RSSSamuel Peter
Monday, April 16, 2007
EEC - April 16, 2007
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Infamous boxing promoter Don King has a plan to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion through a series of fights before the end of 2008…
“I think the title should be unified. To have one undisputed, identifiable world champion would make everything better,” King told Reuters in an exclusive interview.
“It would restore the magic,” he said.
King made the statement one day after his latest heavyweight client, Nikolai Valuev, lost his WBA Heavyweight Belt to Ruslan Chagaev. He said that Valuev winning would have given him more power in making his plan a reality but is set on doing so anyway.
King said that it would take roughly $30 million in order to make the tournament happen and that it could be very easy to gather the money, even if it has to come out of his own pocket…
The outcomes of the Briggs-Ibragimov, Klitschko-Brewster, and Maskaev-Peter fights this summer will set up the beginning of the projected series of fights according to King.
- For those of you that are wondering, there hasn’t been an undisputed champion since right before Mike Tyson lost to Buster Douglas in 1990…
- The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation is apparently refusing to release the purse values of Manny Pacquiao and Jorge Solis from their featherweight bout on Saturday night to the public…
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Klitschko Still Waiting to Return
Mark Vester of Boxing Scene is reporting that Vitali Klitschko is using Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter as the reasons for why he hasn’t been able to return to the ring yet:
“My fight with Oleg Maskaev, that many fans all over the world have been waiting for, unfortunately will not take place. The main reason that negotiations terminated was due to unreasonable ambitions of both Samuel Peter and Oleg Maskaev, which made it impossible to find a compromise that satisfied all of the parties taking part in negotiations. These negotiations dragged on for three months,” Klitschko said.
“HBO made the final decision, announcing that it would be impossible for me to face Oleg Maskaev on June 2.”
Klitschko will now most likely have to wait for Peter-Maskaev to take place in June before he is able to fight the winner for the title…
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Vitali Must Wait: Peter Gets Maskaev First
Former WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko will have to wait a little bit longer than expected if he wants to try and reclaim the title he vacated when he retired in November 2005.
Officials from the camps of Klitschko, Samuel Peter, and Oleg Maskaev have ruled that Peter, the mandatory challenger, will get his shot at current champion Maskaev this summer.
“All the parties involved have acknowledged this agreement,” Dino Duva, Peter’s promoter, told ESPN.com. “Klitschko has agreed to stop pursuing the fight with Maskaev. The WBC orders Maskaev to fight Peter and the winner to fight Vitali before the end of the year. It’s all spelled out so there is no ambiguity.
“I will begin negotiations with [Maskaev promoter] Dennis [Rappaport] immediately. We were told by all the lawyers it is a done deal.”
Duvs and Rappaport will have close to three weeks to agree to a deal or else the WBC will make a call for a purse bid. The purse bid will open up the rights to promote the fight then to the highest bidder.
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Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Peter Rejects Offer to Wait for Title Shot
The Las Vegas Journal Review is reporting that Samuel Peter has rejected Vitali Klitschko’s offer of $2.5 million to step aside and allow Klitschko to fight Oleg Maskaev for the WBC Heavyweight Title. Peter would also get an immediate title shot against Klitschko directly after.
The WBC has refused to make a decision involving the dispute and has instead ordered a mediation between the three parties. It was at the meeting that Peter rejected Klitschko’s inital offer…
Peter’s promoter Dino Duva said that although Peter rejected the offer, a more lucrative one might change his mind:
“This is a business and you never say never,” Duva said. “But Samuel’s focus is on getting the title shot and winning the belt. Realistically, we’ll consider all options, but for us to consider (stepping aside), it would have to be very, very lucrative and there would have to be strict time deadlines when Maskaev-Klitschko would occur and then when the fight between Sam and the winner would occur.”
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Tuesday, January 30, 2007
EEC - January 30, 2007
It’s a beautiful day in the KO Corner neighborhood…
News, Notes, and Rumors:
- Lou DiBella announced yesterday that he reached a tenative agreement with Roy Jones Jr. to become his promoter along with Jones’ own promotional force, Square ring.
“Roy Jones Jr. is not only one of the legendary fighters of this generation, but one of the greatest boxers in the history of the game,” DiBella said in a statement. “I am excited about the opportunity to promote him with Square Ring.”
- Apparently Kostya Tszyu didn’t unoffically retire after going back to school after all…
Tszyu has told the Australian Daily Telegraph that he would be interested in coming back to fight for a world title.
“A big name would be interesting,” Tszyu told Australia’s Daily Telegraph, “but I would need to see the offer first.” But, the former champion said, “It has to be a real offer. They know I’m available—that’s why I have not announced my retirement.
“I’m just waiting for an offer to come up and then I’ll consider it. How it will come, I don’t know. If I decide to do it, I can’t concentrate on my business.
- Teddy Atlas had some interesting comments for Sports Illustrated on the situation involving Vitali Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev, and Samuel Peter…
“It’s a disgrace,” says Atlas. “Every one of these organizations is corrupt. It’s a joke. Peter has been mandated the number one contender, twice in fact. Now all of a sudden, because of money, it’s OK for the mandated guy to be pushed aside and to give the fight to a guy who has been away for two years? These organizations have rules that say that at anytime they can forego all other rules and do whatever they want. There is actually a rule that says that. It’s nuts.”
- The IBF announced late last night that Ricky Hatton will be stripped of his title if he decides to go along with his scheduled bout against Jose Luis Castillo in June and ignore his mandatory title defense against the winner of Naoufel Ben Rabah and Lovemore Ndou this weekend.
Some Good Reads:
Bosing Scene: Does “No” to Floyd Meayweather Sr., Mean “Yes” To Victory for Oscar De La Hoya?
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Samuel Peter is Pissed Off
Trust me, if I was in Samuel Peter’s position, I’d be a little ticked off too…
If this whole thing sounds just a bit familar, it’s probably because we have been through this already. Peter was supposed to get a title shot after beating James Toney the first time around. Then Oleg Maskaev took a voluntary defense before the deadline of 2007 and defeated Peter Okhello. So Peter went ahead and beat Toney once again.
Now it’s time for a title shot right? Not exactly…
We told you a while back that Vitali Klitschko was seriously thinking about attempting a comeback. Well now rumors are swirling that his official return to boxing is only weeks away. Of course it tends to not be a rumor anymore once the president of the WBC is actually speaking to Vitali about fighting in the coming months.
Jose Sulaiman is currently awaiting a phone call from Vitali and his camp about the opportunity of getting an immediate title shot against Maskaev. Vitali was originally promised an immediate title shot if he decided to come out of retirement from injury. It looks like he actually may get it.
That would mean that Vitali would be jumping right over Peter in the rankings and would receive a title shot before him. Rightfully so, Peter is pretty pissed off about this whole thing. Sulaiman however just wishes that everyone would calm down for the time being…
“I am waiting to hear something back from Vitali,” Sulaiman said. “Vitali contacts me directly from the Ukraine or wherever he is. He called me a week ago speaking about this comeback. It’s very clear that an immediate title shot is what Vitali wants. I took notice of that just as I have taken notice of (complaints from) Dino Duva, Don King and Iyavailo Gotzev made on behalf of top contender Samuel Peter.”
Sulaiman may say that he is going to hear arguments from both sides but it’s obvious what he wants to do as of right now. Peter knows that too:
“It’s a disgrace! I fought my way into this position without taking shortcuts. I paid my sanctioning fees not once, but twice. I wasn’t even supposed to fight the second time, but people were questioning their judges, so I fought again to prove myself. They’re trying to take away everything I worked for all those years. I’m number one and they’re going to have a very big problem if they allow this. They are putting their own hands in the fire and making a big mistake.”
Why did he (Klitschko) wait till I beat Toney the second time to say he was coming back? Why not announce before? Because he’s not a true champion. He got his title when Lennox Lewis retired. And now he wants to fight Maskaev, who is also not a true champion because he’s avoiding me. Let me go against Maskaev and I’ll knock him out and then I’ll knock out both Klitschko brothers on the same night!
They tried to bribe me to get me to shut up. I don’t care about money. I want the heavyweight championship. I came to the United States six years ago and I’ve worked very hard to be in this position. They are all going to pay for this!”
If boxers can be measured by the words they say, then Peter is an animal. If that Superfighter thing ever gets started up again, Peter should lay out an open challenge to both Klitschko brothers and see what they say…
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Sunday, January 07, 2007
Peter, Simms Triumph
Peter decisively outpointed James Toney in their rematch. Photo: Tom Casino/Showtime
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A busier, more precise and determined Samuel Peter showed up to Saturday night’s World Boxing Council (WBC)-mandated heavyweight rematch and that meant trouble for James Toney.
In a spectacular and brutal battle of big men, Peter and Toney met at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to determine once and for all the No. 1-ranked, mandatory challenger to WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev. Peter won the unanimous decision by scores of 118-110 twice and 119-108.
In the co-feature, super welterweight Travis Simms regained the World Boxing Association (WBA) title in devastating fashion with a ninth round TKO of Jose Antonio Rivera.
Continue reading "Peter, Simms Triumph"
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Thursday, January 04, 2007
Peter-Toney, Rivera-Simms Quotes
Peter and Toney pose (with Seminole Tribe Chairman Mitchell Cypress in the middle) after the weigh-in.
Continue reading "Peter-Toney, Rivera-Simms Quotes"
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Experts Like Toney
Four months after one of the most exciting heavyweight fights in years ended amid a whirlwind of controversy, Samuel Peter (27-1, 22 KOs) and James Toney (69-5-3, 43 KOs) will go at it again in the main event this Saturday, Jan. 6, on Showtime Championship Boxing (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast) in Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at Hollywood, Fla.
So who is going to triumph? Will Peter repeat or can Toney avenge the disputed defeat?
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:
[ed. note: we somehow forgot to send ours in this time around, I’m going with Toney by decision. Even if each fighter has upped his training regiment, Toney benefits more from it than Peter at this point in their careers. - Singer]
Continue reading "Experts Like Toney"
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
The Skinny on Sam Peter
Photo: Ed Keenan
Do not expect to see as much of Samuel Peter this Saturday, Jan. 6, when he fights James Toney on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).
Peter, you will notice (please see attached pictures), 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 September 2006 slugfest on Showtime.
But in recent weeks Peter has quietly and diligently been peeling off excess poundage as he prepares for Saturday’s 12-round rematch at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
“This is the best and hardest training camp of my career and I am solid as a rock,’’ Peter said. “Much has been made of Toney’s new, super training regimen and supposed low calorie diet, but I don’t care and it won’t matter what he weighs.