Oleg Maskaev vs. Jerry Quarry

Why not?

A prime Maskaev stands 6'3" weighs about 240 solid Lbs. and has a reach of 79". He's big, he's strong, and he has power in both hands. He was well conditioned but his chin was not one of the best I've seen in recent years. He was stopped seven times (once age 39, once age 40). Let's look closer-

LKOby1 McCall (in his 7th pro fight) 1996
LKOby11 Tua (good fight, in his 12th pro fight) 1997

He went undefeated from late '97 - late '00. During this stretch he beat among others-

Alex Stewart KO7
Booker T. Word KO4
Courage Tshabalala KO9
Hasim Rahman KO8
Derrick Jefferson KO4

He lost two in a row, LKOby4 Kirk Johnson (2000) and LKOby2 Lance Whitacker (2001). He came back with two KO wins then was stopped in 8 by Corey Sanders (2002). Whitacker and Sanders were giants in the ring and Johnson was a pretty big guy as well (who could also box very well).

He went undefeated from 2003 - early 2008. He beat mostly lower level guys but did manage to pick up the WBC HW Belt by stopping Hasim Rahman (KO12) in their rematch. He made one successful defense then lost the title to Sam Peter (LKOby6) at age 39.

So, can he beat a prime Quarry?

A prime Quarry is 6' with a 72' reach and about 200Lbs. It would look like a man vs. a boy in the ring... but that doesn't always determine the winner.

As bad as Maskaev's chin looked vs. some of the fighters he faced... I really don't think his chin would be an issue vs. Quarry. McCall, Tua, Johnson, Sanders, Whitacker, Peter, and even Nagy Aguilera (Maskaev's last opponent, LKOby1) are huge compared to Quarry. Like it or not but many times... size matters, especially if someone knows how to use their size.

Vs. McCall, Maskaev was very green.

Vs. Tua he surprised many by giving Tua trouble thru 10+ rounds of the scheduled 12 rounder. Just an example of how he improved after the loss to McCall.

So, the fight?

Discuss-

 

Yeah , Quarry gets talked about around here (by some) like he is an all-time great... I really don't understand. Anyway, like I've said many times-

Quarry was very tough, had a good chin and plenty of heart. He was a decent overall fighter but no techniacl wizard. He had a pretty decent workrate.

He wasn't super fast and his footwork wasn't a thing of beauty. He wasn't a defensize wizard or very elusive at all. He wasn't a huge puncher, wasn't a wizard at cutting the ring off, and wasn't a great finisher.


Maskaev is far from great but at his best he was a very big and strong, well conditioned puncher with a decent workrate. At his best he lasted until the 11th round vs. a prime Tua. He took good shots from Rahman in both of their fights without going down and eventually stopped Rahman both times (KO8 and KO12). 36-7 (27) overall and 2-1 (1) in HW World title fights.

He outboxed Corey Sanders for 7 rounds. In the 8th round Sanders dropped Maskaev twice and stopped him. Sanders wasn't great but he was fair and he was huge... 6'6" with an 81" reach and fairly solid at over 300Lbs (312 for his fight with Oleg). Sanders entered the fight at 22-6 and was at his best for this fight.

I don't see a smallish, average punching HW like Quarry being able to hurt Maskaev enough to make a major difference.

Maskaev by decision! Quarry is bloody but not bloody enough to force a stoppage.

 

I would totally watch a video of Maskaev's best KO's... KO8 and KO12 Rahman and KO4 Jefferson are good KO wins. Some of his KOs over lower level guys were pretty intense as well.