by Lem Satterfield

Former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman sat down with BoxingScene.com to discuss the entire situation related to his recent negotiations for a possible fight with undefeated British heavyweight Tyson Fury. The fight was being negotiated for a co-feature positionto the junior welterweight showdown between Amir Khan and Paul McCloskey, which is scheduled for this coming Saturday at the MEN Arena in Manchester.

Hasim Rahman: Well, I thought that I was just not in reasonable shape to fight somebody like Tyson Fury. My coach felt like this was a 6-foot-9 guy, and he's been in training for an entire camp. Regardless of what people might thing, I'm nobody's opponent.

When we come to fight, we come to win. But we felt like we just didn't have enough time. We didn't have ample time to get ample sparring in for the proper preparation for that fight. So, it wasn't about the payday.

BoxingScene.com: What was the offer?

HR: Well what  they offered me is they went from $50,000 to going all the way to over a quarter of a million, and, some people say, half a million dollars. So it wasn't about the money, it was about being ready to win. We weren't ready to win. So, we decided that it wasn't prudent to take that fight.

BoxingScene.com: Did they actually offer you half a million?

HR: Well, you know, I just heard rumors. I know at least that it got up to a quarter million. I have heard some other rumors that it got up to half a million or more. But at that point, it just wasn't worth it.

BoxingScene.com: How long before the fight were you asked to take the bout?

HR: Two weeks. My trainer and I, we're on the same page. That's my man. He said, 'Look, we're not nobody's opponent. When we go places and when we go into a fight, we go in to win.'

And, it's bad enough that we only get a week to train, and then we have to go over there overseas. So, essentially, we only had a week to train over here in America. It's just not smart. So we passed on it.

BoxingScene.com: And you were being trained by Eddie Mustafa Muhammad?

HR: Yes.

BoxingScene.com: Any closing thoughts about the Tyson Fury situation?

HR: Let me just say this. Tyson Fury is not the problem, because if Tyson Fury wants this? If Tyson Fury wants a piece of the Rock, then all we have to do is set it up and give me ample time to get ready and I will come whevever.

I will come wherever. So if Tyson Fury wants a piece of the Rock, he can get it.

BoxingScene.com: What about the Prize Fighter, weren't you asked to be part of that?

HR: Yeah, I was asked to be in that. I was thinking about it. I was seriously thinking about it for a second. Steve Nelson, you know, he brought it to me and to my attention. I was thinking about it. But I mean, just like, you know, after careful consideration, it just wasn't something that I wanted to do.

I mean, that's three rounds, and that's just, you know, sometimes, it takes me three or four rounds of a fight just to get warmed up.

BoxingScene.com: So what is next for you?

HR: Well, I'm looking at the fact that I'm currently rated No. 5 by the WBA, so, I would think that I could fight Alexander Povetkin, Jean Marc Mormeck, anybody who is ahead of me. We can fight for an elminator and the right to fight David Haye.

Or I've been hearing that David Haye might get elevated to super champion or something like that, so I'm looking to fight any of those guys in the WBA who are ahead of me, I'm willing to fight them next.