Hasim Rahman
Hasim Rahman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hasim Shariff Rahman November 7, 1972 |
| Nationality |  American |
| Other names | The Rock |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 2½ in (189 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 53 |
| Wins | 45 |
| Wins by KO | 36 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 0 |
Hasim "The Rock" Shariff Rahman (born November 7, 1972), is an American boxer who became the heavyweight champion of the world by knocking out Lennox Lewis in 2001. His nickname is The Rock (the name comes from his last name, correctly pronounced "rock-mahn"). Rahman lives and trains in Rochester, NY.[1]
Professional career
Rahman grew up in Baltimore, but unlike most championship boxers, got a relatively late start in the sport. He took up boxing at age 20 and had just 10 amateur bouts before making his pro debut on December 3, 1994 at age 22.
Despite his inexperience, Rahman had obvious natural boxing skills that propelled him to 11 knockout wins in his first 12 fights. Then he took a step up in class in March 1996 with a 10-round decision win over veteran Ross Puritty and seven months later, he repeated the feat against former world champion Trevor Berbick.
In July 1997, he won the USBA regional heavyweight title, and four months later, he added another regional belt, the IBF Intercontinental heavyweight title. By the fall of 1998, he was ranked as one of the top five heavyweights in the world.
On December 19, 1998, Rahman faced fellow contender David Tua in a fight to determine who the IBF's mandatory contender would be. Rahman apparently won most of the first eight rounds, and while tiring, appeared to be on his way to victory when Tua staggered him with a punch after the bell in the ninth round. Because the punch was illegal, Rahman should have been given whatever time he needed to recover, but the referee erroneously forced him to begin the 10th round only after the normal one minute break in between rounds. Tua pounced on him immediately, and the ref jumped in when Rahman was bobbing and weaving, but not punching back and sitting on the ropes. The TKO loss remains controversial.
Because of the controversial nature of the loss, Rahman's ranking did not suffer, but in November 1999, he was knocked out by Oleg Maskaev in the eighth round of a fight he looked to be winning, and dropped out of the Ring Magazine top 10 as a result. He later admitted that he had seen Maskaev a couple of years before being ko'd in the 1st round by former world champion Oliver Mccall and so he though Oleg was just an easy fight, because of this he didn't train as hard as he should have.
Winning the Heavyweight Championship
Rahman came back with three wins, including one in May 2000 over Corrie Sanders for the fringe WBU heavyweight title, and moved back up in the rankings. Finally, on April 22, 2001, Rahman earned a shot at Lennox Lewis—the consensus World Heavyweight Champion, to boxing fans—and his unified WBC and IBF Heavyweight Titles. Lewis looked slightly out-of-shape (he had been shooting a cameo appearance in Ocean's Eleven just 48 hours prior, in North America), yet abundantly confident of winning.
In the fight, held at Brakpan, South Africa, Lewis and Rahman traded hard blows for five rounds before Rahman, a 20-to-1 underdog, stunned the crowd by knocking the complacent Lewis out with one punch. It was only the second loss of Lewis' career, and made Rahman the third Muslim (after Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson) to hold a world heavyweight championship.
Lewis had an immediate-rematch clause (in case he lost to Hasim—a common stipulation in title fight contracts) in the contract for his defense against Hasim, and chose to invoke it. Rahman and his new promoter, the legendary Don King, made plans to defend the titles against at least one other opponent first, and give Lewis his rematch later (a rather common occurrence in contemporary boxing). Lewis sued Rahman in U.S. federal court to enforce their contract. The judge sided with Lewis; so, on November 17, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the two men met again. This time, Lewis landed the most devastating punch in yet another slugging match, sending Rahman down for the count in the fourth round. After that fight Lewis called him "Has-been Rahman".
The Long Climb Back to the Top
Rahman's next fight took place on June 1, 2002 against former champion Evander Holyfield, as both men sought another shot at Lewis, or failing that, a chance to fight for the WBA belt that Lewis had earlier vacated. An "accidental" headbutt by Holyfield caused an abnormally large (almost softball-sized) swelling above Rahman's left eye. It was later diagnosed as a severe hematoma. This caused the referee (after consulting with the ringside doctor) to stop the fight after just seven rounds, and send it to the judges' scorecards. Rahman lost a split decision (67-66 for, 69-64 [twice] against).
On March 29, 2003, Rahman faced Tua for a second time, and again the fight ended in controversy. The fight was ruled a draw after one judge scored it for Rahman, a second for Tua and a third had the score even. However, most observers thought Rahman won the fight, and in June, he was elevated to the No. 1 contender's position by the WBC. Rahman weighed more than ever before and most of the press thought Rahman was too fat to stand a chance of winning, he proved them wrong. On December 13, Rahman was matched with former WBA world champion John Ruiz, in a match for an Interim (i.e., temporary, pending the inactive champion's return) WBA heavyweight title. Rahman was favored, but appeared to be out of shape; he lost by (twelve round) unanimous decision on December 13.
After this defeat, Rahman stepped back to a lower level of competition and defeated four journeyman fighters while working to get back into shape. His efforts paid off when he was rewarded with a fight against Kali Meehan on November 13, 2004. The fight was an eliminator for the IBF, WBA, and WBC, so the victor could potentially become the number-one contender in more than one world-title organization. Rahman scored the victory by a fourth-round knockout at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
Klitschko Fight Cancellations
The WBC designated Rahman as Vitali Klitschko’s next mandatory challenger; the fight was set for April 30, 2005. Klitschko injured his thigh while training for the fight, so it was rescheduled for June 18. As this date approached, Klitschko’s camp said that the thigh had not fully healed; the WBC made July 23 the new fight date. Soon after this second postponement, Vitali’s doctors reportedly discovered back injuries that they said demanded minor-yet-immediate corrective surgery. The WBC pushed Rahman's title shot back again, this time to November 12; Rahman's share of the purse following this match would reportedly be around $4.2 million (U.S.).
After this third rescheduling, Rahman, tired of the delays, needlessly risked his guaranteed title shot by fighting for a WBC "Interim" heavyweight championship (i.e., temporary-champion status, pending the linear titleholder’s—Klitschko’s—return; then, the two must fight each other). Rahman defeated #2 contender Monte Barrett on August 13, 2005 via unanimous decision in a largely uninspired effort.
At this point, Klitschko would be stripped of his now-disputed WBC Title if his first fight back was not against Rahman. On November 7, it was announced that Klitschko had suffered severe right knee injuries during training; the WBC said it would strip him of the championship if he was unable to box within 60-90 days of a soon-to-be-announced base date. However, on November 9, Vitali Klitschko retired instead. On November 10, 2005, the WBC voted to award its (no longer disputed) heavyweight championship to Rahman.
Ironically, since the match never took place, the purse (including Rahman's $4.2 million challenger's share of it) was rescinded. That money was desperately needed: Rahman had declared bankruptcy on October 4 while waging a costly, bitter court fight with Don King (his own promoter, since 2001). With the court case unresolved, King maintains exclusive rights to promote Rahman's future matches. The funding of the purse (i.e., each fighter's pay) in professional boxing matches is usually controlled by one of the two fighters' promoters. This basically means that King can control (and vindictively suppress, at will) Rahman's earning ability for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, Rahman has expressed interest in fighting Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF and IBO World Heavyweight Champion—and, Vitali Klitschko's younger brother.
Career After Klitschko Crisis
On December 9, 2005, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ended Rahman's legal fight with King. As part of the Chapter 11 settlement, Rahman's promotional contract with King was nullified; plus, Rahman was allowed to immediately sign instead with Top Rank Boxing (a firm built by promoter Bob Arum, a longtime King rival) [2].
On March 18, 2006, Rahman fought James Toney to a draw, in 12-round fight in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but he retained the WBC Heavyweight Title. Many at ringside had Rahman winning, be that as it may, Rahman was happy with the decision.
On August 12, 2006, Rahman lost the WBC Heavyweight Championship to rival Oleg Maskaev by 12th Round TKO in a mandatory defense of his title.
Second Comeback
After a long layoff, Rahman resumed his career with a lackluster ten-round unanimous decision over clubfighter Taurus Sykes June 14, 2007 at The Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York.[3] Rahman hired trainer Marshall Kauffman of Reading, Pa. to help reestablish him on the championship scene. Despite beating Sykes, Rahman's inability to dominate his less experienced opponent casts doubts on his comeback. So did the fact that he weighed in for the fight at 261 pounds, at least twenty pounds heavier than his ideal fighting weight.
Rahman won his next two fights by knockout, before going up against Zuri Lawrence on November 15, 2007. Rahman had a much more difficult time than many had expected from the light-hitting Lawrence. Lawrence was knocked out of the ring in the sixth round, but survived and managed to win a few rounds. Going into the tenth round, Rahman was ahead on two of the judges scorecards, while the other judge had Lawrence ahead. Rahman was able to get Lawrence in trouble to force the stoppage in the tenth round.[4]
Record
- Amateur boxing: 7-3
- Professional boxing:(53 Fights) 45 Wins (36 KOs) 6 Losses 2 Draws
Career
- WBU Heavyweight Champion (minor title)
- IBO Heavyweight Champion (minor title)
- IBF World Heavyweight Champion (held simultaneously with the WBC Title)
- WBC World Heavyweight (21st) Champion
- WBC World Heavyweight (24th) Champion (as of November 10, 2005)
- 2001 Upset of the Year - Ring Magazine (knocked out unified IBF/WBC Champion, Lennox Lewis)
See also
- List of heavyweight boxing champions
- List of male boxers
- List of WBC world champions
- Reigning boxing champions
External links
- Hasim Rahman Fight-by-Fight Career Record
- Boxing record for Hasim Rahman from BoxRec (registration required)