Rahman out to prove he’s no fluke
By Scott Shaffer
In recent heavyweight championship history, there have been two upsets bigger than Hasim Rahman's knockout of Lennox Lewis. In 1978, Leon Spinks, in just his ninth pro fight, shocked Muhammad Ali and the rest of the boxing world with a 15 round decision win. And in 1990, then-undistinguished James "Buster" Douglas accomplished the unimaginable with a tenth round knockout of a seemingly invincible Mike Tyson.
For both Spinks and Douglas, their time at the top of boxing's food chain would be very short. Spinks would surrender his title back to Ali just six months later in an immediate rematch, while Douglas was relieved of his crown later in 1990 by Evander Holyfield in his first defense.
The big question in 2001 is whether Hasim Rahman will follow in the footsteps of Spinks, Douglas and an earlier Cinderella Man, James Braddock, and be remembered only as someone who had one night of glory but little more.
Rahman's moment came on April 22 in South Africa when, as a 15-1 underdog, he knocked out Lennox Lewis in the fifth round. His first defense will be a rematch with Lewis.
The new champion was not buying into the comparisons to Spinks and Douglas. “When those guys won the title, I don’t think they were at the point where they were still getting any better. I am still getting better,” he said in New York today. Rahman and Lewis are currently participating in a media blitz that began yesterday in Baltimore and hit New York City today in order to drum up publicity for the scheduled November 17 date in Las Vegas.
If Rahman is wrong and he winds up losing the rematch, his reign would be a Buster Douglas-like seven months. But the similarities between Rahman and other upset champs don't end there.
Like Spinks against Ali, Douglas against Tyson and Braddock against Max Baer in 1935, Rahman benefited from facing a champion that was not in great condition. Tyson, for example, was knocked down while sparring in preparation for Douglas. Although Lewis' weight, 253, was just a bit over his previous high, he spent part of his training camp filming a Hollywood motion picture instead of preparing for the 5200 foot altitude of South Africa.
During Spinks' reign, he was frequently pulled over by police while driving his car. Rahman has had some automobile problems of his own, when he and his family were thrown from a convertible during his victory parade. No one was hurt seriously, but the family was taken to the hospital.
Then there were legal battles for control of the heavyweight title. Like Braddock and Douglas, Rahman has had to deal with a huge potential distraction in the form of a court battle. Braddock sought to face Joe Louis, but had to go to court to avoid facing Max Schmeling first. He won the court battle but not the ring war. Braddock was allowed to sidestep Schmeling but wound up getting stopped by Louis in eight. Douglas had to go to court to rid himself of promoter Don King and to avoid a rematch with Tyson. He won the right to fight Holyfield instead of Tyson, but during the space between fights, Douglas’ weight ballooned upwards and he weighed 16 pounds more against Holyfield than he did for the Tyson fight. Rahman, too, was involved in litigation, but unlike Douglas, he wanted to sign with the frizzy-haired one, not get away from him. He was allowed to sign with King, but a judge prevented from making a desired defense against David Izon. Which brings us to November 17, the date when he will finally honor the rematch clause he signed before the Lewis fight. And he won’t say how much he’s getting paid for the fight after turning down some eight-figure offers. “I’m satisfied with my purse,” was Rahman’s only comment.
The oddsmakers think Rahman will go the way of Douglas and Spinks and have installed Lewis as approximately a 3-1 favorite. “Lewis is really going to hate those guys,” replied Rahman, “because its only going to motivate me more.”
Of course, Lewis believes Rahman to be nothing more than a flash in the pan. "I say it was a fluke," Lewis told the press in Baltimore yesterday. "It was a great punch, but I don't think lightning can strike twice in the same place."
So does Lewis’ trainer, Manny Steward. “Rahman is nothing tricky. He’s just a forward puncher and he’s not slick like an Evander Holyfield.” Steward thinks he has formulated the game plan to reverse the outcome on November 17. “Every time Rahman’s been stopped [twice], It’s been with his back against the ropes. He gets uncoordinated there,” said Steward. “So we should keep him there and not let him start running forward.”
While the champ promised he would not be overconfident against a man he just knocked out, he would not promise an all-out war in the rematch. “Lennox is not the bravest fighter in the world,” he said today. “So if he decides to lay back and make it an ugly fight, there’s not much I can do except pressure him.” Some would say the pressure is already on Rahman to prove himself a notch above Braddock, Spinks and Douglas. |
