Hasim Rahman: Last American Standing

courtesy www.frankmaloney.com

He didn’t know HBO commentator Jim Lampley well enough to be sitting on his lap, but was thankful for the cushy landing nonetheless. In the consistently mercurial career of two-time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, there tends to be almost as many highs and lows in the space of a year as one would expect fictional mob boss Tony Soprano to go through in an entire 14-episode season.

However, one night in particular stands out in the memory above all others; one which, for obvious reasons, is indelibly etched in our minds. No, it wasn’t his spectacular one-punch knockout victory over an overconfident Lennox Lewis in 2001, surprising though that may sound. His greatest moment? Without a doubt. His most memorable? Sadly, only a very close second.

Disaster, you see, is immeasurably more memorable than triumph. And it’s hard to get any more disastrous than when he, an 18+ stone heavyweight boxer, was shockingly sent tumbling through the ropes by the little known Oleg Maskaev on live television.It’s been seven years, and the birdies may have stopped singing but the wound remains raw.

The boxer, the professional, immediately put that punch behind him and went on to reach the pinnacle of his chosen profession not once but twice. But the man inside the boxer never forgot – not for a minute. Ask him, and he’ll claim to have been destroyed that night not by his opponent but by his own negligence.

That is why ‘The Rock’ agreed so readily to a rematch with his old antagonist, and is furthermore the reason why he is so excited about putting his WBC championship on the line when the pair belatedly re-acquaint themselves this weekend at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

His fuel: Respect, Revenge and Redemption.

“Maskaev is not a better fighter than me,” stated Rahman in a recent conference call when asked if he felt at a physiological disadvantage going into the rematch. “I don’t see where he even fought a world class fighter since he fought me.

“In fact, he came right back a couple fights later and got knocked out the ring himself. But, we’ll see. I’m happy that they’re in real good shape, I’m in real good shape, and proof is in the pudding. We’re going to see on August 12.”

In a curious reversal of fortunes, Rahman found himself fighting for and subsequently capturing the heavyweight crown just two short years after being devastated by the right hand of Maskaev back in 1999.

Meanwhile, the inflictor of that blow was sucked into a catastrophic, almost nightmarish slump that threatened to close the book on his once promising career.

An unexpected resurgence in the form of 10 straight wins has brought Maskaev back into the title picture, though. And if he can go one step further and repeat his triumph over the Baltimore native on Saturday, it will not only be a huge personal victory for the former Soviet Union product but a monumental victory for every one of his countrymen as well. After all, this fight isn’t being billed as ‘America’s Last Defence’ for nothing.

In case you hadn’t heard, Rahman is the only U.S born fighter to curently hold a portion of the heavyweight crown, with the other three belts all belonging to Eastern Bloc descendants. So if Maskaev has enough left to usurp him, the red invasion will be complete.

The proud Yank, however, is determined to prevent a “clean sweep.”

He said: “They trying to be in control of the division. I think that – not just the Russians, but just around the world in every sport people are catching up. The world baseball classic, I mean, that’s America’s pastime, baseball. We didn’t even win the WBC.

“So, you know, they going to send me out there to represent my country and I will do that.

“I feel like if I lose this fight, I let me down, my family down, my team down and (most of all) my country down. Never before have I felt like I put my country on my back, and I’m fighting for my country, solely for my country. And, I feel like I can’t allow this to happen, I can’t allow them to get a clean sweep.”

So the battle lines have been drawn. It’s East against West, once more. Just like Rocky versus Drago, only without the cheesy music. All the ingredients are in place – revenge, honour, nationalism…it’s perfect, you could say.

This is real life, though, so don’t be too surprised if the big bad Russian walks away with the title.