By Rick Reeno
Don King’s Global Glory pay-per-view event may not have the most stellar lineup, but the main event has some very high stakes involved. This coming Saturday night at the United Center, Hasim “The Rock” Rahman (40-5, 33 KOs) will take on Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett (31-3, 17 KOs) to decide who will receive the golden opportunity of meeting WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.
The winner of this bout will be dubbed the interim WBC heavyweight champion. Should Vitali refuse to face the winner of this fight, he will be stripped of his title. Both of these boxers have been fighting long and hard to receive a shot at the title, only one of them will get the chance.
The staff of BoxingScene got together to voice their opinions on the outcome of this Saturday night's heavyweight eliminator.
Don Colgan - Monte Barrett by TKO in 8 rounds. Regardless of the outcome, Vitali Klitschko would knockout both of them inside of 10 rounds.
Frank Lotierzo - I have a lot of respect for Rahman as a fighter. I don't think Barrett has the size or strength to beat Rahman. Hasim should stop him in 10 rounds.
Dave Wilcox - A good heavyweight matchup. The underachieving and usually out of shape Rahman will have problems with Barrett. Monte is very active in the ring, which makes him the exact opposite of Rahman. I look for an uninspiring performance from Rahman, Barrett should win this fight by decision.
Tom Donelson - Hasim Rahman "should" win Saturday night, but "should" is not the same as "will". Rahman has shown that he can step up his game when he upset Lennox Lewis in their first fight, a quality that Barrett has yet to show. Rahman has a jack hammer jab and a solid right hand. Other than the first Lewis fight, Rahman has also shown the ability not to come up big. He allowed Evander Holyfield to fight on the inside instead of using his jab to fight Holyfield on the outside. Rahman should have beaten Holyfield but lost when he fought Holyfield's fight. When he fought John Ruiz, he again failed to use his jab and once again, he fought his opponent's fight.
Rahman has shown that he can beat any heavyweight but consistency is the one thing he lacks. Barrett has been fighting very well as of late, piling up two big wins against solid prospects and almost beat undefeated Joe Mesi in a close fight. He gave Mesi too much respect in the first five rounds of their fight, but he came back strong in the second half. Barrett is a good boxer and has enough power to hurt Rahman. This is Rahman's fight to lose and history has shown that he is capable of losing big fights that he should of won. The Rahman that beat Lewis will easily beat Barrett. The Rahman that showed up for Ruiz will lose. If I was betting on which Rahman will show up in this fight, I would choose the Rahman who upset Lewis.
Andy Rivera - Both of these fighters have been on a roll and both men have something to prove in this fight. Rahman has been in great shape lately and Barrett has been on a winning streak by beating top heavyweight prospects. I have to believe that Rahman will win a close decision in this fight. He wants to regain the world championship and at the same time he wants to show that he is a superstar in this muddled division. I don't count Barrett out, but my heart says "The Rock".
T.K. Stewart - I was encouraged by Hasim Rahman's weigh-in on Thursday in Chicago. 236 pounds is a good weight for Rahman, and several of his best performances have come right in that same weight vicinity. It tells the world that Rahman is serious about his conditioning and his career. Simply put, I like Rahman in this fight primarily because Monte Barrett gets hit too much. Barrett soaked up a lot of punishment against Owen Beck, Dominick Guinn, Joe Mesi, Eric Kirkland and Robert Wiggins. None of those guys have the clubbing power of Rahman and I think that will be the deciding factor in this fight. If Rahman jumps on Barrett early I think he can take him out. Monte may get in his licks, but in the end I like Rahman by a stoppage after 8 rounds.
Dave Selwyn - Hasim Rahman is the obvious betting favorite. If you take a close look at his record, Rahman has not beaten one good fighter since he knocked out Lennox Lewis in 2001. Monte Barrett's last two wins have against two undefeated prospects (Owen Beck and Dominick Guinn).
I feel that we have already seen the best of Rahman and this Saturday, we will see the best of Monte Barrett. I'm picking Barrett in a upset, either by late stoppage or decision.
Sammy Rozenberg - Interesting clash of styles in this fight. I see Barrett out-hustling Rahman to grab a close unanimous decision.
David P. Greisman - Hasim Rahman needs to come into the ring under 240 pounds if he wants to win. He weighed 238 and 236 in his two fights with Lennox Lewis, dropped to a svelte 224 for Evander Holyfield, but ballooned all the way to 259 in his next fight, a draw with David Tua. Rahman went 1-2-1 in these four fights. The win against Lewis came as a result of good conditioning and a fantastic right hand, but his loss in the rematch was due to being caught by one of the hardest heavyweight punchers around. Holyfield drew into his reserves to outwork Rahman, and the headbutts and hematoma on Rahman's head didn't help at all. He and Tua were out of shape, and thus out of their primes.
But following Tua, Rahman committed the cardinal sin of losing to John Ruiz. He weighed in at 246 against the Quiet Man, and did little but jab all night, which suited Ruiz, a jab-and-grab specialist, just fine. That was Rahman's last title opportunity, and it showed his lack of desire. Hence, his comeback trail.
The Rock had 5 fights in 2004 against four less-than-overwhelming opponents and an underwhelming Kali Meehan. He did what he had to do, winning fights, getting confidence and respect back, and yes, dropping weight. Rahman peaked at 257 against Mario Cawley in his second fight of the year, but by the time he returned from his ballroom boxing getaway, he had dropped to 232.
His inactivity since last November is worrisome, but it is not his fault; the fight with Vitali Klitschko was to have taken place in April. For Rahman to defeat Barrett in the manner he has promised, via knockout, he will need to be in shape and ready to rumble. Barrett showed in his entertaining scrap with Owen Beck in February that he is willing to stand in and trade over the course of a fight.
The last time Barrett was in the ring with a truly serious puncher was in 2000 against Wladimir Klitschko. Barrett hit the canvas five times, rising each time before the bout was halted in round seven. His life and approach in the ring has changed since then, but I just cannot see him pulling it off against a focused, in-shape Rahman.
So, with that caveat, I see a great scrap on an otherwise dreary card. Rahman may go down once, but it will be Barrett who is floored two or three times, and the referee will say that he has seen enough. Rahman with a TKO win inside of 8 rounds.
Both fighters will have vindicated themselves, and as such should, if the heavyweight division were proper, move on to title bouts in the near future.
Eric Rineer - I give Hasim Rahman the edge in this fight. "The Rock" brings championship experience and I think, overall, he's the tougher fighter of the two. Monte Barrett has improved since his loss to Wladimir Klitschko and I'm not couting him out. But Hasim has come up big on several occasions in the past. He looked very good both times against Tua and in his KO win over Lewis. Rahman is on a 5-0 run and he's really looking forward to the showdown with Vitali Klitschko. The future bout and big payday against Vitali Klitschko will motivate him in this fight. Monte will make things interesting but I believe Hasim will prevail in 8 rounds.
Adam Pollack - I'm going with Barrett on this one. He has the height and reach, the experience against top guys, has been more active than Rahman, and is coming off a fight in which he proved his heart and toughness. I see this as a bad style matchup for Hasim, although he is the physically stronger fighter and has a solid jab himself. I'm giving the edge to Barrett in this fight.
James Blears - When I spoke to Hasim Rahman during the Mike Tyson vs. Kevin McBride press event, Hasim already looked in very good shape. He certainly has the capability and power to beat Monte Barrett if he stays focused and not get distracted by his overshadowing obsession to get into the ring with Vitali Klitschko. If he takes it one step at a time, he'll KO Monte, and Vitali Klitschko to become heavyweight champion again. But first things first.
David Sauvage - I give this fight about a 2.0 on the excitement scale. If there were something really going on in the heavyweight division, we would probably see this a few fights down on the undercard of another heavyweight bout. Instead, Don King feels fit to rip us off pay per view style. As to what's going to happen, well: Rahman has been boxing lately like it matters, with passion and urgency. And it seems to me he's got the power and speed to KO anyone who doesn't KO him first.
That said, Barrett stood up fantastically to Joe Mesi, who probably hits three times as hard. And he's proven in the last few fights he's in excellent condition. In the end, I think Barrett's patience and intelligence outlasts Rahman's bursts and he takes a lame and lazy split decision.
Robert Padilla - Rahman vs. Barrett, for the new generation of boxing may appear like a very good fight, but for me as an old timer, these heavyweight fights just don't have the spark and interest. There are no real heroes in the heavyweight division these days, nothing to make the fans feel like arguing over who is the best of the best.
My problem could be due to the fact that I have been following this division since the sixties and I have become more disappointed seeing it grow weaker each year. There was a time when the top ten in the heavyweight division meant the real top ten heavyweights in the world. With the way the division has become, your top ten can be as good or a little better than the bottom ten in the world.
Rahman should kick some serious butt in this fight and Barrett will live on to fight another day.
Jose Villegas - Hasim Rahman by unanimous decision.
Matteo Alderson - I like Hasim against Barrett, he's got the size, the experience and I think he'll maul his way to a decision victory.
Dr. Peter Edwards - I'm going to out on a limb and pick Barrett by way of a unanimous decision. Rahman has lost every major fight that he was supposed to win, I don't see the trend changing here.
Rusty Rubin - I like Rahman by either a late round TKO or by a unanimous decision. Rahman just has too much experience aginst tougher opponents then Barrett. Although in the heavyweight division today, you don't know who is going to show up to fight. If both men show up ready to engage, which rarely happens, it could become a great fight.
Rick Reeno - Although Rahman's level of competition has not come close to the level of Barrett's recent competition, he should still have enough left in the tank to win the decision. Barrett is no slouch, his last 5 opponents have had a combined record of 109-3. Rahman's last 5 opponents have had a combined record of 164-43, not very impressive. Both men will have their moments in the fight, but Rahman will overpower Barrett to win.