You are in > manchester.com  > News > Maskaev wins heavyweight title

Boxing

Maskaev wins heavyweight title

13/08/2006

Oleg Maskaev has won the WBC heavyweight title after stopping Hasim Rahman in the final round in Las Vegas.

Rahman was the final American heavyweight to hold a title and went into the last round needing to win the round to retain the belt.

However, the Kazakhstan-born fighter exploded in the final round, knocking Rahman down twice before pinning the 33-year-old on the ropes and forcing the referee to stop the fight.

"I believed up to the last minute I could win this fight," Maskaev said.

"I got used to him as the fight wore on and I knew with three rounds left, I had to win them all to win the fight."

When the pair last met in 1999, Maskaev knocked Rahman into the lap of a television commentator and the American was determined not to suffer a similar fate.

He used his jab well to keep the 37-year-old at bay but, despite controlling much of the fight, could not back up this dominance with a knockout blow.

Maskaev's win means ex-Soviet countries now hold all the heavyweight belts and afterwards, Rahman delivered a stinging attack on the state of American boxing.

"I never thought that he would be taking the world title out of Las Vegas tonight," Rahman said.

"I think American heavyweights are a little spoiled, make too much money too quick and lose sight of the grand prize which is to win the title and keep it."

Russian duo Nikolay Valuev and Wladimir Klitschko and Belarussian Serguei Lyakhovich hold the other three heavyweight titles.

© Adfero Ltd