Oleg Alexandrovich Maskaev (; born March 2, 1969, in
Zhambyl,
Kazakh SSR) is a
Russian American professional
boxer and a former
WBC heavyweight champion. He is an ethnic
Mordvin.
Boxing career
Maskaev, a former mine worker, began his career in the 1980s as an
amateur boxer in the
Soviet Union. He was the champion of the
Soviet Army and later the national cup winner. His professional boxing career began in 1993.
Oleg is known for his powerful right-hand punch: he has knocked out former
WBO heavyweight challenger
Derrick Jefferson, contender
Alex Stewart, and twice knocked out former
WBC heavyweight champion
Hasim Rahman. However, he is also noted for a suspect
chin that was evident in his knockout losses to contenders
Oliver McCall,
David Tua,
Kirk Johnson,
Lance Whitaker, and
Corey Sanders.
