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April 22, 2001 SportsLine.com wire reports |
BRAKPAN, South Africa -- Lennox Lewis thought he could jet to Africa,
make some history, and leave with both his heavyweight titles and a future
megafight with Mike Tyson intact.
He lost it all on a stunning right hand by Hasim Rahman that turned the
heavyweight division upside down and put an abrupt end to growing talk that
Lewis might rank among the greatest heavyweight champions ever.
In an eerie pre-dawn fight in a South African casino, Rahman exploited both
the effects of Lewis' lackluster training camp and a champion who seemed to be
more interested in looking ahead to Tyson than in taking care of business at
hand.
He did it with a huge right cross that sent Lewis to the canvas, where he
tried unsuccessfully to get up and beat the count. When he couldn't, Rahman
leaped in joy and soon had the WBC and IBF heavyweight belts over his
shoulders.
"I came up with one punch. One punch," a jubilant Rahman said.
Up next for Rahman could be Tyson. He is the No. 1 challenger in the WBC
rankings, and Tyson promoter Shelly Finkel said Sunday that Rahman must make a
mandatory defense against the top-ranked contender.
For Lewis, the fight that began as an opportunity to pay respect to Nelson
Mandela ended in a nightmare reminiscent of the only other blemish on his
record, a knockout loss in 1994 to Oliver McCall that cost him the WBC title at
the time.
Lewis spent more than six years trying to overcome that fight and had
seemingly established himself as a proven and recognized champion who at the
age of 35 was at the top of his game. But he spent only 14 days in South
Africa, and there was talk that he didn't train properly for the 5,200-foot
altitude or the fight.
It all unraveled with one punch that brought back haunting memories of
another big African upset in boxing history -- Muhammad Ali's win over George
Foreman a quarter century ago in Zaire in the "Rumble in the Jungle."
"I can't believe it. I just can't believe it," Lewis said.
Neither could many who watched in the Carnival City Casino as Lewis stalked
Rahman for most of the fight with his hands down by his side, seemingly
unconcerned with the power of his American opponent.
Though Rahman used an effective jab to make the fight fairly even, his left
eye was closing from an accidental head butt and it appeared that it would only
be a matter of time before Lewis was able to put him away.
"There was blood dripping in my eye and it was blinding my left eye and I
really couldn't see some of Lennox's punches," Rahman said. "But I'm a
fighter with even one eye. I felt I was handicapped and I just had to fight."
He did, and midway through the fifth round, a right from Rahman seemed to
stun Lewis, though he smiled at the challenger as he moved away. Rahman
followed and launched a series of left jabs that landed.
Lewis had retreated toward the ropes, still with his hands down, when he
began to come forward slightly with his left hand outside of Rahman's right.
The right came through and crashed against the chin of Lewis 28 seconds before
the round ended, sending the 6-foot-5, 253-pound champion to the canvas with a
huge thud.
"I felt fine in there. I was going about my work nice and comfortably and
there was no way Hasim Rahman could beat me," Lewis said. "This is just what
happens in heavyweight boxing. That's the situation when you get two big guys
in there with right hands. He just threw a big right hand and caught me right
on the chin."
Lewis had spent much of his time before the fight training in Las Vegas,
where he made an appearance in the Oceans Eleven movie remake being filmed
in the city. Talk that he hadn't trained properly intensified when he came into
the ring at 253 pounds, 16 more than Rahman, who also surrendered three inches
in height and nine inches in reach.
By the second round, the mouth of Lewis was open as he tried to adjust to
the altitude. Still, he seemed to have Rahman in trouble in the fourth round
before the challenger from Baltimore rocked him with a left hook that had the
crowd of 5,500 chanting, "Hasim, Hasim."
"I felt he was getting weak as the fight went on," Lewis said. "He was
trying to land the big overhand right hand and he did."
For Rahman, a huge underdog and considered nothing more than a journeyman
fighter before traveling to South Africa for the fight of his life, the win
means he occupies the spot reserved at the top of the heavyweight ranks for the
universally recognized champion. John Ruiz holds the WBA version of the belt,
but Lewis had been considered the true champion.
Rahman made $1.5 million to fight Lewis, the biggest payday of his career.
But he has bigger paydays ahead, including Tyson and a rematch with Lewis.
"I told you all I was confident," the 28-year-old father of three said.
"Not one time since the fight was made was I nervous."
Lewis had a rematch clause in his contract with Rahman, and said he wanted
to use it as soon as possible, although it is believed the contract allows for
Rahman to have an interim fight first.
Lewis will have to face Rahman as a challenger instead of a champion, and
with the psychological baggage he carried for years after the McCall fight --
that he could be stopped by a big punch.
That wariness led Lewis to fight with caution even during his reign as a
heavyweight champion, apparently with good reason. Still, he said he was eager
to fight again.
"Hasim Rahman is the champ today," Lewis said. "The second time around,
Hasim Rahman is going to go."
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2001, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved