The WBC's board voted in favor of naming Samuel Peter the body's interim heavyweight champion, faced with three more months of an injured Oleg Maskaev and the fact that they haven't had a heavyweight title fight since December, and haven't had a credible one since last August.

Peter (28-1) still hopes to fight at Madison Square Garden on October 6, when he would now be defending his interim crown. Andrew Golota remains the leading candidate to face "The Nigerian Nightmare," all reports have indicated.