17.03.06 – By Troy Ondrizek: Now I know there will be dozens of articles regarding this fight before and after it will be acted out. However, I notice that no-one speaks for Hasim Rahman and his career. I know the views I am about to project onto to you are contrary to popular belief about “The Rock”, but just hear me out. Rahman undoubtedly is the most inconsistent heavyweight there is on the scene. At moments he gives us exciting fights to stand up and cheer about; like his fights with Oleg Maskaev and Corrie Sanders; then he delivers fights like his last one against Monte Barrett. It is because of his inability to decide what type of fighter he really is, that we as fight fans are always left guessing what Rahman we will see. It is because of this glaring flaw that he is underrated; not only in this fight, but his entire career. Hasim is an enigma that has baffled supposed boxing experts and common fight fans for the last eight years. So let’s go back and find out where he began to lose his fighting identity and why we should appreciate him nonetheless..
It was December of 1998 and Rahman was coming off solid victories over Obed Sullivan and Steve Pannell. On this night Hasim was entering his first major clash with a pedigree heavyweight and renowned puncher David Tua. Most of us know the story, but for those of you who don’t, here is a glimpse on what was a young contender. For eight solid rounds Rahman was moving and jabbing and counter-punching Tua like a like an old gym-rat beating up on the new brash kid in the local gym. Rahman looked like a skilled technician, and then BOOM; another one of Tua’s devastating shots struck Rahman, illegally. It was after the bell and the ref Assimenios did nothing regarding the punch. Rahman’s head was clearly ringing for his bell was rung and his equilibrium was cracked. It only took two more rounds of Rahman staggering around for the fight to be called and the victory undeservedly given to Tua. Not to worry, Rahman would bounce back and earn another high-profile fight.
This time he stepped in with the hesitant puncher Oleg Maskaev. Now if you haven’t seen this fight, go get it. Trust me though you have at least seen the knockout. In what was seven great action packed rounds, Rahman was landing the cleaner and more effective shots. He clearly looked the better fighter, and then once again his head attacked Maskaev’s fist with brutal force; thus sending “The Rock” stumbling about like a barfly at closing time. Rahman survived the seventh round only to find that his head wasn’t done attacking Maskaev’s fist. Oleg landed one of the nastiest one-two combos on Hasim, and Rahman landed outside the ring in Jim Lampley’s lap.
Now fast forward just a bit and you will find Rahman starting to show his best. He landed yet another marquee fight with heavy-handed southpaw Corrie Sanders. Hasim beat Sanders to the punch the whole fight and stopped the South African sniper inside of seven. This fight set Rahman up for a date with destiny, dum, dum, dum.
In South Africa Rahman would find his fame. Against an under-prepared Lennox Lewis, Rahman would find his identity as a fighter, and ruin his career all in one punch.
Hasim discovered an overweight and hesitant Lewis in the ring with him that night. Rahman’s freakishly long arms aided his jab into Lennox’s face and kept the legend at bay. With Lewis scampering about for the first part of the fight, Rahman would close in on him when Lewis neared the ropes. Then with only seconds left in the fourth round, fate struck Hasim and Lewis at the same time in the form of a devastating right hand from Rahman. For once, the brain-rattling blow was delivered by Rahman. His career would be defined by that punch. I actually say ruined, but that is just me, and I’ll tell you why. From this point on, Rahman was labeled a power puncher. Now he truly is a boxer-puncher with a solid right hand. All the hype he received from that shot, he let it go to his head. He thought he could take it easy and end a match at any given point with his power. It is this overconfidence and Rahman being temporarily overrated that cost him dearly. In the rematch, Lewis jabbed Hasim senseless for three rounds. For some retarded reason, every time that Lewis would throw a hook, Rahman would put out his arms as if to tell Lewis to pick him up and hold him. Lewis just responded by hitting in the head, hard; Lewis put Rahman to sleep on the Don King logo with a spectacular left-right combo. Once again Rahman was derailed by someone else’s power.
After that performance we saw a dismal Rahman lose to an ancient Evander Holyfield; via a giant growth on his head that is reminiscent of something I saw out of National Geographic as a kid, something like Malaria or Elephantitis. This resulted in an uninspiring TKO loss. He then put on another good performance against David Tua. One that this writer believes that Rahman won, but the judges decided, why not call it a draw. After this solid performance he followed it up with a boring dance with John Ruiz. It seems that when he faced someone who lacked true power like Holyfield and Ruiz, Rahman just looked for the one big punch, but when facing another big puncher, he out-boxed Tua and garnered some respect. The next couple fights aren’t worth mentioning, so there.
Rahman finally came out and gave us another performance that should prove is worth to us as one of the best heavyweights of his time. He was up against Kali Meehan, who at the time had just recently lost a controversial decision to WBO champion Lamon Brewster in a title fight. Rahman gave us a performance to remember. For four brutal rounds Hasim battered the New Zealander around the ring with great body to head combos. He really looked like a true pedigree heavyweight. This was the Rahman we have been waiting for since he knocked out Lewis three and a half years earlier. Meehan survived the fourth round, but his corner wisely said no more, and Rahman was reborn. Then Rahman went back to his old ways. He fought Monte Barrett back in August for the interim WBC title. This genius like maneuver by Don King put Hasim into the position he is today. Rahman lulled Barrett and the crowd to sleep, occasionally throwing a punch or two to capture the “title”. It is here that we find Rahman today.
Hasim as given us fight fans some of the most memorable moments in boxing history. His exodus from the ring following a Maskaev combo will always be played on the internet and highlight reels for as long as there are morbid fans. Rahman’s knockout victory over Lennox Lewis will always be apart of upset lure; much like Jim Braddock beating Max Baer. In some amazing displays of boxing for a man his size; he twice out-dueled David Tua, actually not an entirely difficult task. He leveled Kali Meehan and Corrie Sanders in impressive fashion. He was in a war with Maskaev, and in two wars of attrition with Ruiz and Holyfield. Hasim has always been a good fighter. We dismiss him as not reaching his potential. It is his fault that we view him in a lesser light; he has stated that his training and focus for fights wasn’t always stellar.
However, don’t underestimate him as a fighter. When he elected to be, he was one of the best of the past decade. He might’ve relegated himself to looking for the knockout or thinking that he would win because he deserved it, but he does deserve our respect for fighting and defeating some talented heavyweights in his career. That is more than can be said about his opponent Saturday night. I’m not saying that Toney hasn’t fought or beaten great fighters; just not great heavyweights, and not at their prime. Rahman could easily come out and give us a virtuoso performance, one that we will define his career in a positive light. If it happens, most fight fans wouldn’t have seen it coming. He does have that possibility though. Then again, he could come out flat, and lay up against Toney for twelve rounds like Dominick Guinn did. We just don’t know. I implore you though to not be surprised if Rahman does find a way to dominate and we as fans have underrated him for this fight. Even if he doesn’t provide us with anything positive, and we were right about his performance in this bout; don’t underrate him as a fighter and definitely don’t underrate his career. Hasim Rahman might not be a hall-of-famer or a legend, but he deserves credit for fighting the best of his time, and at moments looking like the best of his time.