09.08.05 – By Ted Luzzi: On Saturday, August 13, two of the worlds best heavyweights meet in a hard hitting exciting showdown in boxing’s glamour division! In one corner of the ring will be Hasim Rahman, a power punching heavy that once made it all the way to the top in boxing by knocking out former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis to win the title.. Across from him will be tough Monte Barrett, a revitalized tiger who may have what it takes to make the other top heavyweights have to step aside to make room for him. Rahman, at thirty-two, says he has realized what he lost when he lost the title and does not want to spend the rest of his life regretting not doing his best in his boxing career.
Hasim, who is a Muslim, says he has woken up and realized that fights are won by dedication and discipline. Hasim says with his new attitude he feels refreshed and there is no reason why he cannot reclaim the Heavyweight crown. After winning the title over Lennox Lewis in 2001, Hasim Rahman did little but accept congratulations and talk trash. Then, after losing a rematch to Lewis, Hasim lost big fights to Evander Holyfield and John Ruiz and fought to a draw with David Tua. A that point in his career, Rahman seemed on the way out as a contender.
However, Rahman did have something happen to turn on his desire and dedication again. Fearing a lifetime of regret for not using his considerable talent, he got serious about his training and and scored four straight wins. This earned “the Rock ” a place on Don King’s huge multi-fight ppv card at the Garden on November 13, 2004. In front of 12,777 fans at Madison Square Garden, A highly motivated Rahman charged out and destroyed the six foot five and 239 pound Kali Meeham, who never had a chance. Rahman thrilled the big apple crowd with a brutal fourth round knockout and showed that focused and in shape he is still a threat to anyone.
Monte Barrett is a foe that not going to be easy for Rahman next Saturday night. Barrett is a 220 pound fighter with talent, as well as extraordinary ring smarts. In my opinion, Barrett always had ability but seemed to lack the” fire in the belly” to take that ability to the championship level. Nevertheless, sometimes getting a shot at big fights improves a fighter greatly, which seemed to be the case with Barrett. He showed up in rock hard shape for his big fight with Joe Mesi. After losing the first 6 rounds to Mesi, Barrett totally dominated in the second half of the fight. However, Barrett narrowly lost the decision, but he was very impressive. If the fight had gone two more rounds, Barrett would have likely have stopped Mesi, who appeared to be totally exhausted at the fight’s end.
Barrett got an even bigger chance when he was picked to fight the “Southern Disaster” Dominick Guinn, a fighter picked by almost everybody to be the next superstar in the heavyweight division. Barrett trained as never before and was ready for the fight of his life. At the bell, Barrett pounced on the young star and eventually battered him to a decision defeat. This win vaulted Barrett into a top ten rating and made him “Ring” magazines fighter of the month. His trainers and cornermen call this new Monte Barrett, the “full Monte” and expect him to show the world his worth on fight night against Rahman.
Both men have had sensational performances in big fights. This fights winner may very well get a title shot. The weigh-in for this fight will have far more interest than most. Will they both be in top form? The weights will tell the story. Both camps insist that their man is ready and has sweated and worked into top form. If this is true, (of course one learns not to believe all the hype and controversy) then the fans at this ppv event may be in for a treat. It’s old school boxing. Chicago is a tough town, and the crowd is likely to be raucous.