CANCÚN, Mexico — The Nigerian Nightmare finally achieved his sweetest dream.

Samuel Peter stopped Oleg Maskaev in the final seconds of the sixth round Saturday night, claiming Maskaev's WBC heavyweight title with one last flurry of powerful punches.

Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) was more potent and more poised than the 39-year-old champion in front of a lively sellout crowd at Plaza de Toros, Cancún's bullfighting ring and the unlikely site of boxing-mad Mexico's first heavyweight title fight.

Maskaev and Peter both rocked each other with tremendous punches in the third round, but Peter eventually showed the power that made him a champion, shredding Maskaev's defenses with a sixth-round flurry.

"I'm the best heavyweight in the world. I'm undisputed," Peter said. "I can beat anyone. All of them are going down."

The four major heavyweight titles have been dispersed among several relatively unknown Eastern Europeans in recent years, but now an African has joined them — albeit an African who lives and trains in Las Vegas, Nev..

Peter has been one of the heavyweight division's top prospects for years, with fight fans loving his pure power and sometimes reckless style. Though he still lacks some technique, he finally has a belt and a shot at bigger fights — even an eventual rematch with IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko, the only man to beat him.

"I'm going to get him," Peter said. "I'm going to beat his brother (Vitali). I'm going to tell him that I'm coming. I've got two belts. He doesn't need the IBF. He needs this one. He's going to come for this, and he'll get stopped."

Maskaev (34-6) labored through 13 years and five knockout losses before he won the WBC title in August 2006 with a stunning 12th-round KO of Hasim Rahman.

"He didn't knock me out," said Maskaev. "He shook me, and he knocked me back, and the ref did the right thing. I hurt him a few times, but I wasn't able to finish."

After two slow opening rounds in Cancún, Peter stunned and staggered Maskaev with a prolonged burst of power punches, chasing him from one post to the next. Maskaev's knees buckled, but he stayed up — and then he knocked Peter silly with a brutal left hand moments later.

In the sixth, Peter landed a devastating right hand. Maskaev came up woozy, and Peter pursued him relentlessly, landing more than a dozen shots before the referee stepped in to protect the defenseless champion with 4 seconds left in the round.




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