Rahman-Toney: As Good as it gets?

By Jim Cawkwell

 

A fight does its job when it finds conclusions to situations, allowing everyone to move on to new business. All Hasim Rahman and James Toney managed to do on Saturday night was to raise even more questions at a time when the heavyweight division is in dire need of answers. The most pertinent question in my mind is: If Rahman fought that fight in his best possible condition against what appeared to be the twilight of Toney’s brilliance, and salvaged his title by trudging to a draw, how much faith can we place in him as heavyweight champion?

 

Rahman possesses all of the physical dimensions and intangibles of the stereotypical heavyweight puncher, and yet, he committed the unfathomable so often in the fight by conceding to Toney’s will and indulging an inside fight. All of Rahman’s explosive power is contained within his straight right hand, but he failed to land one of consequence all night. The only way I can reconcile such a tactic on his behalf is to state that he must have found Toney a far too elusive target when lining up the straight right early on, forcing Rahman to consider other options.

 

Rahman made his presence felt with infrequent power punches that sent Toney reeling into the ropes on more than one occasion, but neglected to sustain an attack for long, held in close and continued to thump Toney to the body with redundant right hands. Those body punches would not have induced the breaking of sweat never mind a rib; and as for slowing Toney down, well, he never intended to run anyway.

 

Dismayingly, three rounds of darting in with the stiff jab and a laser-accurate right hand was all Toney could muster. By the fourth, he was a spent force. It was clear that whether through refusal to conform or inability to perform in training, Toney’s talent is short-circuited by the immensity of heavyweight poundage bearing down on his middleweight frame.

 

The demon that taunted Evander Holyfield and John Ruiz was no more. It seemed as if the audience at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City were joined by the attendance of all his years of battle come back to torment him. The collective miseries of advancing age, inevitable injuries and the unrelenting struggle with weight seems finally to have overwhelmed what was once one of boxing’s great performers.

 

Toney may not have conquered the division, but he might have been competitive, and whatever shortcomings he displayed might have gone unpunished by today’s heavyweights. Even in that modest task, it seems as if he has undone himself. In the hardest game of all, adherence to physical preparation is essential and perhaps now Toney understands that talent alone is insufficient vindication of his boastfulness without the vehicle to properly convey it.

 

And yet, as bad as he was on the night, Toney was good enough by the estimation of two judges to walk away on even terms with the heavyweight champion of the world.

 

It was perhaps the first time that Rahman entered a fight in supreme physical condition; ready to assume the role of true champion in the absence of legitimate lineage. Rahman was prepared to scold the pretensions of Toney and align himself in the world’s consciousness as its premier heavyweight champion. But he did not.

 

Rahman needed to provide a statement of intent, defying the masses to doubt him. But doubt remains. He survived the first fight of his second reign, if barely, so the dubious distinction of two-time one-hit wonder will not be his after all. And there is hope for him, however slight.

 

The title is a much more intriguing proposition on Rahman than Toney. Rahman is younger, stronger, can box when he chooses, and despite his respectable record, he knows he has much to accomplish before he can consider himself a made man in the heavyweight reckoning.

 

He will fare much better with taller fighters employing a similar strategy to his own; knowing the increased likelihood that his right hand will find its mark will increase belief in its potency. A well-conditioned and focused Rahman is one thing; add confidence in his destructive capabilities and you may have the stuff of new beginnings.

 

Next step for Rahman: remember that the IBA heavyweight title is nothing; regardless of how many times Toney mentioned or wore it. Pass on another drudge match with Toney and annihilate Oleg Maskaev, looking suitably vengeful and menacing in the process.

 

Next step for the division: a definitive champion must be found, therefore, the current titleholders cannot be kept apart for long. Understand that the majority of heavyweight champions and contenders today are not franchise fighters, they are what’s left in the wake of a dominant champion, Lennox Lewis, who seems to compound the misery of the situation when he appears as a guest HBO analyst.

 

To summarize, writers spend much time poring over the right ways in which to express their sentiments, but in watching the fight on Saturday, one could hardly portray the general feeling of the fight more succinctly than those fans that came to see a fight for the world heavyweight championship and were sorely disappointed.

 

From the big guy with the thick Jamaican accent:

 

My wife’s customary observation about Larry Merchant:

 

And finally, a fight fan’s distaste at the realization that the fight’s hype was just that:

 

Amen, Brother.

 

Contact Jim Cawkwell at