Oleg Maskaev sent Hasim Rahman staggering to the mat, and the Eastern block of title belts was complete.
For the first time, all four heavyweight titles belong to fighters from the former Soviet Union.
But Maskaev wants his adopted land to look past his accent and his European technical style. This U.S. immigrant feels he's the only American heavyweight champion left.
Maskaev stopped Rahman in the 12th round Saturday night with a dramatic last-minute rally to win the WBC heavyweight title.
As Maskaev grabbed his new belt and Rahman collected himself, the crowd of Maskaev's countrymen _ both new and old _ wildly cheered one of the more exciting heavyweight title fights in years for a downtrodden division.
``I believed up to the last minute I could win this fight,'' Maskaev said. ``I got used to him as the fight wore on. ... I knew with three rounds left, I had to win them all to win the fight.''
Maskaev, a former Russian Army officer who moved to the U.S. in 1995, entered this fight on a 10-bout winning streak, albeit mostly against unimpressive competition. But the 37-year-old father of four earned a mandatory title shot with a persistence that prompted his promoters to compare him to James J. Braddock, the famed Cinderella Man.
Maskaev (33-5, 26 KOs) seemed headed for an uncertain decision in an entertaining fight until he sprang to life in the final round, knocking the champion into the ropes with a series of heavy blows.
Rahman (41-6-2), obviously hurt after setting the pace early on, desperately tried to hold on until the final bell, even grabbing Maskaev's leg as he stumbled to the mat. But referee Jay Nady stopped the fight with 43 seconds left after one last beating in front of a frenzied Thomas and Mack Center crowd.
Rahman was the only U.S.-born heavyweight champion left in a division long dominated by Americans; Maskaev, born in Kazakhstan, lives in Staten Island. Three Eastern European champions _ Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko (IBF), Russia's Nicolai Valuev (WBA) and Sergei Lyakhovich of Belarus (WBO) _ hold the other significant belts.
``I'm proud of where I come from, but I consider myself a Russian-American,'' Maskaev said. ``This is a message to everyone: European fighters are tough.''
The fight was impressively even. Maskaev led 106-103 on judge Jerry Roth's scorecard entering the 12th, while Anek Hongtongkam favoured Rahman 106-103. Glenn Trowbridge had Maskaev ahead 105-104, leaving Rahman in need of a 12th-round victory to force a draw.
The Associated Press had Rahman winning 105-104 entering the 12th.
Maskaev's first fight with Rahman in 1999 went down in highlight history, thanks to Maskaev's stunning eighth-round right hand to Rahman's head. The punch knocked Rahman out cold and sent him tumbling through the ropes, over the broadcast table and onto the apron around the ring.
The rematch was nearly as dramatic _ and again, Rahman dominated when he used his jab, but couldn't back it up with discipline or a knockout punch.
Rahman pushed the pace from the opening bell, patiently touching Maskaev with jabs and combinations. Maskaev matched Rahman's pace and landed his share of hard shots in a heavyweight fight that turned out to be much more entertaining than the division's dismal reputation would suggest.
Afterward, Rahman claimed the punch that staggered him occurred while Nady was telling the fighters to break _ but he still blamed himself for abandoning the jab.
``I put my hands down, and he caught me with a shot,'' Rahman said. ``I'm really disappointed. I never thought that he would be taking the world title out of Las Vegas tonight. I'm going to have to watch the tape and see what I did wrong.''
Promoters attempted to wrap this fight in a red-white-and-blue package, labelling Rahman as America's Last Line of Defence. The Baltimore native embraced the storyline, but Maskaev was a bit miffed _ although he knew the facts never get in the way of a good boxing promotion.
Rahman became a heavyweight champion for the second time when he beat Monte Barrett last August and inherited the WBC title after Vitali Klitschko's retirement. His first title defence was a draw with James Toney.
On the undercard, David Diaz claimed the WBC interim lightweight title with a stunning 10th-round knockout of Jose Armando Santa Cruz. Diaz (32-1-1, 17 KOs), a 30-year-old from Chicago, took a steady beating in every round until he abruptly floored the champion (23-2) twice.
