COMPUBOX POST-FIGHT ANALYSIS

August 14th, 2006 - by Joe Carnicelli

With apologies to Yogi Berra, it was déjà vu all over again for Oleg Maskaev and Hasim Rahman.

Seven years ago, Maskaev and Rahman met for the first time in Atlantic City in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds. Rahman used his superior boxing skills to build a lead on the judges' scorecards only to have Maskaev blast him literally into blow-by-blow commentator Jim Lampley's lap in the eighth round.

FIGHTERS	Hasim Rahman	Oleg Maskaev
TOTAL PUNCHES
Thrown	537	654
Connected	250	184
%	47%	28%
JABS
Thrown	266	292
Connected	128	54
%	28%	18%
POWER PUNCHES
Thrown	271	362
Connected	122	130
%	45%	36%
JUDGES SCORECARDS

On Saturday night at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, history repeated, this time with Rahman's World Boxing Council heavyweight title at stake. Rahman built a lead on points using a stiff jab and some heavy power shots only to have Maskaev mount a rally in the 10th round and take Rahman's title with a 12th-round TKO.

Rahman boxed effectively in the first half of the fight, using his stiff jab to keep the plodding Maskaev off balance. Rahman outlanded Maskaev 18-7 in the opening round, 20-6 in the second, 26-10 in the third and 26-11 in the fourth. Over those four rounds, Rahman had a 50-7 advantage in jabs landed.

Rahman abandoned his jabs strategy in the fifth and Maskaev came to life. Rahman had a 16-13 advantage in power punches and a 25-23 overall connect advantage in the fifth but Maskaev showed he still had power in both hands by rocking Rahman at least twice. It was the first round that all three judges awarded to Maskaev.

Rahman went back to the jab in the sixth and seemed to hold a slight edge over the next four rounds. He outlanded Maskaev 19-17 in the sixth, 23-17 in the seventh, 33-12 in the eighth when Rahman connected on a high of 19 jabs and 25-14 in the ninth. Through nine rounds, Rahman led 88-83 on judge Anek Hongtongkam's card and 86-85 on Glenn Trowbridge's card and trailed 86-85 according to Jerry Roth.

But Rahman appeared to be tiring near the end of the ninth round and Maskaev, sensing that his opponent was slowing down, began to apply pressure in the 10th. He outlanded Rahman for the first time in the fight, connecting on 14 of 38 power shots and eight of 21 jabas for a 22-17 overall advantage. Maskaev opened up even more in the 11th and once again he outlanded Rahman, connecting on 17 of 38 power shots and six of 25 jabs for a 23-14 overall advantage.

Rahman appeared spent as he began the final round. His numbers had dropped consistently from the eighth round, when he threw 59 punches, to 49 in the ninth, 46 in the 10th and a low of 38 in the 11th. His connects were also plunging as he landed 33 punches in the eighth, 25 in the ninth, 17 in the 10th and a low of 14 in the 11th. There was a look of concern in Rahman's corner as he struggled to get off his stool for the final round and Maskaev pounced on him, firing power shot after power shot.

A short right and a left hook dropped Rahman, who got up screaming at referee Jay Nady that he had been hit on a break. Rahman went down again and once again nearly out of the ring but Nady ruled that he had fallen on his own trying to hold on to Maskaev. Another Maskaev barrage drove Rahman into the ropes and Nady stopped the bout at 2:17 of the 12th and final round as Maskaev pounded on his helpless opponent.

Maskaev outlanded the exhausted Rahman 22-4 in the final round, with 19 of the 22 connects being power shots.

Rahman actually could have earned a draw and kept his title if he had managed to win the final round. Hongtongkam had Rahman ahead 106-103 through 11 and Roth had Maskaev up 106-103. Trowbridge had Maskaev up 105-104 so if Rahman had earned the one point edge in the 12th, the fight would have been a draw. But Maskaev made it all academic with his power display as he raised his record to 33-5 with his 25th knockout.

Maskaev's victory means that all four recognized heavyweight titleholders are from the former Soviet Union. Maskaev is from Ukraine, Wladimir Klitschko (IBF) also is from Ukraine, Sergei Liakhovich (WBO) is from Belarus and Nikolay Valuev (WBA) is from Russia. Three of them, however, reside in the United States, with Maskaev owning homes in Staten Island, N.Y. and Sacramento, Cal., Liakhovich living in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Klitschko in Los Angeles.

Rahman fell to 41-6-2 and could be finished as a viable contender after once again fading down the stretch of a big fight.

Rahman had an overall advantage by landing 250 of 537 total punches to Maskaev's 184 of 654. Rahman connected on 128 of 266 jabs (48 per cent) and 122 of 271 power punches while Maskaev landed 130 of 362 power shots and just 54 of 292 jabs (18 per cent). The last three rounds made the difference, however, as Maskaev outlanded Rahman 67-35, including a 50-24 advantage in power shots.