by James Slater – As was recently reported on Eastsideboxing.com, former two-time WBC heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman will return to action on the under-card of the October 3rd clash between David Tua and Shane Cameron in New Zealand. Set to face an as yet unannounced opponent, the 36-year-old will be having his first fight since being hammered to a one-sided defeat by Ring magazine, IBF and WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko..
According to Rahman’s promoter, Steve Nelson, in talking to Dan Rafael over at ESPN.com, the plan is for “The Rock” and “The Tuaman” to meet in a third fight should they both win in October. The third fight of a series that began way back in 1998 (with Tua winning a 10th-round TKO that year, and the two fighting to a draw in 2003) would ideally take place late this year or early next. Added to this plan is the idea that Rahman, if he gets past Tua (which would be in no way certain) could then box a rematch with living legend and former four-time ruler Evander Holyfield.
The two veterans met back in 2002, and a good fight wound up ending due to a large and quite grotesque haematoma being put on Rahman’s forehead (either by a punch or by an unintentional head butt). Losing on a technical decision, Rahman would surely like the chance to avenge the loss. Indeed, manager Nelson says the plan is for his fighter to first win in October, then beat Tua and then, in a farewell fight, possibly face Holyfield. The third fight in Rahman’s latest comeback, whoever it is against, will definitely be his last bout.
“As long as Tua and Rock both win, we’ve talked about a third fight with Tua in New Zealand,” Nelson told ESPN. “Then we’ll look to do a farewell fight in the States after he gets past Tua. Whatever happens, Rock says that 2010 is his last year and he’d like to go out in a nice way. [A Holyfield-Rock II] would be a nice farewell fight for both of them.”
While there would likely be some fan interest in a Tua-Rahman III (especially if Tua can beat Cameron in devastating KO fashion), a Holyfield-Rahman II would prove a much harder sell in my opinion. Fans simply want the all-time great from Atlanta to retire and enjoy his place in history, and they feel his fighting on whilst aged 47 is not a good thing for anyone. Rahman, too, is a fighter way past his best and probably better off retiring, but at 36 he is nowhere near the relic “The Real Deal” is.
Let’s see how Rahman looks on October 3rd.