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Klitschko Gives Up Maskaev Fight
Former WBC heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko has given up his bid to fight for his old title in June, allowing top challenger Samuel Peter to take on Oleg Maskaev. Talks over the long-anticipated Klitschko vs. Maskaev bout broke down because of “exorbitant financial demands” of the Russian titleholder and the Nigerian contender, the Ukrainian boxer told Kommersant Thursday.
Vitali Klitschko announced Thursday in an exclusive interview with Kommersant he has given up plans to fight Russian titleholder Oleg Maskaev. “I’ve been in this business for 11 years. I’ve never had such tough talks even when we were organizing my fights against outstanding boxers like Lenox Lewis,” the Ukrainian said. “In this case ambitions of the parties [Maskaev and Peter’s managers] are so unbelievably high that there doesn’t seem to be a way to satisfy them.”
Vitali Klitschko says his managers were trying to find a compromise but Maskaev and Peter’s teams were constantly changing their demands. “I had an opportunity to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Laussanne, but I’m not going to use it.”
Vitali Klitschko left boxing in 2005 after a knee injury. The Ukrainian retired undefeated, keeping the WBC honorary championship which would enable him to get the next shot at the champion if he decided to return. However, by the time Klitschko announced his comeback, the WBC had already picked the next contender, Nigeria’s Samuel Peter. The challenger and his team said they would insist on a championship fight with Maskaev. The WBC then left it to the boxers and their promoters to settle the dispute.
The Ukrainian says Oleg Maskaev asked for $5 million while Samuel Peter wanted to receive $3 million to step aside and let Klitschko sign. These sums are twice as much as any prize money the two boxers have ever earned, according to Vitali Klitschko.
The World Boxing Council has already given Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter three weeks to negotiate conditions of the upcoming bout. If the boxers fail to reach agreement, the WBC will announce a tender to pick the promoter.
In any case, Klitschko is guaranteed to fight the winner of Maskaev vs. Peter later this year.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 06, 2007
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