Oleg Maskaev

Oleg Maskaev was born in Abay, Karaganda, Soviet Kazakhstan, to Russian parents.^[1] His father is Moksha from the Zubova Polyana district of Mordovia, while his mother is Ukrainian from Kuban, southern Russia.^[2]

Maskaev, a former mine worker, began his boxing career in the 1980s as an amateur in his hometown Abay. In 1991, he stopped future WBC world champion Vitali Klitschko in the second round.

Maskaev was the champion of the Soviet Army and later the national cup winner.^[1] He first represented the Soviet Union and then subsequently Uzbekistan following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Representing Uzbekistan, he won a gold medal at the 1994 Asian Games.

X Summer Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR, boxing (+91 kg), Minsk, Belarus SSR, July 1991:

• 1/2: Defeated Vitali Klitschko (Ukrainian SSR) RSC 2
• Finals: Lost to Nikolay Kulpin (Kazakh SSR)

VIII Military Spartakiad of the Friendly Armies of the Socialist Countries (+91 kg), Kiskunfelegyhaza, Hungary, October 1990:

• Finals: Defeated János Sulyok (Hungary) walkover

USA−USSR Middle & Heavy Duals (+91 kg), Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, December 1991:

• Defeated Samson Poʻuha (United States) RSC 2

World Championships (+91 kg), Tampere, Finland May 1993:

• 1/16: Defeated Zourab Sarsania (Georgia) DQ 3
• 1/8: Defeated Oleksandr Litvin (Ukraine) RSC 2
• 1/4: Lost to Roberto Balado (Cuba) KO 3

World Cup (+91 kg), Bangkok, Thailand, June 1994:

• 1/8: Defeated Raj Kumar Sangwan (India) 11–3 (4 rds)
• 1/4: Defeated Arshak Avartakyan (Armenia) 12–6 (4 rds)
• 1/2: Defeated Willi Fischer (Germany) RSC 1
• Finals: Lost to Roberto Balado (Cuba) walkover

Asian Games (+91 kg), Hiroshima, Japan, October 1994:

• 1/2: Defeated Raj Kumar Sangwan (India) RSC 2
• Finals: Defeated Mohamed Reza Kalkh Samadi (Iran) RSC 2

Maskaev resumed his amateur career within a month after his reported professional debut in April 1993, to participate in the 1993 World Championships, '94 World Cup, and '94 Asian Games, winning a gold medal at the latter.

Maskaev finished his amateur career with a stated record of 108–10.

Maskaev's professional boxing career began in 1993. Not wasting any time, he made his professional debut against former bronze medalist Alexander Miroshnichenko, who held a record of 21–0 (15 KOs). Maskaev won via third-round TKO. In only his seventh professional bout, Maskaev was pitted against Oliver McCall, who had captured the WBC heavyweight title by knocking out Lennox Lewis only a year before. Controversy later arose as to his professional record: before he fought McCall, the USBA stated his professional record was 15–0, 12 KOs, which was confirmed ex officio by the Virginia Boxing Commission (which sanctioned the Maskaev–McCall event and all subsequent official information related to it, including the records); however, later and supposedly more precise estimates gave him a record of 6–0 (3 KOs). Nine missing bouts in the given record were either unaccounted for—and therefore non-sanctioned events—or considered as either amateur or exhibition fights. No data is available presently for that missing part of Maskaev's early professional career.

Against McCall, Maskaev was caught with a hard left hand to the body, followed up with a short right hand in the first round, losing via TKO and being handed his first professional defeat. After winning his next four, Maskaev fought hard-hitting Samoan David Tua. Maskaev lost via 11th-round TKO.

His most famous victories have been his two wins over Hasim Rahman. In the first bout, held on November 6, 1999, Maskaev knocked Rahman off balance, sending his rival out of the ring in the 8th round. This fight is also notable for the famous "chair incident," in which noted referee, Steve Smoger (serving as backup referee for this fight), was struck in the head by a chair thrown by a fan. The assailant was later arrested.

He later fought Rahman again and defeated him for the WBC heavyweight title by knocking him out in the 12th round on August 12, 2006. His second win over Rahman was preceded by a streak of victories that helped rejuvenate Maskaev's career and earned him the "Comeback fighter of the Year" award from The Ring magazine in 2006.

Maskaev won his first title defense against Peter Okhello on December 10, 2006, by unanimous decision.

Maskaev fought against Samuel Peter for the WBC Heavyweight title on March 8, 2008, and was doing well in the early rounds, despite Peter's repeated rabbit punching and the referee's warnings. In the fifth round, Maskaev landed some of his best shots on his opponents chin, but to no avail; Peter was seemingly unaffected, visibly shaking Maskaev. Maskaev eventually lost by TKO, with 3 seconds remaining in the sixth round.

In late 2008, he beat opponent Robert Hawkins by UD after 10 rounds and then defeated the unheralded Rich Boruff on March 14, 2009, via first-round KO, giving him mandatory contender status to the WBC Heavyweight Championship. He fought Nagy Aguilera on December 11 of that year in Sacramento, California at the Memorial Auditorium in a tune up fight, but was knocked out in the first round. Stunned with an overhand right-left hook combo and knocked down soon after, another barrage by Aquilera hit Maskaev hard, knocking him out. Maskaev did not land a punch in the fight, later stating that he would retire following the loss. However, he returned to the ring 3 years later, knocking out Owen Beck. In 2013, he decisioned Jason Gavern in a 10-round fight. His last fight was against Danny Williams, whom he defeated by a 10-round UD on November 4th, 2013, at Krasnodar, Russia. He retired with a record of 39–7, with 28 KOs.

As a professional, Maskaev was known for his powerful right-hand punch: he knocked out former WBO heavyweight challenger Derrick Jefferson, contender Alex Stewart, and twice knocked out former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. However, he was also noted for a weak chin, which was evident in his knockout losses to Oliver McCall, David Tua, Kirk Johnson, Lance Whitaker, Corey Sanders, and journeyman Nagy Aguilera.

Maskaev was born in Kazakhstan (then part of the USSR) to Mordvin-Ukrainian parents. Following the end of the Soviet Union, he resided in Uzbekistan for a brief period, representing them at the 1994 Asian Games. He has lived in the U.S. since 1999 with his wife, Svetlana, and four daughters. He acquired US citizenship in 2004. He currently resides in West Sacramento, California, after previously living in Staten Island, New York. Before his second encounter with Hasim Rahman in 2006, he said "I would say I'm a proud Russian-American. So right now, I'm a citizen of America, of [the] United States... Whoever is going to win is going to be American."^[3] In the run-up to his title defense against Peter Okhello, he stated regarding his citizenship: "Russian. I don't want to talk about that anymore. I will walk to the ring under the Russian flag and Russian anthem as I'm now a Russian citizen."^[4] Russian president Vladimir Putin granted him Russian citizenship on December 9, 2006.^[5]