FanHouse John Ruiz

Oleg Maskaev had won two of five fights and been stopped three times when promoter, Dennis Rappaport, met him in 2002 -- not long after the 33-year-old Russian-American had suffered an eighth-round knockout loss to journeyman, Corey Sanders.

Since then, however, Maskaev is 14-1 with 10 knockouts -- a run that began with six straight KOs. The first stoppage was a one-rounder against Erroll Sadikovski in February of 2003.

"Oleg, in the ring, is now doing something that he's never done before -- and that's being relaxed," Rappaport said of Maskaev, who is coming off of a first-round knockout of Rich Boruff in March -- his second straight win since being dethroned as WBC champ a year earlier by Samuel Peter in six rounds.

"A relaxed fighter is the most dangerous fighter in the world. Oleg's boxing beautifully, he's devastating to the body," said Rappaport. "Even at his age, he's learning new things, and, more importantly, he's got the desire to continue learning."

LAS VEGAS -- When England's David Haye traveled to Nuremberg, Germany, for his Nov. 7 matchup with 7-foot, 316-pound, Nikolay Valuev, the 218-pounder did so with more support from his own countrymen than the man who is named "The Russian Giant" for his status as the largest champion in the history of boxing.

And when Haye broke his right hand in the second round of an eventual, 12-round majority decision, it was the deafening cheers of his fans that lifted him on the way to dethroning Valuev for the WBA championship.

Former IBF cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek, a winner of eight straight bouts -- six of them by knockout -- will continue his pursuit of heavyweight glory and recognition when he enters the ring on Feb. 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., his promoter, Kathy Duva, said on Friday.

Adamek (39-1, 27 knockouts) will go after his second straight heavyweight opponent at the Prudential Center, where the resident of nearby Jersey City routinely packs the stands with his local support.

"It's been a very long time since the boxing public has seen the kind of action in a heavyweight fight that they enjoyed before the super heavyweights who dominate the division these days. When a heavyweight title fight is exciting, it is always the smaller guy in the ring pressing the action," said Duva.

Challenger David Haye did a lot of trash talking before Saturday night's clash with WBA champion Nikolai Valuev. In the end, the smaller man backed up his words.

David Haye has fists that have earned him the nickname, "The Hayemaker," since only one opponent in 22 victories has gone the distance with him.

But the London resident is known by opponents as much for his verbal taunts and jabs outside of the ring as he is for the actual bombs he throws inside of it.

Haye, for example, once wore T-shirts sporting the decapitated likenesses of the siblings, heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko (IBF and WBO) and Vitali Klitschko (WBC), during promotions of scheduled bouts with each that never materialized.

And during the buildup to Saturday's matchup with WBA titlist, Nikolay Valuev, of Russia, Haye's vocal assault on the largest heavyweight champion in history have been equally relentless.

Called by Haye, "a circus freak, a zombie and a robot," the seven-foot Valuev literally steps over the ropes instead of through them because he says "it's easier."

On July 4, America's independence Day, "Fast" Eddie Chambers was handing Ukrainian Alexander Dimitrenko his first loss in 30 bouts before a crowd partisan to Dimitrenko in Hamburg, Germany.

It was Chambers' fifth consecutive win since a January 2008 setback against Russian Alexander Povetkin. And the symbolism is not lost on Chambers, America's best shot at a heavyweight champion.

"I hear that a ton from my fans, like, 'You're the only one who is gonna do it.' It was important for me to go over there and show my skills," said Chambers, who defeated Dimitrenko the day before the latter's 27th birthday. "Beating Dimitrenko, you know, I realize what it did for the United States and our hopes of having a world champion again."

An aging fighter who is approaching 40 years old, Vitali Klitschko said this past week that when the time comes he will truly know when to retire from boxing.

"I'm in great shape, and I am in great form. If I feel that I don't have it left anymore, I will announce my retirement. But not yet," said Klitschko, adding that Saturday night's performance in defense of his heavyweight World Boxing Council championship against Cris Arreola would go a long way toward determining his decision.

After watching last weekend's one-sided loss by Juan Manuel Marquez, fellow Mexican Cris Arreola feels a cultural responsibility entering Saturday night's fight against heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

"It did give me an extra incentive to carry the Mexican torch and grab the bull by the horns," said Arreola. "Whether my fellow Mexican fighters are on the top or not, I am in the business to win the title."

After the Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor fight last night, I was flipping through the channels and heard one of the sports talking heads describe it as something along the lines of, "a rare time when boxing actually gave us a good fight."

But that got me thinking, and looking at the schedule of upcoming fights, good fights are actually not rare at all. In fact, 2008 is shaping up to be an excellent year for boxing.

Next week we've got Wladimir Klitschko taking on Sultan Ibragimov, and while neither of those guys is the most graceful fighter you'll ever see, it's a step toward unifying the heavyweight title belts, which would be a great thing for the sport.