Anyone vouch for Rahman being a better than good fighter?

Was Rahman a contemporary great or a modern time of his era great? The reason I'm asking is mostly the Lennox win. Dude was on point, showed great head movement, kept people guessing as to when his right hand would land? He wasn't outclassed. Too bad for him Lennox had the eye of the tiger during the rematch, otherwise his poor preparation wouldn't have been as much of a factor (fasting during Ramadan as well as being smug, had to be brought to court to agree to get in there with Lennox).

I can't remember his full record, I used to follow him more back in the day. I know he has a very prideful attitude telling the public "if I don't beat John Ruiz I'll retire" which is kinda a kamikaze mission as John Ruiz simply "survives" guys. I can't remember what happened in the tua fights, but that's another good name on his resume. I can't remember if it was the Oleg maskaev fight where Rick got toppled through the ring ropes falling on the ground...

Then the Holyfield fight. Holy was shot but if it wasn't for the hematoma on Rahman, Hashim would have the great name of commander Vander on his resume. Not saying he would have won, noone was really the clear winner going down the stretch before the contusion.

Then post Lennox Rahman, during the Kali Meegan fight hasim looked impressive. I know I'm strictly summarizing his record but I was never a huge fan of his. I just remember him saying "jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, I'm cut from their cloth. I'm in their lineage " or so on and so forth lol. And not to mention he was the heavyweight champion of the world when he declared that.

 

He beat Lennox and he beat Corrie Sanders, two guys many on this forum consider to be absolute King Kong-level H2H fighters.

I’d say that makes him pretty good.

 

A bit of an enligma. Stops guys like Lewis Sanders and beat the living crap out of Kali Meehan, also should have gotten the decision in his rematch with Tua. Loses to Ruiz and twice to glass jawed Maskaev. Overall had a good career but could have been better in my opinion. But lots of heavyweights fall into a similar category. Larry Donald, Kirk Johnson Greg Page Tim Witherspoon just to name a few

 

There are times Rahman has been like Melanie Griffith in 1994's Milk Money.
There are also times he's been like Sean Astin in Encino Man.

 

I am mystified by Rahman's success. Yes, he had a good right hand but he wasn't a Wilder or Shavers like puncher.

His wins over Sanders and Lewis are outstanding. However, Sanders was a massive underachiever who was rarely in great shape and as such, Rahman took advantage of Sanders's lack of stamina.

As for Lewis, Lewis always had leaky defense and an average/slightly above average chin. Lewis, great as he was, was always susceptible to a ko.

Rahman deserves credit for those wins because not everyone could have weathered the storm from Sanders to take advantage of his stamina and not everyone would have the guts to attack Lewis without the fear of being hit in return. So fair play,

However, Rahman had several weaknesses:

- Not a good counter puncher. Not at all. He would stand there when punched instead of slipping and countering. See the Lewis rematch. Yes, Lewis was on fire but Rahman could have made it more competitive. The commentators mentioned that one reason why Lewis was able to be so aggressive was because everytime Lewis would jab or throw a right, Rahman would not even attempt to counter. Manny Steward, Lewis's trainer, said the same thing in the corner and encouraged Lewis to attack due to Rahman's poor counter punching.

- His hand speed and foot speed were average at best.

- His defense was average at best.

- He did not have any extraordinary skills, i.e. combination punching, Cooney like body punching etc.

Rahman's two greatest attributes were immense physical strength and high level of toughness which allowed him to beat Sanders and Lewis. His power was above average but he was not an elite puncher. His other skills like defense, footwork, speed etc. were average or slightly below average. His counter punching skills were poor.

Rahman is a huge overachiever to me. From the 90's and 2000's, the likes of Sanders, Ibeabuchi, Douglas, Bowe, Tucker and even Morrison had way more natural talent but those guys all underachieved.

Rahman overachieved. For such a limited fighter, having a win over a top 10 all time heavyweight in Lewis and perhaps the hardest left handed hitter in history in Sanders is extremely impressive. But he was not a special talent, nor was he pleasing on the eye stylistically.

Fair play to him for overachieving.

 

He nearly beat Tua as well. That gives him almost a trifecta over the Boxing24 H2H GOAT’s.

 

Another rise to the occasion type guy. Capable of a big night or 2, but most often is fighting at his normal level. But that ability to rise to the ocassion definately counts for something.

 

He has the record of a guy who fights tough opposition and doesn't hide behind an undefeated record. He fought numerous punchers and several greats

He was beating Tua when he was KO'd and ahead of Maskaev in both fights though in the rematch his lead was fading (great fight btw among the best heavyweight fights of the century)

Solid jab and tough but he was not the best ring general and could be dragged into dumb fights. He hit hard but was not a massive KO puncher. I think he is good enough to be a contender in any era but he is not a favorite vs most lineal champions

 

Tough guy.
Would always be tough in any generation.

 

I don’t think you can describe him any better than this.

I just can’t get over his two loses to Maskaev.

 

Rahman blew hot and cold. When he came in on fire he was a top flight "tough guy" fighter with grit and a big big punch. His skills, as observed, were kind of average. But sometimes if you have a massive punch average skills are all you need.

 

Strong, very strong, good boxer. He was a world champion, legit. So better than just any good fighter. He beat a very good/great champion to hold the title too, so, it speaks for itself.

 

He deserved both fights against Tua and the first Toney fight. The first Tua fight I had him pitching almost a shutout when Tua pulled his favorite after the bell hit and Rahman never recovered from it. Tua should have been DQd or Rahman should have been given more time. That was a blatant cheat and Tua did that all the time. The second fight I had Rahman winning clearly. I also had him beating Toney handily in the first fight. His performance against Holyfield was and Ruiz were off and I cant figure those fights. He should have beaten Holyfield, Ruiz, and Maskaev,

 

I agree.

He was unlucky not to get the decisions in the second Tua fight and the Toney fight, which would have made his resume look much better on paper given their importance.

When you look at his better performences, you wonder how he managed to lose to guys like Ruiz and Maskaev.

 

To add to that, my uncle from the maritimes watched that fight with me. He said "Rahman has no style". Lol meaning mostly that he didn't have a set way of fighting! I had to explain to him it was because of Ruiz smothering the fight with clinching! You know how we talk about Vitali Klitschko having a sixth sense for uncoming right hands, Ruiz didn't do too bad at evading them as well!

Like teddy Atlas would say he smothered his opponents punches before they could let them off, I dear say being 2 inches away in the clinch was a defensive technique!