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This bout between Ring Magazine’s third and fifth ranked heavyweights provides so many questions. Can Hasim Rahman produce the form that shocked the heavyweight landscape four years ago? Can he build on a recent career best performance against Kali Meehan? Is Rahman ready to show some run of consistency? There is no doubt that 22 April 2001, Carnival City, South Africa was the date and venue that “The Rock” reached his zenith as a heavyweight. Given no chance against a champion who in the previous twelve months had bludgeoned Michael Grant and Frans Botha and had outclassed David Tua, Rahman with one devastating right to Lennox Lewis’ chin appeared to have changed the heavyweight landscape.
After a messy split with Cedric Kushner and signing with Don King, Rahman lost the title in equally devastating fashion in November of the same year in Vegas to Lennox Lewis in a grudge rematch. In analyzing Hasim Rahman there are so many uncertainties. On his day as proved against Lennox Lewis, he has the potential to beat the number one man in the division. However, when his heads not on the job, he looks painfully ordinary. This was certainly the case in his loss to John Ruiz in 2003 in one of the worst fights I have ever seen. That is what makes this fight one that can go either way.
In Monte Barrett, he meets a man who has always been on the fringes but not quite at the elite of the division. Often he has been cast as the opponent and to be honest it says plenty about the current state of the heavyweight division that Ring Magazine have him ranked number five in the world.
The win that essentially has ranked him so high was a split decision win in 2004 over prospect Dominick Guinn. Previously, he lost to the big names. Former prospects Joe Mesi and Wladimir Klitschko defeated him, as did Lance Whitaker. In his other win of note against a name, he struggled to defeat former world champion Tim Witherspoon.
So what will happen on August 13?
Barrett, at six-foot-three, will have a slight height advantage but will lose approximately four inches in reach. One has the feeling here that Rahman will have a point to prove. In this fight, Hasim is still the name fighter and wants to consolidate this before going against Vitali Klitschko who is the number one in the division. The bout is being billed as being for the “WBC Interim heavyweight Title” which in English means an eliminator. Yes, the winner will be classed as the “interim champion” but we all know that Vitali is the main man.
My head tends to favor Rahman in this one and certainly, Klitschko vs. Rahman has more marquee value than Klitschko vs. Barrett. On the plus side for Monte he has proved that he his an extremely difficult man to fight. Losing bouts against Wladimir Klitschko and Joe Mesi showed that. Neither winner was impressive!
It should be an interesting one. My tip? If Rahman shows the form he did against Meehan, then there is only one winner. If he is as frustrating as he was against Ruiz then Barrett could possibly mess him about en route to a decision win.
Time will tell!
