Vitali bows out of heavyweight negotiations

06/04/2007

Vitali bows out of heavyweight negotiations

Edited Press Release: K2 Promotions confirmed today that Vitali Klitschko has bowed out of negotiations to secure an immediate world heavyweight championship fight against Oleg Maskaev. This confirms a Boxingtalk report that stated Sam Peter was next for Maskaev. “We exhausted every effort,” said Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions. “The deal was so complex and changed so many times and with issues still unresolved, we were not able to finalize it.  In the end we ran up against deadlines from the television networks. Vitali was willing to accept about one third of the money that either Maskaev would have received for the fight, or Peter to step aside,” said Bernd Boente, Klitschko’s manager.  “Vitali will now focus on fighting the winner of Maskaev-Peter fight to regain his title.” Klitschko had retired in 2005 while still holding the WBC heavyweight title, but announced his comeback earlier this year after his previous injuries had fully healed. Maskaev now holds that tile and Peter is the WBC's #1 contender following two victories over James Toney.   "My main objective was to regain my world title that I never lost in the ring,” said a disappointed Klitschko."