Do you respect Hasim Rahman as a 2 Time Champ?

He was 2-5-1 and 1NC in title fights.

Only a handful of guys in history have been 2x HW champs

 

Sure. I have him tentatively as the 44th greatest heavyweight of all time. Since boxrec says that almost 30,000 men have competed as heavyweight boxers, that is pretty damn good.

 

He won the titles so yes he deserves it. He was a good enough fighter to beat most guys, he just lost to the elite guys or better than average guys.

 

I don't respect but i accept this situation. Otherwise his Lewis one punch ko win is unforgettable.

 

At the end of the day he got a ko win over a lineal heavyweight great, so I give him respect for that at least.

 

Who?

 

Rahman is heavily underrated because he managed to KO Lewis. Lewis haters as a consequence go out of their way to emphasise that Rahman is a bum and of little value. In actual fact Rahman was, at his best, a very hard hitting and competent heavyweight with good timing and a decent arsenal of punches. His major flaw was inconsistency, and he could look pretty ordinary if he didn't turn in one of his better efforts. Go check out the Sanders-Rahman fight for an example of what he could do when he really set his mind to it.

 

He solid as a contender but poor as a champion IMO.

 

HoF really, for dispatching an ATG.

 

Rahman was decent. Outside of the Lewis win, what do you guys consider his best 3 or 4 fights (either for quality or entertainment)? I'm working six and a half days this week, so just asking. I'd like to watch them in my free time. With a few beers and a curry. Thanks.

 

i think of him like a caretaker Champion, like mike weaver……..only that he deserves higher ranking cause he beat lewis.

but that is not disrespectfull. being a caretaker champ is still a downright amazing accomplishment!! IT´S only a step down from the very best. and it s even more amazing cause he started Boxing as an adult and have very Little Amateur schooling.

 

1. Sanders
2. Meehan
3. Maskaev 1
4. Maskaev 2
5. His tank job in the second Toney fight.

 

I don’t rate him highly at HW if that is what you mean? If you mean respect? Heck yeah. He was a solid fighter who met an ATG and prepared for Lewis. Waited for an opening and pounced. This win is one of the great ones in the HW division, and few if any saw it coming including Lennox himself.

Now he clearly was not top tier or able to reproduce this result, but he was a solid HW who reached the pinnacle of the sport for a brief time. Mad respect from me

 

I respect any man who wins the heavyweight champiinship of the world. But, Hasim Rahman is clearly NOT a legitimate 2 time champion. Beating Monte Barrett for an "interim" title is not legitimate.

Rahman was a decent contender who caught lightning in a bottle against an underprepared Lewis.

The list of non-champions that could and would have beaten Rahman is too long to list.

 

He's kind of a HW version of Tommy Hearns. Has some impressive wins but lost nearly every time when he stepped up. Losing to John Ruiz is unforgivable IMO.