Speak about a pole-axe job of a spotlight reel knockout. A revenge knockout. On this present day again in 2001, heavyweight nice Lennox Lewis did the job he ought to have carried out the primary time he bumped into Hasim Rahman. As a substitute, in South Africa in April of that 12 months, an ill-prepared (for the altitude largely) Lewis discovered himself getting run over by “Rock” Rahman’s huge proper hand. The fifth-round KO win Rahman scored is as we speak seen as one of many greatest upsets in heavyweight historical past.
However Lewis, who would find yourself brawling with Rahman in a TV studio because the second struggle approached, would get candy revenge. And it meant a lot to eager chess participant Lewis that his KO would come faster than Rahman’s KO over him had come.
The 2 met at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the struggle dubbed ‘Remaining Judgement.’ Lewis would rating his most satisfying profession KO.
Lewis, in prime form and sharp this time, was the older man by seven years at 36, but he was, as we might discover out, nonetheless fairly near his prime. Rahman, 35-2(29) had held the title for seven months, after which it was throughout. Lewis, 38-2-1(29) moving into, lowered the sonic growth in spherical 4.
Having inflicted a small minimize above Rahman’s let eye within the opening spherical, Lewis additionally swept the next two rounds. Then, in spherical 4, Lewis crashed dwelling with a brutal left/proper combo to the top that despatched Rahman’s senses into orbit. Rahman crashed, tried to rise, after which crashed once more. It was the sort of nasty, humiliating knockout loss all fighters worry.
Lewis rubbed it in post-fight by referring to Rahman as “Has-been Rahman.”
Lewis had scored savage revenge, and as beautiful because the KO Rahman had pulled off within the first struggle was, the thunder and lightning knockout Lewis exploded with made us all just about overlook what had occurred in fight-one. Lewis scored many nice KOs throughout his ring profession, together with knockouts/stoppage wins over Razor Ruddock, Frank Bruno, Andrew Golota, Shannon Briggs, Michael Grant, Frans Botha, and Mike Tyson.
However the ice job Lennox did on this present day some 23 years in the past ranks as certainly one of his most particular.
