Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008, when he stopped Oleg Maskaev in six rounds. In his prime, he was known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers, having faced Wladimir twice (in 2005 and 2010) and Vitali once. He was ranked by The Ring among ten best heavyweights from 2005 to 2008, reaching his highest ranking of world No.2 in 2007, and by BoxRec as the world's No.6 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2004 and 2005 and as No.5 heavyweight in 2006. Peter is known for his punching power and holds a 78.9% knockout-to-win ratio. Early years and amateur career Originally, Peter's preferred sport was football. In 1992, some boxers came to his school to train. The curious young 11-year-old stopped by and asked if he could train along with them. He was put up against an experienced amateur and knocked him out. This marked the beginning of a successful amateur career for Peter. He won the Nigerian Amateur Heavyweight Championship and the Africa Zone 3 Heavyweight Championship. He faced stiff competition as an amateur (including a knockout victory over 2000 silver medalist Mukhtarkhan Dildabekov of Kazakhstan). However, he prevailed and was given the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Peter lost in the quarterfinals to Italian Paolo Vidoz by decision. However, his performance was noted for being very impressive from such a young pugilist and hence more excitement was generated for him than the eventual gold medalist, Audley Harrison, to whom Peter had lost a very close decision just a few months before the Olympics. Professional career Early career Immediately after the Olympics, Ivaylo Gotzev signed on as Peter's manager, and Andy "Pops" Anderson became his coach. They were then able to land a promotional deal with Dino Duva of Duva Boxing. Peter made his professional debut on February 6, 2001 against Bulgarian fighter Georgi Hristov in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Peter won the bout by first-round knockout. He had seven fights in 2001, winning all of them but one in the first-round. Peter made a step up in competition the following year, as his first fight of the year was against Marion Wilson. The bout was scheduled for four rounds. With 11–37–3 record, Wilson was known for his durability and toughness, having never lost inside the distance and occasionally pulling