Rahman gets smashed by Povetkin: Where now for Hasim?

By Boxing News - 09/29/2012 - Comments

Image: Rahman gets smashed by Povetkin: Where now for Hasim?By Allan Fox: In a truly sad fight, former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (50-8-2, 41 KO’s) was completely obliterated by WBA World heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin (25-0, 17 KO’s) in a 2nd round TKO loss on Saturday night at the Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, in Hamburg, Germany. Povetkin had Rahman on Bambi legs in the 1st round from a right hand, and then hurt him again in the 2nd with a left to head. A badly hurt Rahman was then snowed under with power shots from Povetkin until referee Gustavo Padilla stepped in to stop the fight at 1:46 with Rahman clutching the ropes with one hand.

This fight was really bad, as Rahman never was competitive from the start. Rahman never really let his hands go for some reason and spent most of the fight jabbing and taking heavy shots from Povetkin. Rahman made Povetkin look a lot a much bigger puncher than he really is, and it’s strange because Rahman used to be able to take big shots from far better punchers than Povetkin. Rahman took the best shots from David Tua in his two fights with. He did get knocked out in the first fight with Tua late, but he took some monstrous shots in both fights that were much bigger punches than the shots that Povetkin was landing tonight.

So where does Rahman from here? He’ll be turning 40 in November and the chances are probably slim that he’s going to get another shot any time soon. It took Rahman four years and five wins over journeyman level opposition to get this title shot after losing to IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2008. The WBA still gave Rahman the number #1 ranking without him having to fight a contender. You would hope that the WBA or any of the other sanctioning bodies don’t give Rahman another title shot if he wins another five fights against weak C level competition. I don’t think any of the sanctioning bodies will after this performance from Rahman. As such, I think Rahman needs to think seriously about retiring from the sport. He’s made a good living and gotten some good paydays during his 18-year pro career. It’s a good time for him to call it a day.



Comments are closed.