Samuel Peter has chased Oleg Maskaev from New York City to the Mayan Riviera. He has insulted and harangued the WBC heavyweight champion for over a year now, confidently vowing to take his belt with a violent knockout. If Peter can punch Maskaev on Saturday night with the same passion he has shown in pursuing him, the ever-disappointing heavyweight division might be worth watching again. Peter, a Nigerian who trains in Las Vegas, is in this Mexican resort town for what many assume will be a coronation. Maskaev, the injury-plagued 39-year-old champion, has barely done anything since winning the belt 18 months ago with a courageous 12th-round knockout of Hasim Rahman. Though Maskaev made many fans with his title victory, he seems ripe to surrender his belt to a ferocious puncher such as the menacing Peter. Maskaev has been knocked out in all five of his losses - and after injuries pushed back their first scheduled meeting, Peter is ready for his turn. “I'm coming to eat you alive,” Peter said to Maskaev this week. “I'm going to punish you and beat you up. I've been fighting for seven years, and I've never ducked anyone. I hope you're planning on coming to fight on Saturday. You can run no more.” While promoter Don King waved Mexican and Nigerian flags, Peter and Maskaev both glowered at each other during Thursday night's weigh-in. Peter weighed in at just over 250 pounds (122kg), exactly the same as his weight for his last fight. Maskaev came in at 243 (110kg). Peter believes Maskaev has been avoiding this fight since shortly after Maskaev, a naturalized American citizen originally from Kazakhstan, won the title in 2006. After Maskaev made one title defense and Peter slogged through consecutive victories over James Toney, the two were scheduled to meet in New York last October but Maskaev pulled out with a herniated disc in his back. Peter then got knocked down three times in the first three rounds of a fight with Maskaev's substitute, Jameel McCline. Don King is staging the first heavyweight title fight in the Yucatan Peninsula, which is receiving thousands of US college students. __
