If former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim "The Rock" Rahman wants to put himself back in the thick of things in the heavyweight division, he will have to do a lot better than he did in his 10-round unanimous decision over Taurus Sykes in front of a nationally-televised audience in Rochester, NY.
Rahman weighed in at a career-high 261 pounds and it showed through the bulk of the fight as he plodded around the ring with the 238-pound Sykes. Finally, in the ninth round, Rahman dropped Sykes with a right hand and then went on to the victory. The scores were 95-93, 99-90 and 97-91. With the win, Rahman captured the interim NABF title.
"I want to fight again in 30-40 days," said Rahman to Fightnews.com after the fight. "I can't go into a major fight like this. I have to fight again and look much, much sharper."
Hasim "The Rock" Rockhead looked awful. The Mesi/Rockhead fight will be as exciting as watching paint dry. Maybe Rock can start his next comeback at the Ballroom like he did before.
ReplyDeletethere has always been a little bit of the dog in Rahman, and it showed last night. then he tells everyone that he needs to fight again in 30-40 days so he can get sharp. what he means is that he needs another 50k payday while he tries to get himself into shape. what a waste of tv time.
ReplyDeleteHe is a a total waste of time!
ReplyDeleteHASIM IS A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE TRUE HE NEED TO GET INTO SHAPE BUT HE STILL AS SOME THING LEFT . HE JUST WASN'T IN SHAPE FOR THIS FIGHT ALSO THIS KID WOULD HAVE MADE A LOT OF FIGHTER'S LOOK BAD .
ReplyDeleteNO FIRE he looks like crap
ReplyDeleteRun your boy is a bum. He never took the sport seriously and his claim to fame is one right hand to win the belt! He looked horrible in the loss to Lewis in the rematch, he looked worse against Ruiz, and with Sykes, he didn't even train! BUM!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's a fascinating conjecture -- "there has always been a little bit of the dog in Rahman" -- because, sometimes, there is a lot out there to encourage you to make that case. But, also, here is a guy who legitimately won the heavyweight championship of the world, and not against some second-tier titleholding nonentity. He beat the real, live heavyweight champion of the world. You can't belittle that "one punch" any more than you can talk down Buster Douglas for his win over Tyson. These "dogs" are huge, imposing men that can knock down a wall, but that doesn't mean that inside they aren't people. And people have good days and bad days, and people, when they face something scary get scared. Read Jose Torres' book "Fire and Fear" about Mike Tyson (you can get it for a friggin' penny on Amazon) and he talks about how Cus D'Amato explained to the young Tyson that a fighter must overcome that pit of terror that settles in the stomach region and threatens to paralyze your whole body when you go into the ring with someone who might knock your head off. Don't kid yourself -- the fighters do get scared. Not all of them, probably, but boxers, by the time they are good pros, have mastered that. It doesn't mean it goes away. Look at Zab Judah -- the guy goes down twice against Cotto and writhes around like he's been shot or stabbed, but he seems, mostly, to be trying to overcome himself. Judah always looks to the ref for help when he gets roughed up. I think, deep down, he doesn't like to fight, but he IS a fighter, and he somehow focuses and overcomes this internal terror and is able to execute. I think maybe Rahman doesn't want to be a fighter that much any more, and he's having to fight himself to get in there. It's hard to turn your back on big, big money, but you can't blame a guy for finding a sport in which he can get killed in any second hard to keep doing for years and years. It messes with your mind, even if you're a warrior. When I see a guy, who has been to the top of the mountain, step into the ring out of shape and disinterested and then proceed to fiddle around for 10 rounds, my first reaction is to feel ripped off, but my second is to feel a little sorry for the guy. -- John Scheinman
ReplyDeleteIs the same John Scheinman who was horrible on those Ballroom Boxing Shows?
ReplyDeleteof course. How many do you think there are? -- J.S.
ReplyDeleteGood one JS. I was kidding you.
ReplyDeleteI miss working that Ballroom gig. I hope Scott gets us back on TV one day. The moths are starting to get into that tux I used to wear. -- J.S.
ReplyDeleteDoes the tux fit those moths?
ReplyDeletenow that was a low blow. . . ok, so they said it's a little tight in the thorax, but otherwise it's fine.
ReplyDelete