Rahman could beat Povetkin if he’s got anything left in the tank

By Boxing News - 08/24/2012 - Comments

By Jason Kim: 39-year-old former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (50-7-2, 41 KO’s) is being given a shot at the title against WBA World heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16 KO’s) on September 29th at the Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany. Rahman is going to have to take advantage of this title shot opportunity because it might not come around again unless he starts fighting better opposition.

It’s kind of a miracle that Rahman is being given a title shot now, because he’s not exactly been wowing boxing fans with his opposition since losing to IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko the last time he was given a title shot four years ago.

These are the guys that Rahman has beaten in the last four years:

Clinton Boldridge
Shannon Miller
Damon Reed
Marcus McGee
Galen Brown

If you’re a hardcore boxing fan you’ll know that these are weak opposition and not the type that you would think would earn a #1 spot by the World Boxing Association in their rankings. Whatever the case, if Rahman goes back to fighting these kinds of fighters he may age out before he gets another crack at a title in four more years. He’ll be 44, and I can’t see it happening again unless he takes advantage of the chance he’s being given this time.

Rahman certainly has the power to defeat Povetkin if he can land his big right hand and left hook. Povetkin is definitely there to be hit, and Rahman could do a number on him if he chooses to jab from the outside. What Rahman can’t let happen is Povetkin outworking him and landing a lot of shots. Rahman can’t fight that kind of fight because he’s too old to win that way. He’s got to use his power and try to get Povetkin out of there at some point.

Rahman’s weight is a concern here, because he came in really heavy for his last fight against Galen Brown when he came in at 284 lbs. He can beat 3rd tier fighters at that weight, but not Povetkin. Hopefully, Rahman has trained hard and stayed away from the refrigerator enough to come into the fight in the low 250s.



Comments are closed.