By Ian S. Palmer
WBA Heavyweight Titleholder Alexander Povetkin will be defending his belt against 39-year-old American Hasim Rahman at the Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany on Sept. 29. Povetkin of Russia is undefeated at 24-0 with 16 KOS while Rahman, a former world champion has a record of 50-7-2, with 41 KOs. Rahman is famous for knocking out former champion Lennox Lewis back in 2001 in South Africa . However, Lewis returned the favour in the fourth round during their rematch just seven months later.
Rahman realizes just how lucky he is to have another shot at a world title at this stage of his career as he’s the WBA’s mandatory challenger. He said he plans on knocking the 33-year-old Povetkin out so there won’t be any chance of hometown judging. Povetkin said he’s not taking the experienced Rahman lightly since he has a lot of power as his KO record shows and he respects him.
Povetkin has been training with former world junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, who feels his fighter has improved greatly during training camp and is confident of a successful defence. The bout was originally scheduled to take place back on July 14, but Rahman had to postpone it due to an injury. Rahman said he’s in excellent shape now and is raring to go. For Povetkin, it’ll be his third defence since winning the crown against Ruslan Chagaev of Uzbekistan in august of 2011.
Rahman, of Baltimore, Maryland, is a two-time former champion and certainly has the power to pull off an upset if he’s motivated and lets his hands go. There have been too many fights in the past where he’s simply been too lazy. He should be motivated for this fight though since he feels the German-based promoters haven’t been showing him much respect. It’s been reported that Rahman’s image hasn’t even been featured on some of the fight posters and he’s been the butt of several jokes.
However, Rahman wasn’t taken very seriously 11 years ago either and he shocked the boxing world by knocking Lewis out. He’s not a huge heavyweight at just over 6-foot-2 with an 82-inch reach. Povetkin’s about half an inch shorter and Rahman has a seven-inch reach advantage over the champion. Rahman has a wealth of experience since he turned pro back in 1994 and has taken on numerous top heavyweights during his career.
Along with Lewis, Rahman’s opponents include former world champions Trevor Berbick, Corrie Sanders, John Ruiz, Evander Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko, and James Toney, as well as David Tua, Obed Sullivan, Jesse Ferguson, Oleg Maskaev, Alfred Cole, Kali Meehan. He’s going to have some ring rust to deal with though since he hasn’t fought since June of 2011 when he stopped Galen Brown in the sixth round.
Povetkin’s been a pro since 2005 and has fought some good boxers in Larry Donald, Chris Byrd, Friday Ahunanya, Eddie Chambers, Cedric Boswell, and Marco Huck. His last bout was a war with Huck back in February and Povetkin won it by a majority decision. That bout proved that Povetkin can be an exciting fighter if he’s pressed. Huck made him fight and it was a fan’s delight. If Rahman can do the same thing it should be another decent bout.
Rahman’s best chance for a win though is a KO. If he can catch the champion with a solid shot we just might see the championship belt change hands. That’s a possibility, but it’s an unlikely scenario.
