BraggingRightsCorner.com - " Maskaev - Rahman Exclusive Directory "

MASKAEV - RAHMAN; ONE WEEK AFTER THE HEIST... by George Elsasser
Didn’t go for the PPV heist of the Hasim Rahman - Oleg Maskaev WBC title thing - instead I patiently sat it out a week, and while in wait I took in all that was available from the reporting precincts...
I’ll concede this one carried interest from start to finish - Rahman early with a good jab and later Maskaev having his moments - but I would suggest not betting the rent money on either new champ Oleg, or victim Hasim if sharing the dance floor with Klitschko or Lyakhovich - maybe ok if it the one known as the "Beast from the East" Valuev - but for now less said the better.

RAHMAN vs MASKAEV, PART II... by Frank Gonzalez Jr.
Art imitates life and life imitates art. James Braddock did it. Russell Crowe re-did it in the movies and Oleg Maskaev did it Saturday night in Las Vegas. Had Rahman won, he would have done it too. It’s the classic story of rising, then falling from grace and then finding a way to rise again. How the story ends depends on your own imagination.

MASKAEV STOPS RAHMAN IN FINAL ROUND! ... by Jim Amato
Oleg Maskaev is the new WBC heavyweight champion as he halted defending titleholder Hasim Rahman in the twelfth and final round. It was a well contested scrap. A lot of holding but a lot of power shots landed by both.

FOR HASIM RAHMAN, RESPECT IS JUST A FEW BIG PUNCHES AWAY... by Mike Casile/PBR
Credible heavyweight champions fight credible opponents. That is one of the reasons why Rahman’s next fight with Oleg Maskaev, is so important. This is NOT his “buddy” Monte Barrett. This is a hungry fighter, who has not lost a fight in 3 years, going 10-0, with 8 KO’s. This is also a fighter, who knocked Rahman senseless in 1999, putting him through the ropes, and almost on the lap of HBO’s Jim Lampley. Maskaev is the mandatory challenger. Rahman must fight him, or relinquish his belt.

HBO 'BAD' CARD ACTION AFFAIR... by George Elsasser
The past HBO Saturday "After Dark" double dip left little for the imagination - you like down and dirty, and free of the ol’ Marquis Queensberry rules, yours was the welterweight opener with space cadet Joshua Clottey in with Colombian straight man Rich Gutierrez - toss in Dr. (strangeglove man in charge) Lou Moret and we have all bases covered.

VIVIAN HARRIS STOPS STEVIE JOHNSTON IN 7TH ROUND OF HBO B.A.D. MAIN EVENT
Harris dropped Johnston at 55 seconds of round one with a powerful right cross and again at 2:40 of the opening round but was unable to finish off the valiant Johnston. Johnston was dropped by again by a right hand and was cut over his left eye at 1:30 of the fourth round before showing tremendous heart and courage and winning the round with over hand rights and combinations of punches.

MASKAEV POUNDS 'THE ROCK' AND RAISES HIS STOCK... by Mike Casile/PBR
Rahman’s jab seemed to be working for him early on, but he decided not to use it in the later rounds, in fear of having to mix it up with the seemingly stronger and better conditioned Maskaev. Referee Jay Nady must have wanted some face time last night because he gave Maskaev multiple warnings about holding, which was ridiculous, considering how the fight was progressing, and it must have annoyed Maskaev, who at one point turned to Nady and said, “I'm not holding.”

RAHMAN-MASKAEV: PPV OR SLAPSTICK?... by George Elsasser
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.
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.

THE BIG 'O' IS GETTING READY FOR THE BIG SHOW... An interview by Mike Casile
"We have a set plan for Rahman. We are not going to show him what we did in the last fight. But I am not saying what our plan is. We know he will be ready, and so will we."

8-12-2006