Translated material
Not destined to meet
Vitali Klitschko defended his championship title, Oleg Maskaev lost by knockout
On Saturday, 38-year-old Ukrainian heavyweight Vitali Klitschko defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) championship belt for the fourth time this year, defeating the previously undefeated 30-year-old American Kevin Johnson. This fight, which took place in the Swiss capital of Bern, lasted all 12 rounds, after which the judges recorded the champion's complete advantage - 120:108, 119:109, 120:108. A day earlier, in the American city of Sacramento, former WBC world champion 40-year-old Russian Oleg Maskaev was unexpectedly knocked out in the first round of a rating fight by 23-year-old Negy Aguilera from the Dominican Republic.Now we can say with 100% certainty that we will never see a championship fight between Vitali Klitschko and Oleg Maskaev. There is also a high probability that for 40-year-old Maskaev, this 44th fight in his professional career will be the last. The Russian looked painfully helpless in the last fight - age is taking its toll.
Let’s not ask the question: “What did Oleg hope for in this case, when for a year and a half he begged Klitschko Sr. to fight against him?” It is quite possible that the outcome of his fight with the champion could not be the same as with Aguilera, since, unlike the inexperienced and reckless Dominican, Vitaly would not rush headlong at his opponent from the very first minutes, and in this situation Maskaev could look for his chance. But asking Oleg how, with such, to put it mildly, passing defense, which he demonstrated against a little-known fighter, it was possible to return the championship belt, perhaps it makes sense.
“I know this guy, and I know what he does in the ring,” Oleg reassured his fans before the fight. “He continuously moves forward, constantly stopping in front of his opponent, so I will have the opportunity to deliver my powerful blows and eventually knock him out.” First of all, he had to think about his defensive formations, because he knew perfectly well that Aguilera, who is almost half his age and 7 kilograms lighter, would rely on his advantage in speed. But Maskaev, apparently, had no doubt that sooner or later he would catch an inexperienced opponent and meet him with a knockout blow. It didn't work out. Moreover, the very first serial attack of the Dominican practically decided the outcome of the battle in his favor. With a left side kick to the head, he sent the Russian into a “groggy” state, immediately, without allowing him to come to his senses, he delivered another similar blow, and with the next one, with a right side kick to the head, he put the opponent, who had stopped defending himself, on the floor.
Oleg found the strength to get up, but it was already clear that he would not offer long resistance. Almost all the unanswered blows in Aguilera’s new attack again reached their target, and Maskaev, pressed against the ropes, again found himself on the floor. He managed to get up again, but there was no point in continuing the fight any longer. Concerned about the health of the ex-world champion, the judge in the ring stopped the fight. 1 minute and 54 seconds have passed since it started.
Along with this seventh knockout in his professional career (here Oleg is surprisingly stable: seven defeats, all by knockout), Maskaev lost all chances of regaining his championship belt. Let us remember that the victory over Aguilera brought him to the first number of the WBC rating, American Ray Austin, in the qualifying fight with whom they would compete for the status of a mandatory contender for the championship match.
But what can we say now? It is unlikely that Oleg, who is in his fifties, will decide to start all over again. Therefore, let's look at the situation realistically: now there are only two super heavyweights left in the ranks, who in the foreseeable future can return the championship belt of the most prestigious weight category to Russia - this is the mandatory challenger according to the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Alexander Povetkin and number eight in the ranking WBC Denis Boytsov.
And the way events are shaping up, in the fight for him they will have to meet one of the Klitschko brothers. On Saturday, the eldest of them, Vitaly, further strengthened his position as the best heavyweight according to the WBC, defeating American Kevin Johnson on points. The latter, on the eve of this fight, without further ado, followed the path trodden by previous American contenders, loudly promising to return to the United States the championship belt, which was once owned by Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson and other great fighters. So, without false modesty, he put himself on a par with the legends, presenting for this only his track record, consisting of 23 fights, 22 victories and one draw. Having missed, however, that only nine of these 22 victories were won by knockout, and among his 23 previous opponents there was only one who was in the top ten of the rating.
Against the background of his promises, the words of Boris Greenberg, the American manager of the Uzbek boxer Timur Ibragimov, the same one in the fight with whom Kevin made his only draw, sounded dissonant. “The judges laughed at Timur, declaring his fight a draw,” he said. - Johnson ran around the ring more than he boxed, and if that fight had lasted not four rounds, but six or eight, Timur would probably have knocked him out. “Johnson can’t punch, so if Vitali just stands there with his hands down, his opponent won’t be able to knock him out.”
Apparently, not only Greenberg knew about this. The popular American cable channel HBO, known for its ability to shell out several million dollars for a fight that its executives consider worthwhile, did not take Johnson's promises seriously. I was sure that by refusing to broadcast this fight, I would not risk missing the historical moment of the return of the championship belt to the United States.
What about HBO? In Bern, unspoiled by boxing fights of this rank, they did not show due interest in the fight: in the 17,000-seat Postfinance Arena, where it took place, more than two thousand tickets, including VIP seats, remained unclaimed. By and large, those who decided to save on Klitschko and Johnson lost little. The fight turned out to be extremely boring, without any intrigue, since the American practically deprived himself of the chance of success in it. It’s not even that his boxing skills are noticeably lower, it’s just that, with the exception of very rare moments, he did not box, deciding to defend all twelve rounds.
Perhaps Johnson, who was once a sparring partner of Russian Alexander Povetkin, came across one of the good old boxing textbooks, in which it is written that “boxing is the art of defense.” In this component he was truly excellent, especially in his body work. For a 110-kilogram boxer, this is a commendable fact. But, on the other hand, why then were these oaths needed to ruin Christmas for the Ukrainian and return the most prestigious championship title in the USA? It is clear that the rules of the pre-start game welcome attempts to tighten the spring of intrigue as tightly as possible, and in the traditions of professional boxing they have long existed, but, on the other hand, there is also such a thing as the reputation of the boxer himself. Lately there have been too many people who like to scratch their tongues before a fight, who absolutely do not care about backing up their words with deeds.
It would have been nice if the challenger had looked downright helpless in the attack, but as soon as he decided to take some active action, he succeeded. If, for example, his precise blows, which reached Klitschko’s head at the end of the fight, had been more severe, it is still unknown how the matter would have ended. But such attempts by the American during the entire battle can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The same one that, as Johnson himself later said, he injured in the second round.
As for Klitschko, after the fight he did not hide the fact that he wanted to knock out his opponent, but did not think that it would be so difficult. In general, one tried to finish the fight in a vertical position at all costs, and the other was unable to prevent him from doing so. The age, you know, is also no longer a child’s age, and therefore the speeds are not the same. And who finally flew to Bern for the championship belt? If the one who needs the title is defiantly passive, then why, one might ask, go out of his way to someone who already owns it?