Most underrated turn around in heavyweight history

Watch this clip. How hard must it be to pick up the pieces from this set back to defeating a great World Heavyweight champion!

https://m.youtube.com/?gl=GB#/watch?v=tQeqquW1ugo

 

I just dont think Rahman gets enough credit for this. I can think of champions who were knocked out on the way up like Dempsey, Schmeling, Sharkey, Joe Louis, Walcott, Charles, Bruno, Coetzee so there is no shame in it.

but So far as I know nothing was as spectacular as this.

He was lucky he did so well after something like this. What strength of character it must have taken.

 

Yes it's the moment of the knockout with the added bonus of seeing Steve smoger being hit with a flying chair.

 

I know, Talk about ironical!

Still a huge turnaround. Patterson and Lewis rightly get credit for winning back their titles by knockout (after losing by knockout) in back to back rematches, which is huge, but for an unproven prospect who is not a champion to go from this kind of crushing defeat to knocking out the best heavyweight on the planet is some upset feat.

 

Yes I agree with all of this. However, would you say Ruiz made the same impact as knocking out the real world champion when John finaly lifted just the WBA title on points four years later?

Rahman was champion in just 17 months from disaster.

It's kind of the same kind of thing with all the others they went on a roll of high profile wins or had already lost world title challenges.

Nothing has the shock value as Rahman knocking out an all time great just 17 months after his disaster.

It's unique.

 

Not seeing the big deal?
Ring Magazine had this knockout as honourable mention for their knockout of the year. How many victims of a knockout of the year type knockout go on to beat the best Heavyweight on the planet? I think it's an incredible over looked comeback.

I think losing the rematch to Lewis in a spectacular way totally overshadows what he achieved in the first place which I think was monumental to start with.

There's nothing wrong with Rahmans beating Lewis being a one time deal. After all, much more of a fuss is made of Jimmy Braddock merely outpointing Max Baer. Why not Rahman? He didn't just outpoint Max Baer, he knocked out a better champion.

Jimmy went on being remembered as the greatest Cinderella story even though he sat on the title for two whole years, avoided Schmeling, got a piece of all future championship fights (win or lose) written into his contract before facing Joe Louis then getting knocked out by him in his first defence.

Rahman beats a better champion by knockout (after being a Ring Magazine knockout victim of the year candidate just 17 months previous) and nobody credits him just because he lost the return and continued fighting as a so-so contender?

 

Yes that's what I mean, the Braddock v Baer fight was awful. The sports writers of the day did an incredible job coming up with that angle for Braddock. Without the Cinderella hype I doubt that fight could have sold. On the face of it Jimmy was simply a veteran on a bit of a run. Nobody was working so hard to sell Rahman after he knocked out Lewis.