Talk about a pole-axe job of a highlight reel knockout. A revenge knockout. On this day back in 2001, heavyweight great Lennox Lewis did the job he should have done the first time he ran into Hasim Rahman.
Former heavyweight king Hasim Rahman was, like all of us, shocked at what he saw when Tyson Fury faced “novice” Francis Ngannou on October 28.
It’s odd sometimes, how a certain date can produce some big boxing upsets. Case in point, April 22. It was on this day, in different years, indeed one of these fights taking place in a different decade, when three shockers took place in fights that contested the world heavyweight title.
“The Rock” and “The Tuaman.” Hasim Rahman and David Tua: two heavyweight juggernauts who, at their best, were capable of sending shock-waves through the division they both fought in.
All week long we’ve been hearing people say, “this is heavyweight boxing – anything can happen.” And, “with the heavyweights, it only takes one punch.”
Has any other world heavyweight king lost his crown with a smile on his face? It was 20 years ago today when 20/1 underdog Hasim Rahman wiped the smile off defending heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis’s face.
Lennox Lewis had the intense desire to not only avenge his shock loss to Hasim Rahman but to do it quicker than Rahman had beaten him.
“I’ll wear a helmet next time,” Hasim Rahman, hideously disfigured after his controversial loss to Evander Holyfield.
18 years ago today, two former heavyweight champions were fighting each other in an elimination bout that would, on paper, see the winner fight the winner of the upcoming Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson fight.
James J. Braddock W15 Max Baer
Cassius Clay WRTD7 Sonny Liston
Leon Spinks W15 Muhammad Ali
James Douglas KO10 Mike Tyson
Hasim Rahman KO5 Lennox Lewis
Listed above are arguably the five biggest upsets in world heavyweight title fight history.
Seven months on from his South African altitude nightmare, when 20-1 underdog Hasim Rahman sensationally KO’d him in round-five to take the heavyweight crown, Lennox Lewis put things back in order in the Las Vegas return.