Samuel Peters Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Hurray! Nigeria’s Samuel Peter is now the king of the world. He now holds the ace in the World Boxing Council (WBC)’s heavyweight category after dismissing Oleg Maskaev in round six over the weekend. But like Oliver Twist, he is not done yet with the boxing empire, as he sets his eyes on a fight against his boxing nemesis, Wladimir Klitschko, the man that has handed him the only defeat in 30 fights.

As WBC champion, Peter is looking forward to another fight against Klitschko to mount the throne of glory once again. He has been one of the heavyweight division's top prospects for years, with fans loving his power and sometimes, reckless style.

Although he still lacks technique, he finally has a world title and a shot at bigger fights, even a rematch with IBF champion, Klitschko, the only man boxing pundits thought could beat him.

“I'm going to get him,” Peter said. “I'm going to beat his brother (Vitali) first. I'm going to tell him that I'm coming. I've got two belts. Wladimir doesn't need the IBF, he needs this one (the WBC). He's going to come for this, but would get stopped.”

Klitschko won Peter by a unanimous decision in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator in September 2005. But the boxing's glamour division should get a boost from this engaging fight, just two weeks after Klitschko's dull decision over Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden.
Maskaev (34-6), who entered the ring laughing and wearing a sombrero, laboured through 13 years and five knockout losses before he won the WBC title in August 2006 by knocking out Hasim Rahman, the highpoint of six straight years without defeat. He then developed several injuries that limited him to one title defense since winning the belt and no fight in the past 15 months.

He was scheduled to fight Peter at Madison Square Garden in October last year, but he pulled out two weeks beforehand, alleging a back injury. Peter claimed that Maskaev had been ducking him for more than a year. But he now had the last laugh over him, and is keenly warming up for another tough bout.
It is no longer news that Klitschko is defending three titles: the International Boxing Federation (IBF), International Boxing Organisation (IBO) and the World Boxing Organisation (WBO). Recently, he subdued Sultan Ibragimov to claim the latter’s WBO title, thus unifying the three world heavyweight titles.

Without going too deep into his credentials, Klitschko has more power in his punches than any other boxer in the heavyweight class. And the Ukrainians are still basking in the euphoria of Kiltschko’s feat in the heavyweight division after his victory over Sultan in the first heavyweight unification clash in years.
Sultan, previously unbeaten, did well in round one, but Klitschko got his jab working in round two and used that punch almost exclusively to win the next few rounds. The Ukrainian totally outclassed Sultan in front of a crowd of 14,011 fans, who booed more than they cheered.

Sultan’s aggression gave him the edge in the sixth, but Klitschko again took over for the balance of the fight, as the fearless Sultan found it difficult to get inside. Scores were 119-110, 117-111, 118-110. But Peter is not threatened by the Ukrainian’s earthquake record, as he set his eyes on another boxing marble.

The man with a lion’s heart believes so much in himself, and he is not afraid of anybody. Hence he said he was ready to deal with Klitschko the same way he has just destroyed his brother.