See yeah that's what I meant, every claim I have come across on this has been from either Vitali himself or somebody that is Team Vitali, and Oleg himself or somebody that is Team Oleg. It does boil down to which of them you find more credible I guess. But in the absence of proof we can't say resolutely that one version or the other is true. Compare with, say, the Wilder vs. Sconiers knockdown - as much as Team Wilder may want to pretend it never happened and convince the world of that, hundreds if not thousands of people saw the video before it got taken down. This however is a case of needing to have been, to quote Hamilton - in the room where it happened, the room where it happened...
Gents I was only having a bit of fun, I don't think it really mattters either way, both were prettty much kids still & hadnt really developed man strength yet I'd assume, & ye Vitali would wipe the floor with him as a pro, barring injury again lol
He was entertaining but certainly quite slow and had an eggshell for a chin, which is never good, especially at heavyweight.
Liked watching Oleg a few years ago. He was entertaining, won some and lost some in looking to score the KO. He overcame some overly brave match-making by his team in the 90's when he should have been on more of a steady learning curve imo to finally come good in the end and win the WBC title. The first KO of Rahman was wild and the second one to win the title was memorable too.
if it was Dennis Rappaport where the claim originated from then it is total BS. That guy is a clown. He will say or do anything for publicity.
Oleg was like a cat with 9 lives. He suffered so many brutal KO losses, yet was able to gather himself and went on to win a title. He was the classic "win some, lose some" fighter. He had the mental strength to overcome his losses, which people/fighters do not.
He was slow and chinny, but also surprisingly proficient at landing heavy shots from weird angles out of that cagey crouch he fought from. Seemed to be quite good at breaking guys down as well, and he obviously had a lot of raw natural strength that gave even pushing arm punches quite a bit of oomph. I've always wondered who'd've won between him and Lucas Browne, for some reason. They just seem well matched with each other.
His technique reminded me of a fighter from Joe Louis's era, like Max Baer. Not pretty or textbook by any means, but also effective in its way.
I'll never understand how Rahman couldn't beat him. Pretty much in every metric he was superior (even chin). Hell Lance Whitaker knocked him damn unconscious with a weak jab and actually looked shocked he did. Maskaev/Rahman is proof that certain fighters are just other fighters' poison.
I was ringside when he got knocked out cold by Oliver McCall. That told me all I ever needed to know about Oleg's level.
Weird, to me chin is the only area where Maskaev was inferior. Well, that and obviously speed. He was more powerful and had better punch selection than Rock.
