Bring on Oleg Maskaev & Samuel Peter!

There it was, Saturday January 6, 2007 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida. Sam Peter was nowhere in the shape he was last September; plodding with punches and occasionally slowing his pursuit in respect to the older cat, James Toney. Instead, he showed up somewhat slimmer and more compact with muscle and mindset to dethrone this legend of the ring. For 12 rounds, Peter pounded on Toney's body, even dropping him once in the 2^nd round; dominating him the entire fight en route to a unanimous decision victory. Now the #1 contender for the WBC title, Peter greedily rubs his hands as he awaits a match with Oleg Maskaev.

When the WBC (World Boxing Council) sanctioned a mandatory rematch between James "Lights Out" Toney and Samuel "The Nigerian Nightmare" Peter following their controversial decision on September 2, 2006, Peter was not elated by the update. "I really feel I won the first fight," Peter stated to boxing press, "But this time in the rematch I am going to punish him and then knock him out."

On Saturday September 2, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Peter and Toney battled toe to toe for 12 grueling rounds. It was a close and hard fought matchup that could've went either way. Judges took a little long than natural compiling the scorecards. In the end, however, a split decision of 116-111 favored The Nigerian Nightmare, Samuel Peter. The win over James Toney signified his presence in the heavyweight limelight.

Months later, after several appeals in disbelief of the scoring of Peter-Toney I, the WBC called a mandatory rematch set for Saturday January 6, 2007. The winner, guaranteed #1 contendership under World Boxing Council's sanctioning belt. It was enough for James Toney to hire fitness and Tae Bo exert, Billy Blanks as his strength and conditioning coach. It was enough for Sam Peter to exonerate his old training regimen for the first fight and create a newer one. This time, Peter vowed he would show James Toney and the world that he was not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately for Toney, the few extra weeks with Blanks didn't seem to help. Although James appeared much trimmer than seen in his previous fights, he didn't seem to have enough to deter Peter's attack.

With the James Toney far behind in the rear view mirror, we look ahead...

"I am not the best heavyweight yet," Peter explained to announcer Jim Gray. "But I am going to be the best and take the belts from them all." Sam, 26, improves his record to (28-1 22KOs). If all possible, promoters are looking at a possible title match between Peter and Oleg Maskaev before the end of 2007. Oleg Maskaev (34-5 26KOs) is currently the WBC heavyweight champion. He won the title back in August 2006 after stopping Hasim Rahman in the final round of the 12^th. Peter - Maskaev may not generate many pay per view buys, but it sure would be an answer to a long awaited request of one premiere heavyweight champion.