Boxing News Boxing News
An interesting bill shapes up tonight in the heavyweight division as weight class kingpin Wladimir Klitschko meets the challenge of former champion Hasim Rahman at the SAP Arena in Manheim, Germany.
Klitschko, 51-3 (45), looks to be on the best form of his career at 32 years of age and rides a nine bout win streak into this defense of his IBF,WBO and IBO belts.
The towering Ukrainian is coming off a sharp knockout win against American Tony Thomspon in July and hasn’t had too much dificulty since coming off the canvas three times in 2005 to beat Samuel Peter.
Rahman, 45-6-2 (36), hasn’t lost a bout since dropping a WBC title challenge to Oleg Maskaev in 2006, but the 36 year old from Baltimore hasn’t been in with anyone of Big Wlad’s caliber since getting poleaxed by Lennox Lewis in their rematch all the way back in 2001.
Boxing is all about unpredictability and sometimes even miracles and for Rahman to unseat Klitschko, he’ll have to pull off the kind of hail mary right hand that he used to stop Lewis in their first bout.
It could happen, but very, very unlikely and this is almost certainly the last title opportunity Rahman will get unless he can manage to look very good against the top man in the division.
