Heavyweight tilt packs a punch
It?s been a long time since there has been a heavyweight title fight of any significance. The drought finally comes to end Saturday in Atlantic City.
That?s when reigning WBC heavyweight champion Hasim ?The Rock? Rahman will square off with aging veteran James ?Lights Out? Toney (10 p.m. ET, HBO).
Some of you are probably wondering: When the hell did Rahman become the champion?
Well in case you missed it, Rahman essentially inherited the belt when former champion Vitali Klitschko suddenly announced his retirement last November just days before the two were scheduled to fight.
Prior to the announcement, Klitschko had postponed the fight three times because of injuries. Rather than postpone the fight for a fourth time, the 6-foot-7 Ukrainian decided to throw in the towel, permanently.
With a doctorate in sports science, Klitschko has since entered politics and is running in the Ukraine?s parliamentary elections.
With Klitschko?s retirement, Rahman reclaimed the belt he first captured in April of 2001 when he shocked the boxing world by knocking out Lennox Lewis with a vicious right hand in Carnival City, South Africa.
While he did not have to shed any blood to get the belt back, it still came with a price. Because of Klitschko?s postponements, Rahman, 33, has only had one fight in more than a year. Such inactivity can expose a boxer to ring rust.
His most recent fight took place last August when he beat Monte Barrett by unanimous decision for the WBC interim title.
Rahman will enter Saturday?s fight with a record of 41 wins (33 KOs), 5 losses and 1 draw. He has fought 10 times since beating Lewis, having gone 6-3-1 (4 KOs).
While far from stellar, Rahman?s record since beating Lewis is somewhat deceiving. Granted, he was knocked out cold by Lewis in their rematch, but one of the other two losses came as a result of a head butt from Evander Holyfield.
As you might remember, the ring referee was forced to call the fight because of a grotesque welt that formed on Rahman?s forehead.
The third loss came by way of a controversial decision to John Ruiz. Likely the most boring fighter in the history of the Sweet Science, Ruiz somehow clutched and grabbed his way to a 12-round unanimous decision victory.
The draw came against hard-hitting Kiwi David Tua in what was a rematch of a fight that took place in 1998. Although Tua won the first fight via a 10th round knockout, Rahman had been winning on all three judges? scorecards at the time of the KO.
Rahman grew up in a notoriously rough area of Baltimore. The son of an engineer, he was a talented swimmer as a boy and excelled in school.
However in his youth, Rahman began running with a bad crowd, and during that time he was involved in a serious car accident that scarred his face and was shot in a drive-by shooting.
Rahman did not begin boxing until he was 20 and had only 10 amateur fights before turning pro. Unlike most champions who cut their teeth as amateurs, Rahman honed his skills as a professional.
Over the years, his talent has progressed and he seems to have learned from past mistakes. Sporting quick hands, good foot movement, and a powerful right, Rahman is not afraid to mix it up and is fun to watch.
Intelligent and well-spoken, Rahman is also entertaining to listen to (remember how he got under the skin Lennox Lewis and caused a scuffle on ESPN?).
Standing 6-foot-2.5 and weighing well over 200 pounds, Rahman is a natural heavyweight, unlike his opponent.
Toney actually started his career as a middleweight before gradually moving up to cruiserweight and light heavyweight, where he spent most of his career.
Standing just 5-foot-9, Toney has only fought four times as a heavyweight and has a record of 3 wins (1 KO) and 1 no contest.
In his first heavyweight fight, Toney beat Holyfield by way of a ninth-round TKO. Then in April of last year, he beat Ruiz by unanimous decision to claim the WBA title.
But the win versus Ruiz was subsequently ruled a ?no contest? and Toney lost his belt after he tested positive for steroids.
Since then Toney has fought once, beating little-known Dominick Guinn by unanimous decision last October.
Now 37 years old, Toney is 69-4-2 (43 KOs) in a career that began way back in 1988. Popular among fight fans, Toney opened as a -200 favorite to beat Rahman, who is listed at +160.
Although he has superb defensive skills, Toney will be facing an opponent who many feel is bigger, stronger, faster, and punches harder.
---Perry
Lines Dept Of
BetWWTS.com
It?s been a long time since there has been a heavyweight title fight of any significance. The drought finally comes to end Saturday in Atlantic City.
That?s when reigning WBC heavyweight champion Hasim ?The Rock? Rahman will square off with aging veteran James ?Lights Out? Toney (10 p.m. ET, HBO).
Some of you are probably wondering: When the hell did Rahman become the champion?
Well in case you missed it, Rahman essentially inherited the belt when former champion Vitali Klitschko suddenly announced his retirement last November just days before the two were scheduled to fight.
Prior to the announcement, Klitschko had postponed the fight three times because of injuries. Rather than postpone the fight for a fourth time, the 6-foot-7 Ukrainian decided to throw in the towel, permanently.
With a doctorate in sports science, Klitschko has since entered politics and is running in the Ukraine?s parliamentary elections.
With Klitschko?s retirement, Rahman reclaimed the belt he first captured in April of 2001 when he shocked the boxing world by knocking out Lennox Lewis with a vicious right hand in Carnival City, South Africa.
While he did not have to shed any blood to get the belt back, it still came with a price. Because of Klitschko?s postponements, Rahman, 33, has only had one fight in more than a year. Such inactivity can expose a boxer to ring rust.
His most recent fight took place last August when he beat Monte Barrett by unanimous decision for the WBC interim title.
Rahman will enter Saturday?s fight with a record of 41 wins (33 KOs), 5 losses and 1 draw. He has fought 10 times since beating Lewis, having gone 6-3-1 (4 KOs).
While far from stellar, Rahman?s record since beating Lewis is somewhat deceiving. Granted, he was knocked out cold by Lewis in their rematch, but one of the other two losses came as a result of a head butt from Evander Holyfield.
As you might remember, the ring referee was forced to call the fight because of a grotesque welt that formed on Rahman?s forehead.
The third loss came by way of a controversial decision to John Ruiz. Likely the most boring fighter in the history of the Sweet Science, Ruiz somehow clutched and grabbed his way to a 12-round unanimous decision victory.
The draw came against hard-hitting Kiwi David Tua in what was a rematch of a fight that took place in 1998. Although Tua won the first fight via a 10th round knockout, Rahman had been winning on all three judges? scorecards at the time of the KO.
Rahman grew up in a notoriously rough area of Baltimore. The son of an engineer, he was a talented swimmer as a boy and excelled in school.
However in his youth, Rahman began running with a bad crowd, and during that time he was involved in a serious car accident that scarred his face and was shot in a drive-by shooting.
Rahman did not begin boxing until he was 20 and had only 10 amateur fights before turning pro. Unlike most champions who cut their teeth as amateurs, Rahman honed his skills as a professional.
Over the years, his talent has progressed and he seems to have learned from past mistakes. Sporting quick hands, good foot movement, and a powerful right, Rahman is not afraid to mix it up and is fun to watch.
Intelligent and well-spoken, Rahman is also entertaining to listen to (remember how he got under the skin Lennox Lewis and caused a scuffle on ESPN?).
Standing 6-foot-2.5 and weighing well over 200 pounds, Rahman is a natural heavyweight, unlike his opponent.
Toney actually started his career as a middleweight before gradually moving up to cruiserweight and light heavyweight, where he spent most of his career.
Standing just 5-foot-9, Toney has only fought four times as a heavyweight and has a record of 3 wins (1 KO) and 1 no contest.
In his first heavyweight fight, Toney beat Holyfield by way of a ninth-round TKO. Then in April of last year, he beat Ruiz by unanimous decision to claim the WBA title.
But the win versus Ruiz was subsequently ruled a ?no contest? and Toney lost his belt after he tested positive for steroids.
Since then Toney has fought once, beating little-known Dominick Guinn by unanimous decision last October.
Now 37 years old, Toney is 69-4-2 (43 KOs) in a career that began way back in 1988. Popular among fight fans, Toney opened as a -200 favorite to beat Rahman, who is listed at +160.
Although he has superb defensive skills, Toney will be facing an opponent who many feel is bigger, stronger, faster, and punches harder.
---Perry
Lines Dept Of
BetWWTS.com
