Peter, Maskaev bid to put punch back in class

Heavyweight boxing seeks a much-needed shot in the arm when knockout specialists Samuel Peter and Oleg Maskaev fight for the WBC title today.

Mexico's first world heavyweight title fight, in Cancun's Bull Ring, has been delayed for more than a year, partly due to a back injury suffered by Russian Maskaev, and the WBC declared the 27-year-old Peter its interim champion.

The Nigerian, 29-1 with 22 knockouts, has said he is tired of waiting to fight Maskaev and has promised to knock him out in a maximum of four rounds.

"I've not ducked anyone, I'm not afraid of anybody," he said. "I'm a warrior and a true champion.

"I'm going to make the heavyweight championship great again like in the days of Jack Johnson, Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.

"I'm going to beat this guy and take over."

Peter, nicknamed the Nigerian Nightmare, was knocked down three times by his last opponent, Jameel McCline, but recovered to win on points and the 39-year-old Maskaev is quietly confident.

"I feel very good mentally and physically. I've done more than 160 rounds of sparring," he said.

"I'm looking for a good tough fight but you never know. If you're looking for an easy fight, you're going to get a hard fight. I'm going to do everything to make him look bad. That is my plan."

The Russian, 34-5 with 26 knockouts, mocked Peter's knockout predictions.

"He told one person he'd knock me out in the fifth round, and then another person he'd knock me out in the third," Maskaev said.