The WBC Rules and Regulations are clear. When there is a
dispute of any type, the WBC shall attempt to resolve the controversy. I have
communicated with representatives of each boxer in an attempt to resolve this
issue in an amicable way, and regret that my efforts have been unsuccessful.
Under WBC Rule 5.3, the next step is Compulsory
Mediation, a process in which a neutral mediator, selected by the parties,
assists in conducting good faith negotiations to settle their dispute.
MASKAEV:
"SAMUEL PETER'S WBC TITLE IS NOT FOR SALE"
“The WBC title is not for sale,” flatly states
Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter’s manager Ivaylo Gotzev to Dennis Rappaport, promoter of WBC
Heavyweight Champion Oleg Maskaev.
Rappaport has been waging a public and private
campaign for the WBC to allow Maskaev to avoid
facing mandatory challenger Peter in favor of a
number of other “big money” opponents. “He’s
out trying to sell the belt to the highest bidder and
that’s something that should be beneath the dignity of
a WBC Champion.
'PETER vs TONEY 2... REDEMPTION' SOLD OUT FLORIDA'S
HARD ROCK LIVE VENUE...
"Peter vs. Toney 2... Redemption"
was a sellout at the box office on Saturday night with 5,328 in attendance in
Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.,
making the event, as promised in the promotion, the biggest fight ever staged
in this new venue. Read the fighters' quotes...
To beat a masterful boxer like
James in such a manner must now deal him amongst
the major players as an immediate threat. Wladimir
demonstrated that heavy hands and immovable force
can’t always get you victory, but set in place
with a very accurate jab and sound mobility it
does set you on your way as a very dangerous
commodity in the division as it stands. Had Samuel
faced Klitschko with the same plan that he
designed for Toney, Peter could have saved himself
a good ten months of trying to convince the higher
powers that he is worthy of being pitched in as a
challenger for a major belt.
PETER DOMINATES TONEY AND LOOKS TO MASKAEV...
by Oleg Bershadsky
Samuel
Peter came into this fight with supreme confidence and determination to
silence the critics who cast doubt on his first victory over James Toney. From
the first round the change in Peter’s attitude was clearly apparent as he came
after Toney immediately, trying to knock the smaller man out. He threw punches
with the fury of a man who was trying to prove something, a man who was not
going to be denied. Toney managed to survive the initial onslaught despite
taking several hard right hands.
PETER, SIMMS PREVAIL IN SHOWTIME SPECIAL...by George
Elsasser
The Peter-Toney WBC affair, an eliminator to a
shot at title holder Oleg Maskaev, carried the
hint of a replay of its first encounter - one that
had young Peter nipping the wily war horse via
split verdict - not the case in the do over.
Opening stanza an explosive beginning - Toney,
rocked by a Peter right hand early is seen
battling back during the chapter’s closing seconds
- and then round two with Peter adjustments
entering the picture.
JAMES TONEY: IS THIS THE END?... by Tom Dickey
On Saturday night, Samuel Peter did
something that had not been done in over
a decade. Peter convincingly and soundly defeated
James Toney. To find the last time that Toney got
defeated this easily you would have to go back to
his middleweight days when he lost to Roy
Jones. If you have seen Toney over the past
couple of years, then you know that his middleweight
days were a long time ago. After
"Lights Out" Toney's fall to 0-2-1 in his last three
fights, the question arises. Is Samuel Peter this
good, or is the end nearing for one of the most
technically sound fighters of our time?
SAMUEL PETER vs JAMES TONEY: ROUND 13...by Stephen Jones
If Samuel wins convincingly by using
versatility and boxing skills to compliment his sheer
power he must be considered championship material in
the highest order. To be heavyweight champion of the
world for any length of time even in the state of
today’s division, you need to have at least an ounce
of tactical wisdom. Peter will have to apply more
strings to his bow if he has a shout at dominance. The
past has proven that power and will won’t completely
cut it. James has the silky skills and savvy, while
Peter has the unmerciful raw tools, somewhere between
the two there is a champion I am sure, in the present
alphabetic terms of the word at least.
The rematch between James
Toney and Samuel Peter is coming up this Saturday
night. I personally can’t wait to check it out.
The first fight was a pretty exciting match up of
Toney’s skills against Peter’s power but I feel
the wrong man walked away with the decision.
Samuel Peter officially won the fight but many
people, like myself, feel that James Toney came
out on top. I’m hoping this rematch can give us
some closure.
THE 'SKINNY' ON SAMUEL PETER Do not expect
to see as much of Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare"
Peter when he fights James "Lights Out" Toney in
Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel &
Casino in Hollywood on Saturday.
Peter has lost a considerable amount of
weight. He tipped the scales at a career-high 257
pounds before he won a controversial decision over
Toney in their exciting slugfest televised on
SHOWTIME on Sept. 2.
PETER vs TONEY 2: WILL PETER BE THE FIRST TO
KNOCK TONEY OUT?...
by Oleg Bershadsky
This fight can either be the
last chance for James Toney to earn that elusive
heavyweight belt or it can be the start of a new
age of heavyweights, led by Sam Peter. There is
much at stake for both boxers and so despite past
concerns, expect both of them to be in reasonably
good shape. Will Toney’s skill overcome Peter’s
power? Will the younger Peter expose Toney’s age
and be the first to knock him out? These and other
questions circulating the fight are too close to
call and this is what makes this bout an exciting
must see affair.
HOW THEY PICK ’EM: EXPERTS LIKE
TONEY TO TURN TABLES AGAINST PETER IN REMATCH
Last time around, the experts favored Toney by a
2-1 margin. In the rematch, Toney is again the
choice, but by a lesser margin. Of the 37 boxing
media sorts who participated in a SHOWTIME
Prediction Poll, 23 picked Toney and 14 chose
Peter.
Here’s how they see the 12-round WBC eliminator that will determine once and for
all who the mandatory challenger to WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev will
be...
SHOWTIME
CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING begins its 21st
year of televising world-class events with a
doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007, at 10
p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The
telecast will start at a special time in order
to accommodate fans tuning into the NFL Wild
Card games airing the same night. Normally, the
SHOWTIME telecasts start at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
PETER vs TONEY II ON JANUARY 6:
THE HOTTEST HEAVYWEIGHT TICKET IN BOXING
The first meeting between Peter and Toney on Sept. 2
was an action-packed affair that featured excellent exchanges and few
clinches. The match aired live on SHOWTIME from Staples Center in Los
Angeles and was an elimination bout to determine who would be the
mandatory challenger to the WBC heavyweight champion.
A mere four months after one
of the most exciting heavyweight fights in years
ended amid a whirlwind of controversy, Samuel
“The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter (27-1, 22 KOs)
and James “Lights Out” Toney (69-5-3, 43 KOs)
are set to go at it again in the main event on
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING. A 12-round elimination bout to determine
once and for all who the mandatory challenger
for WBC champion Oleg Maskaev will air on
SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west
coast).
TONEY REMATCHES PETER JANUARY 6 ON SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
A press conference to formally announce the big
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007,
was held Tuesday in New York. In the main event, Samuel "The Nigerian
Nightmare'' Peter (27-1, 22 KOs) and James "Lights Out'' Toney (69-5-3,
43 KOs) will box a 12-round rematch of an exciting fight won by Peter on
a controversial decision on Sept. 2, 2006, on SHOWTIME. In the co-feature, Jose Antonio Rivera (38-4-1, 24 KOs)
will defend his WBA super welterweight title against Travis Simms (24-0,
18 KOs).
JOSE ANTONIO 'EL GALLO' RIVERA'S TRAINING CAMP
NOTES
"Radovan is my secret weapon," Rivera explained. "He is one
of the key factors elevating my conditioning. You don't get this type of
training with anybody else. He brought Eastern European/Russian training
with him from Croatia. It's starting to come here, slowly. You see a
little of it in the new Rocky movie, but miniscule, and most people
probably didn't notice it. Radovan is ahead of his time.
"This is a great opportunity for me,
especially on the Peter-Toney rematch card in the first major show of 2006, on
Showtime," Rivera said. "It's not competing with another big card so the public
will tune in and see what I bring to the table -- a fighter who always comes in
top condition and gives everything he has. There is no running, no boring fight
with me; I'm all about action and giving fans what they want and deserve. I'm a
boxer-puncher who likes to be aggressive..."
WBA 154-POUND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ADDED TO PETER vs TONEY 2 CARD
Don King is making the
biggest boxing match ever staged in Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock
Hotel & Casino on Saturday, Jan. 6 an even more star-studded affair with the
addition of a World Boxing Association super welterweight championship...
World Boxing Association super welterweight
champion “El Gallo” Jose Antonio Rivera will make
his first title defense against undefeated WBA
super welterweight champion in recess “Tremendous”
Travis Simms.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
SAMUEL PETER: THE BRIGHT LIGHT AT THE END OF A VERY DARK
TUNNEL...
The light at the end of the tunnel may be arriving in the shape of
Nigerian Knockout artist
Samuel Peter. The difference between Samuel and the rest of the rising stars is
purely that he is regularly beating heavyweights that are not over the hill
but live and on form, very often on winning streaks themselves.
