Talk about a pole-axe job of a highlight reel knockout. A revenge knockout. On this day back in 2001, heavyweight great Lennox Lewis did the job he should have done the first time he ran into Hasim Rahman. Instead, in South Africa in April of that year, an ill-prepared (for the altitude mostly) Lewis found himself getting run over by “Rock” Rahman’s big right hand. The fifth-round KO win Rahman scored is today seen as one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history.
But Lewis, who would end up brawling with Rahman in a TV studio as the second fight approached, would get sweet revenge. And it meant so much to keen chess player Lewis that his KO would come quicker than Rahman’s KO over him had come.
The two met at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the fight dubbed ‘Final Judgement.’ Lewis would score his most satisfying career KO.
Lewis, in top shape and sharp this time, was the older man by seven years at 36, yet he was, as we would find out, still pretty close to his prime. Rahman, 35-2(29) had held the title for seven months, and then it was all over. Lewis, 38-2-1(29) going in, lowered the sonic boom in round four.
Having inflicted a small cut above Rahman’s let eye in the opening round, Lewis also swept the following two rounds. Then, in round four, Lewis crashed home with a brutal left/right combo to the head that sent Rahman’s senses into orbit. Rahman crashed, tried to rise, and then crashed again. It was the kind of nasty, humiliating knockout loss all fighters fear.
Lewis rubbed it in post-fight by referring to Rahman as “Has-been Rahman.”
Lewis had scored savage revenge, and as stunning as the KO Rahman had pulled off in the first fight was, the thunder and lightning knockout Lewis exploded with made us all pretty much forget what had happened in fight-one. Lewis scored many great KOs during his ring career, including knockouts/stoppage wins over Razor Ruddock, Frank Bruno, Andrew Golota, Shannon Briggs, Michael Grant, Frans Botha, and Mike Tyson.
But the ice job Lennox did on this day some 23 years ago ranks as one of his most special.
