Wladimir Klitschko dominates Hasim Rahman in seven rounds
Published December 14, 2008 by Boxing Capital
Article by Darren Bates (darren.bates78@hotmail.com).
Wladimir Klitschko (now 52-3, 46 KO’s) put in a punch perfect display to defeat former undisputed heavyweight champion, Hasim ‘The Rock’ Rahman (45-7-2, 36 KO’s) in Mannheim, Germany on Saturday night (December 13th 2008), inside seven one sided rounds.
Klitschko demonstrated his excellent boxing skills, all built behind an excellent foundation—an absolute ramrod of a left jab. Rahman was simply unable to avoid the jab of his Ukrainian opponent, who was defending his IBO, WBO and IBF Heavyweight Titles.
Klitschko systematically broke Rahman down by increasing the pace gradually each round and Rahman had no answer. Rahman finally hit the canvas in the sixth but managed to survive the round, despite shipping some more big shots. At the end of the round, Rahman’s chief cornerman Buddy McGirt must have felt a sense of déjà vu; another of his fighters (this happened when Paulie Malignaggi was beaten by Ricky Hatton on November 22nd of course) was taking a one sided beating and he was having to tell them that he’d stop the fight if they didn’t start throwing punches back.
The end came promptly after but this time McGirt didn’t have to throw the towel in—a sustained assault from Klitschko at the start of round 7 hurt Rahman and referee Tony Weeks had seen enough. This really was an impressive display by Klitschko who really showed fantastic all round skills and really went through his punching repertoire.
Whilst Klitschko’s jab stood out throughout the contest it should also be said that he throw’s an excellent left hook, which was especially effective at times. Rahman would get used to Klitschko’s jab coming at him and then Wladimir would vary his attack by leading with a short left hook. This change of angle left Rahman unable to get out of the way of the punch. Manny Steward looked understandably delighted at his fighters display, no doubt relieved his fighter had managed to avoid one a big right hand from ‘The Rock’.
Speculation continues to grow that former undisputed Cruiserweight Champion David Haye (Great Britain) may take on Klitschko next summer. Whilst Haye won’t throw as little as Rahman did here, Haye was clearly given a warning here that Klitschko has an arsenal to be wary of. If it happens, that fight looks set to be a classic for as long as it lasts.
As good as Klitschko looked, one has to ask the question of how good Rahman made Klitschko look? Rahman barely threw a punch of note during the seven rounds and his reactions looked very slow— perhaps to be more accurate, Rahman’s reactions were bordering on non existent. At times, Rahman sat on the ropes taking punches for over a minute! For a moment I wondered whether this was a clever ploy to lure Klitschko in and then take advantage with a counter but it wasn’t—Rahman just couldn’t get away from the bigger man’s punches.
For me it seems that the end is nigh for Rahman and retirement looms; Hasim is a man with impressive physical attributes and when ‘in the mood’ can be an extremely dangerous fighter. It’s just a shame that this likeable American looks likely to never truly fulfil his potential. He may have been undisputed champion briefly, but aside from one magical night against Lennox Lewis he has never truly got the boxing purists excited.
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