The upcoming Saturday HBO (via PPV) offering with former heavy champ Hasim Rahman and "opponent" Oleg Maskaev topping the card seems more stand up slapstick than a title fight.

On that note, as good old Sgt. Friday liked telling the lady witness to the crime, "The facts ma’am, just the facts" - and the evidence is clear as crystal that both Rock and Oleg are yesterday’s news.

Top billing in this pay per view insult goes to Hasim - why not, it was he that traveled to South Africa country and got lucky with a big right hand to the fragile crockery of one Lennox Lewis -  and earned a quarter share of the big boys title - unfortunately, before that year 2001 closed, Lennox returned the favor.

Back in March of this year,  Rahman baby manages a draw with a soft, flabby blown up cruiserweight at best in Toney - one that he could well have come up short on the cards.

And Oleg you ask? They actually toss this one at us as some sort of revenge - or if you prefer, a cold war showdown with the USA vs. Soviet Union -  somehow I ain’t buying - the today threat is them islomaniacs with a dream of romance with some 40 virgins or something - if willing to explode itself in a crowded supermarket or subway station.   

Anyway, Maskaev is today at age 37 - single claim to fame back when at age 30 scores with big right hand that converts Rahman to a sputtering sputnik, and a knockout eight for Oleg.

Thus the revenge promo shout - however, since then there was knockout losses to the infamous Lance "Goofy" Whitaker and Kirk Johnson in 2000-01 - a subsequent November 2005 comeback unanimous decision win over one Sinan Samil Sam doesn’t exactly balance the books.

Point is what we have here is an acceptable Showtime - HBO level pairing of Rahman-Maskaev in what should be offered as a freebie, to hopefully find the winner somewhere still in the hunt.

But PPV? I think I’ll pass.

GEL -

8-10-06