TalkingBoxing Articles
Rahman KO's Late Sub in Thriller
SUN November 18, ANDRES ANTONIO CARRIEDO - Former undisputed Heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, "may never be ready" to contend for a title again as Versus commentator Wally Matthews stated in his closing comments. He did prove that he can pull out a tougher than expected fight during his thrilling 10th round TKO victory over late sub Zuri Lawrence in Reading, PA this past Thursday night.
Rahman got off to slow start while Lawrence, who took the fight on two days notice, used nifty footwork and worked behind his jab to land well and take the first round. Rahman picked up the pace in the second round by consistently forcing Lawrence to the ropes and landing some hard overhand rights when he got him there to take round two. Rounds three, four and five followed a similar pattern. Lawrence controlled the fight in the center of the ring, but Rahman pinned him on the ropes and battered him enough when he got him there to keep every round competitive.
By round six, fatigue began to set in for Lawrence and Rahman pounded him with dozens of overhand rights until finally knocking him through the ropes and into the crowd near the end of round. The scene was reminiscent of Rahman's '99 KO loss to Oleg Maskaev. However, Lawrence made it back into the ring and answered referee Gary Rosato's mandatory 20 count to finish the round.
With the benefit of a second wind, Lawrence again controlled the action in the center of the ring to win the seventh round. He picked Rahman apart with one-twos and looked to have regained his legs. Rounds eight and nine followed a similar pattern though Rahman probably pulled them out with his body work and overhand rights when he cornered Lawrence in the corners.
The tenth and final round began with the fight still seemingly very much in doubt. Versus would later reveal that Rahman held a lead on two of the three official cards so the best Lawrence could have hoped for would have been a draw with a two point round. Rahman, who has experienced questionable decisions before, wanted no part of a decision though. Instead, he opted to go for the knockout victory by beginning the round with violent flurries both in the middle of the ring and on the ropes.
Midway through the round, it looked as though Lawrence may survive the violent barrage, but instead Rahman continued to land right hands and when Rahman landed a punishing left hook while Lawrence stumbled past him and slumped on the ropes with his hands down Rosato decided that he'd seen enough and called a halt to the action with 40 seconds left.
Matthews raised legitimate concerns about Rahman's competitive prospects against the upper echelon of the heavyweight division. However, at 35 Rahman still has a good enough jab, enough power in his right hand and has maintained good enough condition to keep him competitive and entertaining. He figures to get at least one last title shot should he continue to win at this level.
Jesus Soto Karass scored a 97 - 92 (twice), 98 - 91 unanimous decision victory in his brawl with Juan Manuel Buendia continuing the trend of quality and entertaining Thursday "Fight Night" cards on Versus. The announce team is knowledgeable and fair. The fights are usually competitive and entertaining. In sum, the series is a boxing fan's dream…a quality boxing series on cable television.
Ward Proves He Needs Tougher Competition
In his ShoBox debut, Andre Ward broke down previously undefeated prospect Roger Cantrell over five one sided rounds. After a somewhat sloppy first round Ward began to find a home for his right cross over Cantrell's misplaced left hand to help him win the second round in more convincing fashion. Ward continued to step up the pressure in the third and fourth rounds though Cantrell took the hooks and crosses well. A series of right cross-left hook combos in the second minute of round five compelled referee Jose Rivera to stop the fight at 1:56 of the round.
While the stoppage may have been a bit premature the fight was becoming increasingly one-sided and the heavily favored Ward was playing upon Cantrell's many technical errors. The easy win proved that Ward clearly needs tougher more experienced competition to help him progress into the contender ranks. Thankfully for Ward and fans alike, Goosen-Tutor recently signed former three time middleweight titlist William Joppy and Joppy scored an easy first round KO on the untelevised portion of the card. The wins by Ward and Joppy setup a probable future matchup between the two. Maybe one or two stay busy tune-ups are necessary, but Ward needs to fight fighters of Joppy's caliber soon and fans should expect Ward-Joppy sometime in 2008.
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