Is Lennox Lewis Ready for Hasim
Rahman?
By Phillip Przybylo
12.11 - On November 17, Lennox Lewis
and Hasim Rahman
will engage in fistic warfare for the WBC/IBF/IBO
heavyweight championship of the world. Similar words
were spoken (okay, nothing even close to that specific
phrase was spoken, but you get the point) about an
identical fight seven months ago and nobody cared.
What's changed since then? Why is the most technically
sound heavyweight since Larry Holmes favored over
his conqueror by the majority of oddsmakers and reporters?
Why does this scribe figure Rahman emerging victorious
once again at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort in
Las Vegas?
Flashback: South Africa
In a fight in front of roughly 5,000
South African fight fans and 1 U.S. reporter on April
21/22, Hasim "the Rock" Rahman provided
a thunderous right hand to send Lennox Lewis (most
recently dubbed "the Lion") on a one way
trip to the canvas. There were reporters from other
countries there, but the U.S. has largely funded and
paid attention to the majority of the big heavyweight
fights. Thus, it was almost a shock to hear that one
reporter, from Rahman's hometown no less, had made
the voyage to Johannesburg. In actuality, the fight
was perceived as a walkover from the moment the Hasim's
name was dry on the contract. Lennox bought into the
hype and was not prepared for what else he had bought
himself into.
No matter what camp you listen to
about the events during their first fight in April,
you are hearing it wrong. Both the Rahman and Lewis
camps claim they were dominating the fight for the
first four rounds. Rahman makes it seem like the knockout
punch in the fifth round was all but inevitable. Lewis
and Emanuel Steward make it seem like Rahman stumbled
upon the opportunity by chance, as if the punch were
some grand stroke of luck. Neither view is accurate.
"The Rock" edged out Lewis in the first
round with a surprising display of spunk and grit.
"The Lion" looked to be outclassing his
foe in the second and third round with the usage of
some of his countless moves in his arsenal. Before
anyone could count him out, Rahman took the fourth.
Then came the fifth stanza.
With an eye swelling and bleeding,
Hasim was a bit tentative. He began to paw a little
bit at it. He persevered, though, and landed a nice
right hand in an awkward exchange. He seemed to gain
a new sense of confidence from the exchange. Within
the final minute, he threw about four forceful jabs
at the champion, sending him back at the ropes. As
the cocky Lewis smiled as if to say, "Is that
all you got?" the strong-willed challenger answered
with a resounding, "No!" as he threw a fearsome
right hand through the guard of Lewis, putting him
momentarily to sleep. It was the punch that turned
the boxing world sideways (not quite upside down,
not enough hype or press to do that).
Courtrooms, Conferences, and Up
Close
The circumstances after the fight
concerning promoters, rematches, and bidding wars
are too complicated and just plain nuts to detail
here. But the bottom line is that Lennox was awarded
a rematch after presenting the original contract and
testifying in court, along with Steward, that he has
little time left in the ring. I assume that this had
to be under oath, too. The words are a bad omen for
Lewis if they are true.
The fight is set, Lennox gets his
shot, and he gets his titles back, right? He's among
the top twenty heavyweights of all time, so, this
should be no problem, right? Wait, Hasim refuses to
cooperate and is playing the role of champion in press
conferences. Hasim is basically a publicist's nightmare
at the same time. He says what he wants and however
he wants. He's his own man, unwilling to dish out
tired cliches. At his best, he's charming and funny.
At his worst, he can be offensive. Either way, he
got under Lennox's skin.
It was around the time in late August
where they were taping an edition of "Up Close"
for the sports network, ESPN. The context and connotative
meaning of Hasim's usage of the word "gay"
on a previous radio interview came up. One spark and
several others flew thereafter, and soon, there was
a fire in Anaheim, CA, USA. The two giants tussled
and grappled in a real exchange that brought back
memories of Frazier and Ali with Cosell. Lewis, like
the time before, ended up on the ground. This time
he took a table with him. Even more shocking than
the scuffle was Hasim's confidence, which was shooting
through the roof. Displays of confidence with conviction
were shown as Rahman told Lewis that "he ain't
nobody," rather than boastful displays of overconfidence.
Even to the casual fan, the situation and the upcoming
fight was intriguing. A turnabout from months before.
The Fight: Repeat or Revenge?
Rahman (35-2, 29 KOs) has been posted
as high as a 3-1 favorite, but most oddsmakers have
Lewis (38-2-1, 29 KOs) as a favorite, as high as 5-1.
The way this year has been, though, all bets are off.
Still, most believe Lennox will regain
his belts. The two-time champion is the prototype
of the modern heavyweight: tall, big, and powerful.
Yet, he is so much more than that. His combinations
are fluid and crisp (on a good day, at least). He
also has a large amount of ring intelligence and superb
ring generalship, that of which is unlike any other
heavyweight of this era. Even with such a decisive
lost last time, it is hard for many to visualize any
other outcome than a Lewis victory.
Hasim Rahman is not considered to
be that much an imposing force, either. The heavyweight
champion is a big, sculpted man, but he still has
to earn the respect of most of the boxing world. The
one thing that everyone will agree on is that he has
the right attitude coming into this fight. Attitude
does not retain titles, though. But Hasim is fortunate
enough to have more than attitude. He is very a skillful
and underrated boxer. Technically, he is quite good.
He outboxed David Tua for the better part of 9 rounds.
He can slug, too. He knocked out Corrie Sanders after
having some trouble himself. If he can get past stamina
problems, which I think is inevitable now that he
is training like a champion, he may be able to get
past anybody.
The fact that Rahman knocked Lewis
out remains. The last time Lewis was knocked out,
it took him roughly three years to look the same as
far as confidence and demeanor go. Suffice to say,
Lewis is at his most vulnerable mentally right now.
The world as he knew it had been crushed by one right
hand. Can that well-placed right hand land again at
any time? He's also at his most vulnerable period
physically. He's just coming off the highest weight
of his career at 253 lbs. (although weight shouldn't
play too much of a factor for him). In addition, by
his own admission, he is getting older and his body
is at the end of the line in the context of competing
in professional sports. With stamina problems before,
can he go the full twelve?
Do not expect him to.
I see the fight starting off carefully
for the first couple of rounds. Risks will be taken,
but they will be kept to a minimum. Each will try
for a few big right hands here and there. I think
Lennox will take control via a big round between rounds
3 and 5. During these rounds Rahman will include a
subtle body attack. Lewis will keep with the jab and
head hunting with the right. Lewis will also use all
of the tools he has as is this may be an unexpected
last hurrah. This includes combinations and uppercuts.
The fight will not have a dramatic
shifting of gears. I see Lewis dictating a deliberate,
methodical tempo. Rahman will surprise Lewis with
a right hands and/or combinations in spurts, but will
not gain too much momentum. But as soon as an unanimous
decision in favor of Lewis looks all but certain,
opportunity will knock again for Rahman.
Hasim's body attack and stick-to-it-ness
will wear down "the Lion." Possibly around
the end of the 9th round, Lewis will tire and Rahman
will capitalize and shake Lewis badly. Soon after,
just as in "The Thunder in Africa," lightning
will strike again as Hasim's right hand, with little
to no setup, will knock Lewis out for a KO or TKO
stoppage.
My prediction: Hasim Rahman KO10 Lennox
Lewis
Double P's Power Punches
-On the undercard of the heavyweight
showdown fight is the middleweight showdown between
William Joppy
and Howard Eastman...and it's for the middleweight
title. Due to Bernard Hopkins being declared a "super
champion" by the WBA and the current (I guess
you can call it "regular") title being vacated.
I know that we do not need any more
titles, and challengers will have a tougher time to
get a true mandatory shot; but I have to be honest:
I am digging the "super champion" name and
title. Champions who put years of effort into unifying
the division have a little breathing room now. They
can reap the rewards from being a true champion and
have a genuine grace period. They can also possibly
fight another superfight without fear of litigation
from mandatories. The WBA, at least on their website,
freely admits that Lennox Lewis suggested the idea
to them. Ironically, the WBA stripped him after unifying
before the "super" rule came to fruition.
-Wrong. One word to describe myself
as I picked Zab Judah
to dominate Kostya Tszyu. By the middle of the 2nd,
I thought for sure that Zab would drag the bout out
and finish him late. And I would have been right had
I not been so wrong. Very wrong. Anyone living east
of the Atlantic is lucky enough to be spared of America
based and biased reporting of the Tszyu victory and
whooping, particularly, from those of the east coast.
ESPN2's Friday Night Fights crew almost unanimously
agreed that there was a quick stoppage of the fight.
They went so far as to produce a package of referee
Jay Nady's bad calls in other fights to prove their
point in some perverse way. To attack a referee like
that, especially when the majority of the people out
there would have done the same thing, proves that
their immature and grasping at straws. The bottom
line is that Judah stumbling and plummeting back to
ground after being knocked down was 2 to 3 very frightening
seconds. They were frightening enough to fear for
his future. The bout is rightfully stopped on those
merits alone.
-Judah's outburst after the fight
puts things into perspective on what makes a champion.
Compare his reaction to Felix Trinidad's humble acceptance
of a loss just over a month ago. Circumstances different?
Yes. Principles different? No. A real champion (I
am not saying Judah cannot be one) accepts defeat
with grace. Real champions do not rant and rave. To
further illustrate, look at Diego Corrales almost
pushing his dad off the ring apron after the Floyd
Mayweather fight, and look at someone like Lennox
showing restraint after drawing Evander Holyfield.
Feel free to comment to the author
at any time at: eastside_double_p@hotmail.com.
Also, the Eastside Forum is open to everyone, feel
free to chime in with your predictions of the upcoming
bout there.
