"I personally think it was a pure popularity contest." Those were the words of manager Fred Kesch when asked why he believes the WBC recently moved the number five-rated heavyweight James Toney over Kesch's fighter, the number one ranked Oleg Maskaev.

Maskaev earned the ranking on November 12th when he went to Germany and won a unanimous decision over Sinan Samil Sam. Before the showdown, the WBC rated Sam as their #1 ranked contender and Maskaev as the #2 challenger. With the win, Maskaev (32-5, 25 KOs) won the WBC International Heavyweight title plus he earned the WBC number one ranking. This potentially set up an intriguing rematch between Maskaev and the newly appointed WBC champion Hasim Rahman. In November 1999, Maskaev, behind on the scorecards, dramatically knocked Rahman out the ring in the eight round.

Coming back from Germany two weeks ago, Team Maskaev couldn't have been happier about their good fortune. They were finally getting the title shot Maskaev had yearned for and against a man they had already beaten.

But on November 18th, the WBC Board of Governors voted to elect Toney as the official challenger for Rahman, bypassing Maskaev, who had just earned the number one ranking. This despite the fact that Maskaev had won and paid a sanctioning fee for an elimination bout against Sam just one week earlier.

According to the WBC, Toney (then the #5 contender) received 21 votes in the process compared to 5 for Wladimir Klitschko (then the #3 contender) and just 4 for Maskaev. Klitschko - the mandatory WBO/IBF heavyweight contender - was thrown out of the mix because he will likely fight for another organization's title.

Toney was given the go-ahead to commence negotiations with Rahman with the caveat that the winner must face Maskaev within 90 days.

The WBC's decision to change their heavyweight pecking order, however, has left Maskaev and his team furious.

"I am very upset about this," said Maskaev. "I was supposed to get the first shot. There's some type of game going on and I don't like that."

"I'm absolutely outraged by this whole situation," Kesch concurred. "We paid the sanctioning fee, we won the fight and we were given the number one position."

"Toney had no title elimination fight," proclaimed Dennis Rappaport, Maskaev's promoter. "Toney was suspended by the WBA for the use of steroids. Is he being rewarded?"

Rappaport, compared to Kesch and Maskaev, is trying to remain calm and assess the situation correctly. "I am taking the position, which is an unusual one for me, of cooler heads. I really told them (Maskaev and Kesch) that I want the opportunity to further touch base with (Jose) Sulaiman and to further evaluate the situation."

All options however, according to Rappaport, are on the table. This includes possible legal action to prevent the Rahman-Toney fight from taking place.

"Oleg's attorney is saying that they feel we've got an open and shut case. I have known Sulaiman for many years and I'm trying to evaluate the situation. I can't blame Fred and Oleg for being as angry as they are because a terrible injustice has been done."

"What this sounds like is gobbly-gook," Rappaport continued. "They (Maskaev and Sam) fought an elimination. Toney fought no elimination! Toney was ranked number five at the (WBC) convention (in October). He is now installed as number two (after Maskaev's win over Sam) and now like Superman he climbs over number one (Maskaev)? Let's be candid about it. There was never a need for a vote. How does number one, who fought an eliminator, not get the first fight?"

Rappaport said he couldn't understand the logic of giving a lower-ranked fighter a title shot over the higher ranked one. "Only in boxing does kindergarten math not work," he said.

Right now, things for Maskaev and his team are up in the air.

Rappaport intends to speak to Sulaiman before making a final decision. Maskaev will not fight again (and risk his ranking) until this situation is cleared and finalized.

"A lot depends on how things evolve," explained Rappaport. The promoter does feel that if they were to take legal action that they would prevail because "this is a slam dunk thing."

For now, however, Maskaev and his whole team are both disheartened and angry. Rappaport said everyone was elated on the way home from Germany but the euphoria quickly dissipated when they learned their opportunity at the title had also evaporated.

"Instead of sharing in this joy, Oleg now has to be faced with the ugly politics of boxing."