white is right
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August 1, 2006
by Matt Richardson
Photos: Ed Mulholland
It was the spring of 2002 and Oleg Maskaev had just been knocked out for the third time in his last five fights.
Ironically Maskaev was ahead on the scorecards in each fight before being stopped. Still the horizon appeared desolate for the former heavyweight contender, who just 17 months prior was on the verge of a shot at then heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
After being knocked out badly in his last three televised performances, he wouldn't be getting any television dates any time soon. His confidence plummeted. His trainer, Bob Jackson, urged him to hang up the gloves.
"Bob Jackson told him 'look, I think you should turn in your license; it's time to quit," current Maskaev trainer Victor Valle Jr. recalled.
"And one day I was co-training David Telesco with Hector Rocha. And what happened was they said 'look, work the mitts with him (Oleg).' I think it was Harry Keitt. I worked the mitts with him (Oleg) and then I saw his reflexes. I saw that he caught on and for a heavyweight it's very rare to find the intelligence that he has. So when I seen that and I was teaching him I said 'wow this guy has good reflexes and he can be taught," Valle explained regarding his first impression.
Valle's evaluation was significant considering the rich boxing history of his family. His father, Victor Senior, trained Gerry Cooney for his historic challenge of Larry Holmes in 1982. So if there was anyone who could adequately judge heavyweight talent, it was Victor's son.
"The next thing would be to see if we could put him in the ring," Valle continued. "But then I said to myself let me get things clear because I do not go there and talk to fighters. So then I asked Bob Jackson, 'Bob is this guy up for grabs?' He said 'look he's up for grabs but he shouldn't be fighting; he should turn his license in.' And so then I talked to (promoter) Dennis (Rappaport). I said 'Dennis look, this guy has all his senses and what happened was that he wasn't taught right.' Or maybe he was taught right and maybe he forgot, I don't know. Because he's not a natural fighter, he's manufactured. He's a guy you've got to keep rehearsing and rehearsing because they say practice makes perfect. And that's what we've been doing with Oleg - the defense, the offense, etc."
And to the credit of Maskaev, Valle and the new team that was put together it has worked.
Maskaev (32-5, 27 KO's) has won his last ten fights with Valle. Only two of the ten have gone the distance.
"First of all, thank God that I met Victor Valle; he's a great trainer," said Maskaev. "I have Dennis and Fred Kesch (my manager). They have given me great support. So I'm very comfortable with that. They are giving me the right fights; they know what I need, which way I'm supposed to train. These guys are very professional and everything looks good."
Under Valle's tutelage and the proper professional guidance from Rappaport and Kesch, Maskaev slowly but surely worked his way back up the ladder culminating in a December 2005 win over the favored Sinan Simal Sam in a WBC elimination bout.
With the win Maskaev was in line to get the first crack at heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (41-5-2, 33 KO's). Maskaev had scored the best win of his career in November of 1999 when he came back from a deficit on the scorecards to knock Rahman thru the ropes and clear out of the ring. So a Maskaev - Rahman rematch was a natural.
But Rahman elected to bypass his mandatory challenger and a chance for redemption to instead box James Toney in a March encounter in New Jersey.
The fight turned out to be a disappointing draw, with Rahman retaining his championship. At the post-fight press conference though, Rahman promoter Bob Arum made it clear who would be getting the next shot - Maskaev.
The fight was set for next week, August 12. It will be the main event on HBO Pay Per View live from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the last three months Maskaev has been training six days a week with Valle for the biggest fight of his career and the pinnacle of his comeback to the big time. His initial training regimen was in the Poconos, Pennsylvania though he is currently finishing up his preparations in Colorado Springs. "He's running five miles a day, this week I'm going to boost it up to six miles," Valle stated.
"Everything is so far so good. I'm training very hard like I'm supposed to be," said Maskaev. "My trainer is on top of everything, he's not going to let anything go. Physically I'm strong, like I'm supposed to be. There's nothing that I can not do."
After a later than expected gym session mid-week though, Valle seemed disappointed with his pupils progress. "He's doing better...he's just doing better. That's all I can tell you. He's improving but there are a lot of things that I'm working on," said Valle.
"Let me tell you something - when he's one-hundred percent there's very few people that can match him. And right now he's doing good but he could do better. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I got plans A, B, C and D and sometimes certain things are not falling into place. All I can do is work the gift that God gave me and just keep trying. Trying, trying, trying."
"There are things that I'm working on; it's like a chef," continued Valle. "Whatever special sauce that he's making and that sauce is popular, I can't give out the ingredients. I'm working on the footwork that's one thing. He never used to have good footwork and now we're working on that."
"We look at the tapes. I study it well," Valle continued. "I learn from the weaknesses of the other fighters he's fighting. And then at the same token I look at his weakness and I try to strengthen his weakness as a trainer and a teacher. But you know you need a student. And the student's got to cooperate with you; he's got to blend in with you. Because the trainer can't work miracles."
Still, Valle didn't offer a completely negative prognosis. He was very happy with Maskaev's physical conditioning. "The weight is great," he said. "Let me tell you something about Oleg. Oleg, as far as I've known him (which is already going on four and half years) - Oleg when he wants to do it, he does it. I'm trying to say he does have a good IQ. It's just sometimes things stand in the way. As far as anything, I could teach, I could train but the guy has to have his mind set on what he's doing."
Surprisingly though, both Maskaev and Valle are expecting a much different fight than the original encounter with Rahman seven years ago. "My style has changed and Rahman's style too as far as I know. So they're getting ready. They're probably already watching my last fight," reasoned Maskaev. "They're going to get ready for the old Oleg Maskaev; the Oleg Maskaev from those days. That's why I have to change my style a little bit; I've got to be different. I can't tell what we're going to do exactly but it's going to be something different. We're going to make it a surprise for this guy."
"It'll be a completely different fight; that I tell you," reiterated Valle. "I saw the VHS of his fight (against Rahman) and I had to take it off. I only could look at maybe the most three or four rounds and I got sick. My stomach got upset. I said 'no, no, no.' This can not be, no way. To me they looked bad - both of them. And I just can't have that type of fight."
Maskaev will readily admit there's a lot of pressure on him to win this fight. Pressure to win the heavyweight championship. Pressure to repeat his victory over Rahman. Pressure to make the last four years of his comeback worthwhile. And pressure to prove to him self that his doubters were all wrong.
"I feel a lot of responsibility because there are my fans, my family, my kids and my team behind my back. So it's going to give me a lot of motivation for this fight."
Still, Maskaev is confident his rough road back will end with the heavyweight championship around his waist. "Honestly, I don't make predictions," he said. "I only want to tell you one thing that you probably know - that Oleg Maskaev always comes to fight and always come to win."
"In reality, I like Oleg to win by knockout," Valle said. "That's if he listens to what I'm telling him. There's a word called 'but' - though my pick is Oleg by knockout. Oleg got a lot better in the Sinan Simal Sam fight, the David Defiagbon fight. Break it down, do a comparison as he was climbing up that ladder. You'll see a big change in him."
by Matt Richardson
Photos: Ed Mulholland
It was the spring of 2002 and Oleg Maskaev had just been knocked out for the third time in his last five fights.
Ironically Maskaev was ahead on the scorecards in each fight before being stopped. Still the horizon appeared desolate for the former heavyweight contender, who just 17 months prior was on the verge of a shot at then heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
After being knocked out badly in his last three televised performances, he wouldn't be getting any television dates any time soon. His confidence plummeted. His trainer, Bob Jackson, urged him to hang up the gloves.
"Bob Jackson told him 'look, I think you should turn in your license; it's time to quit," current Maskaev trainer Victor Valle Jr. recalled.
"And one day I was co-training David Telesco with Hector Rocha. And what happened was they said 'look, work the mitts with him (Oleg).' I think it was Harry Keitt. I worked the mitts with him (Oleg) and then I saw his reflexes. I saw that he caught on and for a heavyweight it's very rare to find the intelligence that he has. So when I seen that and I was teaching him I said 'wow this guy has good reflexes and he can be taught," Valle explained regarding his first impression.
Valle's evaluation was significant considering the rich boxing history of his family. His father, Victor Senior, trained Gerry Cooney for his historic challenge of Larry Holmes in 1982. So if there was anyone who could adequately judge heavyweight talent, it was Victor's son.
"The next thing would be to see if we could put him in the ring," Valle continued. "But then I said to myself let me get things clear because I do not go there and talk to fighters. So then I asked Bob Jackson, 'Bob is this guy up for grabs?' He said 'look he's up for grabs but he shouldn't be fighting; he should turn his license in.' And so then I talked to (promoter) Dennis (Rappaport). I said 'Dennis look, this guy has all his senses and what happened was that he wasn't taught right.' Or maybe he was taught right and maybe he forgot, I don't know. Because he's not a natural fighter, he's manufactured. He's a guy you've got to keep rehearsing and rehearsing because they say practice makes perfect. And that's what we've been doing with Oleg - the defense, the offense, etc."
And to the credit of Maskaev, Valle and the new team that was put together it has worked.
Maskaev (32-5, 27 KO's) has won his last ten fights with Valle. Only two of the ten have gone the distance.
"First of all, thank God that I met Victor Valle; he's a great trainer," said Maskaev. "I have Dennis and Fred Kesch (my manager). They have given me great support. So I'm very comfortable with that. They are giving me the right fights; they know what I need, which way I'm supposed to train. These guys are very professional and everything looks good."
Under Valle's tutelage and the proper professional guidance from Rappaport and Kesch, Maskaev slowly but surely worked his way back up the ladder culminating in a December 2005 win over the favored Sinan Simal Sam in a WBC elimination bout.
With the win Maskaev was in line to get the first crack at heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (41-5-2, 33 KO's). Maskaev had scored the best win of his career in November of 1999 when he came back from a deficit on the scorecards to knock Rahman thru the ropes and clear out of the ring. So a Maskaev - Rahman rematch was a natural.
But Rahman elected to bypass his mandatory challenger and a chance for redemption to instead box James Toney in a March encounter in New Jersey.
The fight turned out to be a disappointing draw, with Rahman retaining his championship. At the post-fight press conference though, Rahman promoter Bob Arum made it clear who would be getting the next shot - Maskaev.
The fight was set for next week, August 12. It will be the main event on HBO Pay Per View live from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the last three months Maskaev has been training six days a week with Valle for the biggest fight of his career and the pinnacle of his comeback to the big time. His initial training regimen was in the Poconos, Pennsylvania though he is currently finishing up his preparations in Colorado Springs. "He's running five miles a day, this week I'm going to boost it up to six miles," Valle stated.
"Everything is so far so good. I'm training very hard like I'm supposed to be," said Maskaev. "My trainer is on top of everything, he's not going to let anything go. Physically I'm strong, like I'm supposed to be. There's nothing that I can not do."
After a later than expected gym session mid-week though, Valle seemed disappointed with his pupils progress. "He's doing better...he's just doing better. That's all I can tell you. He's improving but there are a lot of things that I'm working on," said Valle.
"Let me tell you something - when he's one-hundred percent there's very few people that can match him. And right now he's doing good but he could do better. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I got plans A, B, C and D and sometimes certain things are not falling into place. All I can do is work the gift that God gave me and just keep trying. Trying, trying, trying."
"There are things that I'm working on; it's like a chef," continued Valle. "Whatever special sauce that he's making and that sauce is popular, I can't give out the ingredients. I'm working on the footwork that's one thing. He never used to have good footwork and now we're working on that."
"We look at the tapes. I study it well," Valle continued. "I learn from the weaknesses of the other fighters he's fighting. And then at the same token I look at his weakness and I try to strengthen his weakness as a trainer and a teacher. But you know you need a student. And the student's got to cooperate with you; he's got to blend in with you. Because the trainer can't work miracles."
Still, Valle didn't offer a completely negative prognosis. He was very happy with Maskaev's physical conditioning. "The weight is great," he said. "Let me tell you something about Oleg. Oleg, as far as I've known him (which is already going on four and half years) - Oleg when he wants to do it, he does it. I'm trying to say he does have a good IQ. It's just sometimes things stand in the way. As far as anything, I could teach, I could train but the guy has to have his mind set on what he's doing."
Surprisingly though, both Maskaev and Valle are expecting a much different fight than the original encounter with Rahman seven years ago. "My style has changed and Rahman's style too as far as I know. So they're getting ready. They're probably already watching my last fight," reasoned Maskaev. "They're going to get ready for the old Oleg Maskaev; the Oleg Maskaev from those days. That's why I have to change my style a little bit; I've got to be different. I can't tell what we're going to do exactly but it's going to be something different. We're going to make it a surprise for this guy."
"It'll be a completely different fight; that I tell you," reiterated Valle. "I saw the VHS of his fight (against Rahman) and I had to take it off. I only could look at maybe the most three or four rounds and I got sick. My stomach got upset. I said 'no, no, no.' This can not be, no way. To me they looked bad - both of them. And I just can't have that type of fight."
Maskaev will readily admit there's a lot of pressure on him to win this fight. Pressure to win the heavyweight championship. Pressure to repeat his victory over Rahman. Pressure to make the last four years of his comeback worthwhile. And pressure to prove to him self that his doubters were all wrong.
"I feel a lot of responsibility because there are my fans, my family, my kids and my team behind my back. So it's going to give me a lot of motivation for this fight."
Still, Maskaev is confident his rough road back will end with the heavyweight championship around his waist. "Honestly, I don't make predictions," he said. "I only want to tell you one thing that you probably know - that Oleg Maskaev always comes to fight and always come to win."
"In reality, I like Oleg to win by knockout," Valle said. "That's if he listens to what I'm telling him. There's a word called 'but' - though my pick is Oleg by knockout. Oleg got a lot better in the Sinan Simal Sam fight, the David Defiagbon fight. Break it down, do a comparison as he was climbing up that ladder. You'll see a big change in him."
