Wait and see. Rappaport does not care about Peter or the WBC. He is trying to get the biggest payday for Maskaev and for himself. That is why he can thumb his nose at the alphbet boys, call Oleg the linear champion and defend against the most widely known boxer on the planet: Evander Holyfield, and make a lot of money in Moscow. Maskaev can retire a rich man which he won't necessarily do with Peter. What is it really all about anyway.....MONEY! Watch for news about this fight soon.
Not happenin' in my opinion. Oleg will fight either Peter, or a K Brother. He'll either fight his mandatory, or take a big fight that everyone wants to see.
Maskaev will continue to be the champion until he is beat or retires. A strong case will be made for the line of succession from John L. Sullivan until now and Maskaev is it. For what its really worth, the WBC belt will always be there. Linear Heavyweight Boxing Title Changes "The man who beat the man who beat the man" Year Date Winner Loser Result Location 1882 Feb 7 John L. Sullivan - Paddy Ryan TKO-9 ret Mississippi City, MS For the World bare knuckle title fought under the London Prize Ring rules. 1885 Aug 29 John L. Sullivan - Dominic McCaffrey p; W-6 ref Cincinnati, OH For the vacant World title fought under the Marquees of Queensbury rules with boxing gloves. 1892 Sep 7 James J. Corbett - John L. Sullivan ; KO-21 New Orleans, LA Sullivan came out of semi-retirement to fight Corbett for the title using the Marquees of Queensbury rules. Boxing from now on would be governed by these rules. 1897 Mar 17 Bob Fitzsimmons - James J. Corbett ; KO-14 Carson City, NV 1899 Jun 9 James J. Jeffries - Bob Fitzsimmons KO-11 Coney Island, NY 1905 May 13 James Jeffries announced his retirement. The title declared vacant 1905 Jul 3 Marvin Hart - Jack Root TKO-12 rsf Reno, NV For the vacant title, James J. Jeffries refereed the fight and presented the title belt to Hart. 1906 Feb 23 Tommy Burns - Marvin Hart W-20 ref Los Angeles, CA 1908 Dec 26 Jack Johnson - Tommy Burns TKO-14 rsf Sydney, Australia 1910 Jul 4 Jack Johnson - James J. Jeffries TKO-15 rsf Reno, NV Jeffries came out of retirement to fight Johnson for the title, Even though Marvin Hart and Tommy Burns were the last two champions, this bout actually determined the linear title. 1915 Apr 5 Jess Willard - Jack Johnson KO-26 Havana, Cuba 1919 Jul 4 Jack Dempsey - Jess Willard TKO-3 ret Toledo, OH 1926 Sep 23 Gene Tunney - Jack Dempsey W-10 unan Philadelphia, PA 1928 Jul 31 Gene Tunney announced his retirement, the title was declared vacant. 1930 Jun 12 Max Schmeling - Jack Sharkey W-4 foul New York, NY Since Gene Tunney never fought again, this bout was for the vacant title. 1932 Jun 21 Jack Sharkey - Max Schmeling W-15 splt Long Island, NY 1933 Jun 29 Primo Carnera - Jack Sharkey KO-6 Long Island, NY 1934 Jun 14 Max Baer - Primo Carnera TKO-11 rsf Long Island, NY 1935 Jun 13 James J. Braddock - Max Baer W-15 unan Long Island, NY 1937 Jun 22 Joe Louis - James J. Braddock KO-8 Chicago, IL 1949 Mar 1 Joe Louis announced his retirement, the title was declared vacant. 1949 Jun 22 Ezzard Charles - Jersey Joe Walcott &nbssp; W-15 unan Chicago, IL For NBA title recognition only, the NYSAC did not sanction this bout as a title fight. 1950 Sep 27 Ezzard Charles - Joe Louis W-15 unan New York, NY Joe Louis came out of retirement to fight Charles for the unified and undisputed title as well as the linear title. 1951 Jul 18 Jersey Joe Walcott - Ezzard Charles KO-7 Pittsburgh, PA 1952 Sep 23 Rocky Marciano - Jersey Joe Walcott &nbssp; KO-13 Philadelphia, PA 1956 Apr 27 Rocky Marciano retired as the only undefeated champion (49-0), the title was declared vacant. 1956 Nov 30 Floyd Patterson - Archie Moore KO-5 Chicago, IL Since Rocky Marciano never fought again, this bout was for the vacant title. 1959 Jun 26 Ingemar Johansson - Floyd Patterson TKO-3 rsf New York, NY 1960 Jun 20 Floyd Patterson - Ingemar Johansson p; KO-5 New York, NY 1962 Sep 25 Sonny Liston - Floyd Patterson KO-1 Chicago, IL 1964 Feb 25 Cassius Clay - Sonny Liston TKO-6 ret Miami, FL 1967 May 9 Muhammed Ali (Clay) was stripped of the title by the WBA, NYSAC and every other boxing commission for refusing to be inducted into the US Army. Amid legal ramifications, Ali was banned from boxing by the WBA and NYSAC. He officially "retired" on 2/3/70 to assure that the winner of the Frazier-Ellis unification bout would be considered the undisputed champion. 1970 Feb 16 Joe Frazier - Jimmy Ellis TKO-4 ret New York, NY 1971 Mar 8 Joe Frazier - Muhammed Ali W-15 unan New York, NY Frazier received world-wide recognition by defeating Ali, "The People's Champion", who was still undefeated and trying to re-claim the title that was taken away from him in 1967. This bout actually determined the linear title as well. 1973 Jan 22 George Foreman - Joe Frazier TKO-2 rsf Kingston, Jamaica 1974 Oct 30 Muhammed Ali - George Foreman KO-8 Kinshasa, Zaire 1978 Feb 15 Leon Spinks - Muhammed Ali W-15 splt Las Vegas, NV 1978 Sep 15 Muhammed Ali - Leon Spinks W-15 unan New Orleans, LA 1979 Sep 6 Muhammed Ali announced his retirement, the WBA title was declared vacant. 1980 Oct 2 Larry Holmes - Muhammed Ali TKO-10 ret Las Vegas, NV Ali came out of retirement to attempt to become the first four-time champion, Holmes received world-wide recognition with the victory, albeit having only WBC championship recognition. This bout actually determined the linear champion. 1985 Sep 21 Michael Spinks - Larry Holmes W-15 unan Las Vegas, NV 1988 Jun 27 Mike Tyson - Michael Spinks KO-1 Atlantic City, NJ 1990 Feb 11 James Buster Douglas - Mike Tyson KO-100 Toyko, Japan 1990 Oct 25 Evander Holyfield - James Buster Douglas &nnbsp; KO-3 Las Vegas, NV 1992 Nov 14 Riddick Bowe - Evander Holyfield W-12 unan Las Vegas, NV 1993 Nov 6 Evander Holyfield - Riddick Bowe W-12 maj Las Vegas, NV 1994 Apr 22 Michael Moorer - Evander Holyfield p; W-12 maj Las Vegas, NV 1994 Nov 5 George Foreman - Michael Moorer KO-10 Las Vegas, NV 1997 Nov 22 Shannon Briggs - George Foreman W-12 maj Atlantic City, NJ This bout actually determined the linear champion with no other major titles at stake 1998 Mar 28 Lennox Lewis - Shannon Briggs TKO-5 rsf Atlantic City, NJ 2001 Apr 21 Hasim Rahman - Lennox Lewis KO-5 Carnival City, So. Africa 2001 Nov 17 Lennox Lewis - Hasim Rahman KO-4 Las Vegas, NV 2004 Feb 6 Lennox Lewis announced his retirement, the WBC title was declared vacant. 2004 Apr 24 Vitali Klitschko - Corrie Sanders TKO-8 rsf Las Vegas, NV for the vacant WBC title that Lennox Lewis held prior to his retirement 2005 Nov 9 Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement due to a knee injury. 2005 Nov 10 Hasim Rahman has been awarded the WBC titleand also the linear title, which Vitali Klitschko held as the WBC champ 2006 Aug 12 Oleg Maskaev - Hasim Rahman TKO-8 rsf Las Vegas, NV
