Rahman: "I'm the great black hope"

GL: What did you think about Wladimir Klitschko's victory over Chris Byrd? "Obviously Chris is my man so I wanted him to win the fight. I mess with Chris and his whole family so I definitely wanted him to win the fight. Wladimir Klitschko stepped up and fought the perfect fight, it was pretty one-sided and he won the fight." GL: Do you think Byrd's strategy was suited for success? Hasim Rahman: "Nah. He definitely fought the wrong fight in terms of going in there and trying to be the bigger fighter with Klitschko. I thought there was a number of things he could have done. He could have moved his head and used his legs more instead of going out there to prove how tough he is. Everybody knows Chris is tough, he should have just showed everybody how smart he is by trying to outbox Wladimir Klitschko." GL: You're the only American heavyweight champion left. How do you feel about that? HR: "It's all good. I'm the great black hope, but I want to fight some of these other champions. Obviously, I've got some WBC issues with my mandatory but once I get that out of the way in short order I'm going to move on to bigger and better things." GL: According to the WBC's recent ruling James Toney supposed to be in line for the winner of your fight With Maskaev. I've been hearing rumblings that Toney could be fighting Sergei Liakhovich for the WBO title. Have you heard any of that? HR: "Yeah, I was hearing the same thing but now I'm starting to hear that Liakhovich could be fighting Kevin McBride. My whole thing is handling my mandatory first and then you know I'll be Wladimir Klitschko's huckleberry. We could still make a Rahman-Klitschko fight happen without Vitali." GL: So obviously if you're successful in the Maskaev fight, Wladimir Klitschko becomes the guy you're gunning for? HR: "Absolutely, without a doubt. That's the fight I think everyone would want to see. Everyone wants to see if I can fight a big strong guy like that and if he can compete against a big strong guy like me. Samuel is strong but he went nuts in there, I don't know what he was doing." GL: I spoke with Oleg Maskaev's manager Dennis Rappaport the other day and sarcastically he told me Team Maskaev was going to request padding be placed all around the ring to prevent anyone from suffering an injury in the event that Oleg knocks you out of the ring again. How do you respond to Mr. Rappaport's comments? HR: "He should put padding all the way around because wherever I fight I'm going to have my people with me so if he keeps popping of being sarcastic like that he's going to need it incase he needs somewhere soft to fall." GL: Are you threatening Mr. Rappaport Hasim? HR: "Nah, I'm just saying if he keeps talking like that you know. I'm not going to go down in this fight, and he's good manager and promoter or whatever he is I'm glad he's looking out for his fighter because he's going to need somewhere soft to land too." GL: Is Maskaev going the distance? HR: "Absolutely not. Last time we fought I didn't even train for him and I was still winning the fight. I broke camp, went home and did everything I could have to lose the fight. I partied, I didn't train and my management couldn't find me a week before the fight. I was beating him really easy and I'm not too concerned about Oleg Maskaev. The only thing I'm concerned about is me and being in great shape. Maskaev is pretty conventional, so I'm not going to have any problems hitting him and I'm not going to have any problems knocking him out." GL: It's been a while since you and Maskaev last fought. How do you think he's changed as a fighter since then and how do you feel you've changed as a fighter since then? HR: "I think both of us have had our ups and downs since then. I think he's smarter and he tries to use his left hooks and body shots a little more. But I'm the smarter fighter, bigger fighter and stronger fight. Maskaev has a win over me and he knows I was a start-up and he took way more punishment than I did and if you really think about it he wasn't too difficult for guys to beat after that fight. I've been in there with the better oppostion. I've been in there with Hall Of Famers and I've gotten smarter with every fighter I've had. If you're going to learn something from every fight you have all you have to do is look at the opposition to see I have a much better resume." GL: Are you viewing Maskaev as an easier fight than Toney and if so could that have a negative impact on your camp? HR: "There's pro's and con's to everyrhing. He might be easier to hit than James but he probably punches harder. I'm not going to leave the door open for anyone to take this title away from me. I'm going to come into each and every fight in better shape." GL: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing? HR: "I'm the Great Black Hope, the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming and Rock is going to be the one to send them right back on their backs. B-Talk.com