Can Sam Peter become the man in the HW division tonight with an impressive victory over Maskaev?

Question

In light of how bad Wlad Klitschko looked against Sultan Ibragimov, would you consider Peter the real champ if he stops Maskaev impressively tonight even though Wlad beat Peter already?

Answer 1

I think Sam has been the premier heavyweight in the division since his three knockdown performance against Klitschko.   The McCline fight was a bump in the road for Sam, but I would have to say a win over Oleg Maskaev in impressive fashion would go a long way towards forcing a rematch with Klitschko.  I for one consider Sam Peters the best out there in the division other than the older Klitschko and rate Peter as the number 2 heavyweight in the world behind Vitali.  I respect that Wladmire unified two of the alphabet soup titles, but still consider his older brother his superior.  He may have a win over Sam Peter on paper, but if you watch the fight, you will realize who really won the fight.

Tonight I expect Sam Peters to KO Maskaev and leave his mark on heavyweight boxing in a big way.

Answer 2

No.......because there are a number of issues here. Wladimir looked lousy against Sultan because, as Lennox Lewis said, Klitschko did just enough for a unanimous win. Sultan did not force Wladimir to do more than he did & Wladimir needs to be pressured to rise to the occassion in a fight. Having said that; I think Wladimir has a lot more in his arsenal than he showed us in his fight with Sultan.------I do feel that Peter/Maeskaev could go either way although I do acknowledge that most fans ( including myself ) feel Peter will probably win. Because Peter is a favorite, if he beats Maskaev .......many people will probably downplay his win saying he was expected to win. If Peter loses; ......it will be viewed as an upset. The bottom line is Maskaev has everything to gain in this fight by virtue of a good showing or even a win & Peter has everything to lose in this fight  in that he must win because he is expected to win and if he loses.....it will be viewed not only as an upset but  as more evidence of what many will perceive as a poor performance when, once again, Peter is asked to step up to the plate. One thing that is virtually assured is that we will see a lot better fight tonight than Wlad gave us recently & that us good for us fans.

Answer 3

I don't think I could call Sam Peter the real champ if he stops Maskaev seeing as all Maskaev's losses are by ko. Klitschko on the other hand has beaten the better opposition. Peter was knocked down three times by McCline who was knocked out by Wlad 5 years before. Although, I would love to see a rematch and give Peter a good chance at an upset. Until then, Wlad is the champ.

Answer 4

Well, Peter won the fight by a big knockout, but he is still not the real champ.  In order for there to be a champ you have to beat the number one guy, and currently that is Wladimir Klitschko.  Peter cemented himself as the clear number two with his performance against Maskaev.  And even though he owns a belt, I won't call him the true champ until he fights a rematch with Wladimir and beats him.  I agree that Wladimir had a terrible performance against Sultan Ibragimov mostly because he didn't throw more than 10 right hands, but he still got a win, so he is still the man to beat in the division.  Remember that every fighter at some point in their career has a bad winning performance- Sam Peter beating Jameel McCline but almost getting knocked out, or Lennox Lewis fighting David Tua extremely cautious and very boring.