6-2, KOs), violently knocking him out in the twelfth round for the WBC Heavyweight championship.

Maskaev (33-5, 25 KOs) had to overcome a significant points deficit when he scored a through-the-ropes knockout of Rahman in 1999, but the rematch was a much more even and competitive fight that saw both men have their moments, hurting each other with big, hard punches. Maskaev was cut over the left eye and Rahman's face swelled as the two exchanged big punches throughout.

The end came in the twelfth when, with the fight on the line, Maskaev wobbled and knocked down his rival before finishing off matters with a hard right combination on the ropes that prompted referee Jay Nady to call a halt to the fight with less than a minute left.

Up until the point of the stoppage, Rahman vs. Maskaev was one of the best heavyweight fights in years and the second exciting heavyweight fight this year, behind Sergei Liakhovich's upset of Lamon Brewster in April.

Both men came out tentative in the first, with Rahman landing a jab and a hard right off of Maskaev's head in the corner. Maskaev attempted a right of his own in retaliation and later landed two hard rights in the middle of the ring as the round progressed.

Maskaev landed a good right down the middle and two left hooks later in the second round. Maskaev was cut over the left eye but began to work the jab better in collaboration with his right. Rahman landed a jab in the final seconds but Maskaev hit his opponent punched after the bell with a right and left hook.

Maskaev hooked off the jab to start the third while Rahman stalked his opponent, measuring him for a right. Maskaev boxed well from the outside, however, landing an assortment of jabs, left hooks and an uppercut. Rahman rocked Maskaev with a right in the middle of an exchange but Maskaev backed up and recovered well.

Maskaev came forward with a left hook at the start of the fourth but Rahman landed a right in the corner that had Maskaev backpedaling. Maskaev depended too heavily on his right and frequently threw wild, winging shots that the champion easily ducked.

Maskaev landed a hard right in the fifth and Rahman landed a hard, quick right in return. The two exchanged bombs mid-ring and Maskaev seemed to take the harder shot as he leaned on his opponent on the ropes. Maskaev complained of being hit behind the head but Nady let the action continue without issuing a warning. Maskaev landed a right and a left hook that had spit flying from Rahman's mouth.

Nady warned Maskaev again in the sixth for holding, but no points were deducted. Rahman lazily came forward slowly but landed minimal punches of significance. Maskaev landed two hard rights and Rahman landed a good 1-2 at the bell.

Maskaev badly hurt Rahman with two hard rights on the ropes and Rahman sat down on the middle ropes perilously close to going down in the seventh. Rahman came back with a good right later in the round but it was Maskaev who was teeing off the champion at the round’s end.

Both men appeared tired in the eighth, but they exchanged hard shots about a minute into the round. Maskaev was caught with his hands down on the ropes and Rahman capitalized with two rights though Maskaev came back with a good right of his own. When the two fighters were about to clinch Nady moved in to separate the two but then decided against it, giving Rahman the ability to land two hard rights that had Maskaev reeling in the final ten seconds.

Maskaev appeared drained in the ninth but was able to score with solid lefts down the middle and a left hook. Maskaev caught Rahman missing a punch and capitalized with a right that shook the champion. Rahman attempted some wide rights in the final seconds but missed the majority of his power punches.

Maskaev landed a good right, left uppercut in the tenth. Rahman continued to stalk his opponent but frequently threw sloppy combinations that missed their target. Maskaev came back with good shots to the body that left Rahman sitting on the ropes. Some punches may have been low but the punches were clearly taking a toll on Rahman.

Rahman landed a hard right that had sweat shaking off of Maskaev's head in the eleventh and was more active than his opponent. A left and right by Rahman landed in the corner but the punching power was not as effective as it had been a few rounds earlier. Nady called a halt to the fight with five seconds left when Maskaev landed a low blow down the middle. Maskaev came back with a good 1-2 in the final second.

Both men came forward and touched gloves at the start of the twelfth but Nady called a halt only seconds later to fix lose tape around the champion's glove. Maskaev came forward with a hard right and a left hook that wobbled and dropped the champion. The crowd of 8,842 roared as Rahman rose but he was clearly on unsteady legs.

In an ironic twist Rahman fell back down soon after, getting caught in the bottom ring rope and almost went out of the ring once again. Nady correctly called Rahman's trip to the canvas a slip but Rahman was still on shaky ground. He rose again but was caught by a heavy Maskaev barrage on the ropes. Maskaev landed a group of hard rights flush off of Rahman's forehead and when it was obvious that the champion was in big trouble Nady stepped in and called a halt. There were only 43 seconds left in the fight. At the time of the stoppage Maskaev was ahead on two of the three official judges’ scorecards - Jerry Roth had Maskaev ahead seven rounds to four (106-103) while Glen Trowbridge had Maskaev up by a round six rounds to five (105-104).

If the fight had gone the distance judge Anek Hongtongkam would've handed in an even scorecard, even with Maskaev's big final round. Hongtongkam had Rahman ahead 106-103 going into the final round.

Maskaev originally came to prominence with his original knockout of Rahman and once again reached the top of the division with a similar win over the same opponent. An almost 3-1 underdog before the fight, those in attendance wildly cheered and supported the new champion who could wind up fighting any number of attractive opponents in the near future, though manager Fred Kesch said all options were on the table for the new heavyweight champion.

As for Rahman, who didn't show up to the post-fight press conference, his future is clearly unsteady. His best days may be behind him though neither boxer should be embarrassed for the exciting and courageous performance they both put on. -- Matt Richardson

Soto destroys Valle for WBC No. 1 superfeather spot

In the co-featured bout of the evening, Humberto Soto (40-5-2, 24 KOs) completely dismantled his opponent, Ivan Valle (24-8-1, 20 KOs), en-route to recording a fourth-round TKO victory.

This WBC super featherweight eliminator matched two boxers hailing from Los Mochis, Mexico, and saw more than its fair share of drama, including multiple knockdowns and a two-point deduction for hitting below the belt.

In the opening stanza, Valle clocked Soto early with a surprise left hook. The punch served only to wake up his opponent. Soto answered right back. Possessing the faster hands and superior boxing skills, Soto dropped Valle with a left-right combination.

In the second round, Soto emerged from his corner determined to establish his jab. Soto, who was never in danger in this fight, landed a right uppercut that snapped back the head of his foe. Valle tried to fight back but he was clearly outgunned. Previously warned for hitting below the belt, Valle connected with a damaging low blow that prompted Referee Joe Cortez to deduct two points for the foul.

Round three only got worse for Valle. Already far behind on the scorecards, he sensed the urgency and emerged from his corner looking for the big shot that would turn the fight around in his favor. It proved to be a faulty strategy against the dangerous Soto.

A Soto right landed on top of Valle's head, resulting in another knockdown. Soto caught Valle again, this time with a left hook on top of the head that put his opponent down for the second time in the round and third time in the bout.

Soto came out in the fourth looking to put Valle away once and for all…and did! A Soto right uppercut finished the job, as referee Joe Cortez waved off the bout at 0:42 of round number four.

Soto now becomes the mandatory challenger for the WBC Super Featherweight title currently held by Marco Antonio Barrera. Next month, Barrera faces Rocky Juarez with the WBC 130 lb. title on the line.

About his future, Soto said: “I am ready to fight anybody at 130 lbs. I am ready to fight the winner of Barrera-Juarez or the winner of Morales-Pacquiao. I hope one of them steps up to fight me.”  -- Albert Howell

Diaz shocks Santa-Cruz for WBC Interim lightweight belt

Former 1996 United States Olympian David Diaz kept his career alive with a rousing come-from-behind knockout of Jose Armando Santa Cruz in a bout in which the former Olympian was being soundly defeated.

Diaz (32-1-1, 17 KOs) had two swollen eyes and purple welts on his cheeks, but never stopped coming forward throughout the encounter and eventually dropped and stopped Cruz in the tenth round of a scheduled 12-rounder for the WBC Interim lightweight title.

Cruz was ahead on all three judges’ official scorecards at the time of the stoppage (88-83 twice and 87-84) and looked to be on his way to an easy, lopsided unanimous decision. He was always open for Diaz's counterpunches though and Cruz, now 23-2 with 14 inside the distance, would ultimately pay the price for his faulty defense.

Both fighters did effective work on the outside in the first round and referee Richard Steele had little work to do in terms of separating the fighters. Cruz landed a hard, straight right at the round’s conclusion. Cruz continued his success when he landed solid uppercuts and rights when the fighters were up close in the second. When Diaz attempted to counterpunch, though, most of his shots were blocked by his opponent’s tight guard.

Both men exchanged hard punches in the third - Diaz landed to the body when Cruz backed into a corner but Cruz landed well with wide, winging rights and lefts that bounced off of Diaz's forehead.

The pace slowed in the fourth round, as Cruz attempted to pick apart his opponent from the outside. Blood appeared on the right top side of Diaz's face in the fifth and he frequently had trouble eluding his taller opponents jab and follow up right. The pattern of Cruz stalking and Diaz counterpunching continued for much of the sixth though Diaz took some punishment in the corner in the final twenty seconds.

Diaz jumped in with a wide left hook in the seventh but Cruz blocked it and returned fire with punches to the body and a left uppercut to the head that had Diaz grimacing. At this point, Diaz's face began to show the worse for wear as swelling increased under his left eye and over his right. The welts on Diaz's face darkened in the eighth and ninth as Cruz dished out more punishment.

Steele called for a brief time-out in the beginning of the tenth, as Cruz's gloves required additional taping. But just as a decision in Cruz's favor seemed inevitable, a left uppercut rocked him and he wobbled. He backed up and dropped hard to the seat of his pants. Cruz was noticeably shaken when he rose and Diaz pounced on him and dropped him again approximately ten seconds after the prior knockdown. With less than a minute left to the round Diaz came forward and with another assortment of shots once again rocked his rubber-legged opponent and Steele appropriately called a halt at 2:26 of the round. --Matt Richardson

Matirosyan triumphs in lopsided victory

2004 U.S. Olympic representative Vanes Martirosyan (10-0, 6 KOs) had scored knockout victories in his last five bouts before tonight. Although the hot prospect didn’t K.O. his opponent he did knock down Marcus Brooks (6-2, 3 KOs) in the first round on his way to a six-round shutout victory. The scorecards for Martirosyan's lopsided triumph read 60-53, 60-53 and 60-52.

This super welterweight bout was never close. It was a big Martirosyan right to the temple that laid Brooks flat on the canvas in the first stanza. Brooks got back to his feet where he would stay the rest of the night. However, the night belonged to Martirosyan.

Brooks was totally outclassed, but to his credit showed his ability to absorb a ton of punishment. Throughout the bout, Martirosyan tagged his opponent almost at will. Martirosyan fought the perfect fight. He was simply in with an adversary determined to end the fight on his feet and thus deny him of another knockout victory.

To his credit, Brooks tried his best to keep the Martirosyan attack at bay by keeping his jab in his opponent's face. Nevertheless, the strategy was highly ineffective and proved to do little to slow down Martirosyan. Brooks was forced to dance and cover throughout most of the bout. No weapon in Brooks' offensive arsenal had any real impact whatsoever on his foe.

In the sixth round, Martirosyan landed a one-two combination that rocked Brooks. Martirosyan followed up with a short left hook that snapped back Brooks' head. It looked as though Brooks might kiss the canvas again in the final round, but he determinedly hung on consuming his adversary's best shots. -- Albert Howell

Unimpressive Pryor ekes out split win

In a tale of two halves, Aaron Pryor, Jr. (6-0, 4 KOs) emerged with a narrow split decision victory, thanks to a third-round knockdown he scored against his adversary Danny Jevic (7-8-2, 3 KOs) in their six-round super middleweight bout. The scorecards read 57-56 twice for Pryor and 57-56 for Jevic.

At 6' 4” Pryor stands freakishly tall for his weight class. Boxing out of the Kronk Gym with trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner, Pryor dominated the first three rounds with his long, stiff jab.

Jevic demonstrated a decent defense, but Pryor's busy jab continued to slip through Jevic's guard throughout the early rounds.

Despite being outclassed the first half of the bout, Jevic continued to come forward. Jevic paid the price for his aggression in round three. Pryor caught him coming in with a combination of power punches punctuated by a left hook and right that knocked Jevic to the floor. Jevic beat the count, but before the bell would ring to end round three, a Pryor right uppercut would wobble him again. It looked as though Jevic may go down again, but he was able to hang on and complete the round on his feet.

In the fourth stanza, a different Jevic came out of his corner. Jevic stunned Pryor with a big right hand to begin the fourth. Pryor was forced to clinch to buy recovery time. Later in the same round, a big overhand right landed on top of Pryor's head, hurting him.

Jevic pounced on his opponent, throwing everything but the kitchen sink. Pryor had no answer for Jevic's assault. Jevic won the fourth going away.

The next stanza saw Jevic chasing Pryor around the ring. Jevic worked Pryor's body, looking to take the taller man's legs out from under him, Feeling the sting of Jevic's body attack, Pryor became visibly winded.

In the final round, Jevic masterfully works his combinations to the head and body. Pryor fought back but had nothing left on his punches. Although dominant the second half of the fight, Jevic dropped the decision. Pryor's knockdown of Jevic in the third proved to be decisive in the scoring of this bout. -- Albert Howell

Vargas earns unanimous decision over Santos

John Vargas (18-1, 10 KOs) scored a unanimous decision victory over Aneudi Santos (12-5, 9 KOs). The scores were 77-75 twice and 79-73.

The two evenly matched New York fighters did not possess terribly fast hands, but they did possess decent mechanics. This eight-round light heavyweight bout proved to be a real see-saw battle. Vargas edged Santos in the first two rounds by staying more active. Vargas displayed the more effective jab and would double up on his jab from time-to-time. Santos rallied in the third. Enamored with the overhand right, a warmed-up Santos began to unleash his power shots.

Rounds four and five swung back in Vargas's favor. In the fourth, Vargas came out jabbing. He unleashed six unanswered jabs before Santos connected with an overhand right. Vargas pushed Santos to the ropes and connected with three hooks to the body.

Santos rallied again in the sixth and controlled the round with power punches. Vargas returned in the next stanza to outbox his foe. Vargas set the tempo with his jab and footwork. A solid left jab followed by two left hooks punctuated the round for Vargas.

Feeling the urgency of the situation, Santos came out in the eighth and final stanza swinging.

Santos unleashed his bombs while Vargas tried to box and stay on the outside. Santos's power shots proved to be more effective than Vargas's jab.

Nonetheless, it is too little too late for Santos. Vargas, who controlled the early rounds, won by unanimous decision. -- Albert Howell

Kauffman scores first round TKO

This heavyweight bout was scheduled for six rounds, but Travis Kauffman (6-0, 4 KOs) only needed half a round to vaporize his foe James McCloskey (2-3-2, 2 KOs). The undefeated Kauffman wobbled his opponent early in the first. Realizing that he had him stunned, Kauffman measured him for the big right hand. Kauffman found his distance and connected with a right uppercut that hurt McCloskey badly. Kauffman let loose a barrage of punches. Seeing that McCloskey could no longer protect himself, Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to call an end to the bout. Kauffman scored the TKO victory at 1:48 of round one. -- Albert Howell

Bonus photos