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A heavyweight bout against Iron Curtain?

American Hasim Rahman says yes. But Oleg Maskaev, now a U.S. citizen, doesn't want to play along.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published August 12, 2006

Oleg Maskaev is the first one to tell you that he's living the American Dream, having fled a war-torn and oppressive country to seek a better life for his family in the United States, even becoming a bona fide, 100 percent citizen.

But that's no way to promote a boxing match.

Instead, the theme leading up to tonight's heavyweight championship between Maskaev and Baltimore's Hasim Rahman on HBO Pay-Per-View is that American boxing is under siege and that the division of Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield is about to be closed off by an Iron Curtain.

Three of the four pieces of the fractured heavyweight title are already held by fighters with Russian backgrounds. Wladimir Klitschko holds the IBF title, Nicolay Valuev is the WBA champ and Sergei Liakhovich has the WBO belt.

Rahman, as the WBC champ, would then be - as the fight posters suggest - America's Last Line of Defense.

But Maskaev doesn't want to play along.

"Yes, it bothers me," Maskaev said during a conference call. "Whoever is going to win is going to be an American."

Maskaev (32-5, 25 KOs) was a coal miner before joining the Red Army and its vaunted amateur boxing team as a teenager. He was a Russian lieutenant for seven years. In 1995, he left Kazakhstan for the United States, and he became a citizen two years ago.

"I would say I'm a proud Russian-American," said Maskaev, 37. "Right now, I'm a citizen of America. I have four kids, and the last of them, she's an American, too. She was born here. I had a great opportunity here to get a good education for my kids and a house and to make my wife happy. She's really happy to be here. This is the American Dream."

To which Rahman (41-5-2, 33 KOs) has replied: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The Baltimore-born fighter has happily wrapped himself in the American flag, and in many ways this fight has become his Olympics.

Having been knocked out of the ring by Maskaev in 1999 - and with huge paydays looming for fights against James Toney or Klitschko - Rahman, 33, doesn't need any added pressure. But he sees himself as the heavyweight division's defender.

"Look around you," Rahman said. "It is what it is. All the other beltholders are not American, and they are trying to get a clean sweep. So, you know, they're sending me out there to represent my country, and I will do that.

"I need to hold it down for America. If I lose this fight, I not only let me and my family down, I let my country down. I never before have felt like I put my country on my back, and I'm fighting for my country, solely for my country. And, I feel like I'm - I mean, I can't allow this to happen. I can't allow them to get a clean sweep."

If that wasn't enough to motivate the woefully inconsistent Rahman, there's always the knockout he suffered at the hands of Maskaev, which the challenger has focused on more than his nationality.

In 1999, Rahman was ahead on all three cards when Maskaev caught him in the eighth round with two right hands, the last one sending him through the ropes, off HBO commentator Jim Lampley's lap and onto the floor at ringside.

Maskaev's public relations team requested extra padding around the ringside floor for tonight's fight, looking to get under the champion's skin.

"It don't make me embarrassed," Rahman said. "It happened in 1999. I went on and became two-time heavyweight champion since then. It wasn't no lingering effect on me mentally, because I got in with much bigger punchers and much better fighters."

Rahman went on to shock Lennox Lewis to win his first major belt in 2001, lost it in the rematch that year and was beltless until a listless victory over Monte Barrett in 2005 provided him with the WBC belt.

Maskaev, too, has been refurbished since 1999. After beating Rahman, he suffered knockout losses to Kirk Johnson, Lance Whitaker and Corey Sanders. He was dumped by his management team and trainer, and he contemplated retirement.

But since changing teams in 2002, he has won his past 10 fights, seven by knockout within three rounds. His list of opponents doesn't compare with Rahman's, but his confidence level does.

That streak ends today, Rahman said. So does the heavyweight division's Russian evolution.

"I get the chance to defend - to defend my title, to avenge the loss, to hold it down for my country," Rahman said. "I'm definitely going to make a big statement in this fight."

[Last modified August 12, 2006, 02:34:07]