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Hasim Rahman and Monte Barrett hinted multiple times in the lead-up to their battle for the WBC interim heavyweight title belt that their bout would be an entertaining slugfest, on a similar level as Barrett’s February knockout of Owen Beck, which so far this year has been the only palatable fight featuring boxing’s big men.
Each man wanted the proverbial pot at the end of the rainbow; in this case, a victory meant a mandatory showdown with the champion, Vitali Klitschko, and the possibility of becoming the undisputed, unequivocal king of the heavyweights. Instead, through twelve rounds of sludge that was dominated more by the booing of those in attendance at Chicago’s United Center than by either pugilist’s impotent arguments for stardom, Rahman earned a unanimous decision and, judging by his performance against Barrett, the right to a beatdown at the hands of the 6’7” Ukrainian.
This week’s edition of Fighting Words lays out my reasoning for writing off Rahman’s chances against Klitschko, using the Baltimore native’s efforts in the ring with Barrett to prognosticate the likely future results when “The Rock” and “Dr. Ironfist” finally meet. The 10 Count opines on the undercard results, as well as recent news involving Fernando Vargas, Bernard Hopkins, Clifford Etienne and The Contender. [details]
Each man wanted the proverbial pot at the end of the rainbow; in this case, a victory meant a mandatory showdown with the champion, Vitali Klitschko, and the possibility of becoming the undisputed, unequivocal king of the heavyweights. Instead, through twelve rounds of sludge that was dominated more by the booing of those in attendance at Chicago’s United Center than by either pugilist’s impotent arguments for stardom, Rahman earned a unanimous decision and, judging by his performance against Barrett, the right to a beatdown at the hands of the 6’7” Ukrainian.
This week’s edition of Fighting Words lays out my reasoning for writing off Rahman’s chances against Klitschko, using the Baltimore native’s efforts in the ring with Barrett to prognosticate the likely future results when “The Rock” and “Dr. Ironfist” finally meet. The 10 Count opines on the undercard results, as well as recent news involving Fernando Vargas, Bernard Hopkins, Clifford Etienne and The Contender. [details]
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