Former WBC/IBF heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (44-6-2, 35 KOs) returns to the ring on Thursday night against last minute replacement Zuri Lawrence (23-12-4, 6 KOs) at the Sovereign Centre in Reading, Pennsylvania. Rahman, 35, is making his fourth right in the past five months, apparently seeming to be in a hurry to recapture his World Boxing Council heavyweight title in which he lost by 12th round TKO to Oleg Maskaev in August 2006. Despite the loss, Rahman is ranked #3 in the WBC, meaning that he should be able to get another chance at the title within a year or two if he keeps winning. Based on the competition that Rahman has faced in his comeback – Taurus Sykes, Taurus Sykes, Dicky Ryan and now Zuri Lawrence – he’s not in danger of losing anytime soon.
It’s disappointing, however, that he’s hesitant to face a better heavyweight than this bunch, but perhaps this is the best he can get under the circumstances. Rahman may be getting up there in age, but he still punches plenty hard and has an excellent jab, making him a dangerous opponent for any of the top tier fighters. Lawrence, 37, isn’t a soft touch, though, having beaten Jameel McCline in October 2005, and was fighting to a standstill with Calvin Brock before being stopped in the 6th round in February 2006. However, Lawrence was stopped in his next bout, a 2nd round TKO loss to Dominick Guinn in February 2007.
One of Rahman’s biggest goals is to fight one of the Klitschko brothers, preferably champion Wladimir Klitschko, a fighter that Rahman has been wanting to go up against for quite some time. At one time, Rahman was scheduled to fight Vitali Klitschko, then WBC heavyweight champion, however, the fight was postponed three times due to injuries to Klitschko and eventually canceled altogether when Vitali retired. However, the likelihood of Wladimir fighting Rahman would seem remote at this time, at least until Rahman wins another heavyweight title.