By Mark Vester

The Baltimore Sun reports that Hasim Rahman has been training like a fighter going to war. Apparently Rahman has training at the Pound-4-Pound Gym located in Big Bear Lake, California and is busting up his sparring partners without mercy.

He wants revenge on Oleg Maskaev, when he defends his WBC heavyweight title against the dangerous Russian fighter on August 12, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. 

Rahman has been sparring with young prospects, who hold a combined record of record of 46-2-1 with 40 KOs. 

"In terms of records, these have to be the best groups of guys I've been in with. These guys are prospects. I don't have sparring partners ... who let me beat on them. I don't have an easy time in there with none of those guys, because if I slip for one second, they're going to try to take my head off," said Rahman.

Sparring partners Rod Willis, Eric Kirkland, Chris Arreola and Travis Kauffman are getting some bang for their sparring buck as Rahman left them bruised and bloody after recent sparring sessions.

The sparring partners have noted that Rahman's defense is very tight, his jab is very accurate and the speed of his punches have picked up. They also say Rahman's punching  power is getting stronger by the week.

Rahman has made a promise that he will get his revenge on Maskaev, not allowing his rival to complete a sweep of the four major heavyweight titles by fighters from Russia. Maskaev holds a knockout victory over Rahman, when the two met in November of 1999 in Atlantic City, N.J. Maskaev stopped Rahman with a punch against the ropes that sent the Baltimore fighter crashing through the ropes and landing outside of the ring on the concrete floor.

"There won't be a sweep of the titles by the Russians - not on my watch," said Rahman "Losing to Maskaev never really affected me mentally, because I knew I didn't prepare for the fight. Since that last time we faced, I've learned my lessons from the past. I'm faster, I'm stronger, my defense is better. The only person who can lose this fight is me, and I'm not going to let that happen this time."