Let's make a more detailed study of Maskaev's chin

for the purpose of figuring out who would win out of the match between peter/maskaev, i decided to find all of oleg's losses (and all by ko of course) and watch them.

from what i gathered his chin is below average. his chin is NOT really china, and here's my reasoning.

against mccall who is a big puncher, it was oleg's 7th pro fight. mccall was a seasoned fighter with something like nearly 30 fights under his belt! and as we all know he ko'ed lennox lewis so mccall is no slouch.

second loss was 5 fights later against david tua who also had more than double his record in pro fights. it was in the 11th round. maskaev was exhusted and when tua landed some big bombs it was all over. but again. is it really a great shame to being ko'ed by tua of all people? john ruiz was bombed out in 19 seconds by tua, and of course huggybear doesn't have a china chin as evident from other fights his been in.

kirk johnson might not be a fearsome puncher, but the shots he winged at maskaev were truly fast and had mean intentions on them. maskaev was hit with great crisp shots flush on the jaw. again, an average chin probably would have crumpled under that assault.

the lance whitaker loss immediately after that is more physcological i feel. yes he was ko'ed fair and square, but he was also crying when trying to get up. i think he was simply not ready to return to the ring at that time, mentally that is.

and finally the corey sanders ko. corey sanders might be a big slow and super fat dude, but he put some accuracy and speed behind those 320 pounds of blubber, and like valuev, he might not be devastating for his size, but if anyone that big throws a good shot, it's bound to hurt.

basically his chin is below average, BUT not china. what made his record look far more terrible than it otherwise would have been are a couple factors.

1. greed by his managers. i mean, throwing him in with mccall in his 7th pro fight is just stupid. certainly didn't help his confidence any! and then tua not long after!

2. weak defence. because maskaev is quite slowish, having a bad defence is just asking for trouble. all the shots landed were clean crisp bombs. the opponents never really had to break down his guard or get lucky. he was simply always available to be hit.

3. the fighters who ko'ed him where either BIG or p4p punchers of that time period.

peter can ko maskaev. there is no doubt about that. but if maskaev focuses on stamina and moves for 12 rounds and blocks intelligently, then there's a good chance he can protect his chin and win a UD. it would not surprise me either way.

 

It is no secret that Maskav's chin is weak. You don't need the CIA to figure that out.

Maskaev has greatly improved his defense, and fights far more conservative to protect his chin. We now know Maskaev can also KO Peter, should he land a big punch. Maskaev has everything else pretty good, he is very well conditioned, a skilled boxer, hard puncher.

 

Chins don't improve with age, so there is no question his major vulnerability is still very much present. He's improved as a fighter and improved defensively though which is the reason he hasn't been dropped in a few years.

 

very exciting few weeks in the heavyweight division

 

Maskaev is stopped by Whitaker, McCall, Johnson and Sanders and Peter is dropped by McCline - and is it fair to say that it's equally probable a kayo for Maskaev and Peter? And when did Oleg improve his defense and boxing approach - against Sam and Okhello? I want someone to state that had Oleg not caught Rahman, he would surely have won the WBC title... Of course, I see a window of opportunity for Maskaev because he's a heavy hitter and Peter has a lot of vulnerabilities.

 

Maskaev is a powerful to 240 lbs HW. I have no doubt he is strong and can punch. He can KO Peter, if lands big. It don't seem, Peter worries to much about defense, and is wide open to get hit. It could cost him! I think Maskaev is much more conservative and has a much better defense. Peter also throws really ****ing wide punches, that can be seen coming.

 

Geppy, seems to me that what you have just said only justifies that Peter can't kayo Maskaev. Alright, I didn't say that he would kayo Maskaev either... Now, the only reason Big 240 pounder Oleg can kayo Peter is cause the Nigerian has no defense and Oleg has a better one? Peter is not stupid enough to get kayoed when searching for one... Also, Geppy, don't you think there is some sort of Iggy's backers unfavouring Peter's chances and the other way around - Peter's supporters worsening Iggy's chances against Wlad?

 

"Maskaev is stopped by Whitaker, McCall, Johnson and Sanders and Peter is dropped by McCline - and is it fair to say that it's equally probable a kayo for Maskaev and Peter?"

You are confused. Where did I ever say that it was "equally" a chance for them to KO each other? I didn't, period!

But Maskaev can KO Peter, if he lands big. Prior to the Mccline fight there was a belief that Peter's chin was indestuctable and that is not the case. I do beleive Peter has a leaky defesne and throws wide punches, so he could get caught and Ko'd. But Peter should be favored because we know Maskaev can't take a good punch.

 

Alright, then I'm confused in reading in between your lines but there are guys around here that say that Maskaev is favoured to win and better than that, to kayo Peter.

I never had an idea that his chin was undestructable cause there should not exist such a thing. I also believe Peter is very wide with punches and he can crumble by way of sharp counter-shots... I just don't think Oleg is the one cause he also looks to load up in every shot under the heat of the battle - the uneventful contest against Okhello was a clear case of what is still Maskaev's main asset - not his defense, not his conservative boxing, not his improved chin, just that he still relies on punching power all the same. It's going to be a true punch-fest with a lot of sloppy punching and guys all ova the place... Cannot possibly last 12 rounds.

 

If this was the same Maskaev that fought Rahman in '06 I would be more willing to back him to beat Peter, but this version will be 39 years old and with some 15 months worth of ring rust.

Peter may have been embarrassed against McCline, but on the other hand may benefit and be focussed from such a tough fight and experience. He's ready for battle, I cannot say 100% that Maskaev will be.

 

Whitaker touched him and he went down and unable to get up. Johnson was throwing bombs and each one was hurting Maskaev. He is getting knocked out again.

 

That's really it with Maskaev. Anyone can be dropped on a good punch. But it's the recovery time that kills. And Maskaev simply doesn't recover fast enough. Against a guy like Sam Peter who goes berserk when these opportunities arise, it's likely you see the same sort of stoppage you saw in fights against Yanqui Diaz and Taurus Sykes.