The Education of Samuel Peter

09.01.07 - By Chris Acosta: Learning is a painful endeavor. Whenever our minds are forced to work outside their frame of reference, there is a reflexive tendency to resist. That's why so many people give up on learning new languages or musical instruments. If you're able to buckle down and see it through to the end however, the rewards take on an almost mystical value in terms of wisdom and experience.

Samuel Peter (photo by Wray Edwards / ESB) is very much a work in progress. When he was coming up through the ranks, he was viewed as something of a poor man's Ike Ibeabuchi, the former heavyweight contender who also hailed from Nigeria. Like Ike, Peter was built like an S.U.V and hit like one. But unlike his countryman, Samuel lacked the finesse to go with his brute force. Fortunately, Peter also lacked the psychotic episodes that sent Ibeabuchi to prison on rape charges back in 1999. continue