He wasn't so interested in defending against Gomez either, but he did so to keep from being stripped. If the WBC somehow enfores this joke of a mandatory in Maskaev, I'm sure he'll get it out of the way within 120 days as WBC mandated earlier. He has old business to finish with Maskaev, and the fight could sell well in Russia perhaps. But hopefully he can get out of the Maskaev matchup and lure Valuev into the ring. The cut he sustained I don't think will interfere at all, remember he came back just 6 months after having his face torn up good by Lewis. This cut is way up on the forehead and wasn't in a position to bother his vision.
Vitali-Maskaev would be a complete waste of time. Klitschko TKOs him in one or two rounds. But Klitschko has to wait for Valuev-Chagaev and this fight is not yet made. I heard Valuev gets another voluntary defense before summer. So Klitschko vs. the WBA beltholder comes maybe in early 2010.
he wouldn't even need to train for maskaev. if the wbc force him to fight maskaev he should vacate the title, let wlad and maskaev fight for it and face the winner of chagaev/valuev.
Maskaev would be a good score to settle from the amateur days, and a mandatory, and a relatively easy fight for Vitali.
Does it really make a difference? Small window or not, the real issue isn't who he fights next it's how much more money can he make before he retires cuz there is absolutely nobody out there who can beat him. He should fight Maskaev in Moscow and make some nice $$$ in the process.
cut was not in a bad spot...should be able to come back soon....Gomez a fighter who makes you look ugly but he still dominated