He?s been shot, arrested and once believed he would never live to see 21.
WBC heavyweight boxing champion Hasim Rahman keeps his youth on Baltimore?s streets in his mind as he prepares for his title defense against No. 1 contender Oleg Maskaev, 37, of Kazakhstan, on Aug. 12 in Las Vegas.
“Boxing is a piece of cake compared to some of the things I?ve seen in Baltimore,” said Rahman, who is America?s only heavyweight champion in a division now dominated by Soviet-bloc athletes. “It?s just one man against me. I?ll always represent Baltimore, because it?s my home.”
But even his background as a kid on Baltimore?s tough streets doesn?t mean Rahman, 33, isn?t nervous about his rematch with Maskaev, who in 1999 knocked him clear out of the ring in a surprise victory.
“Coupled with the fact that this man has a knockout victory over me, yeah, I feel mounting pressure to keep this title here in America,” Rahman said.
Boxing experts expect a different result this time when Rahman (41-5-2, 33 knockouts) and Maskaev (32-5, 25 knockouts) meet at the Thomas & Mack Center in less than three weeks.
“Rahman lost to Maskaev in 1999 and that?s almost a different lifetime ago,” said Steve Kim of maxboxing.com. “I?m not saying Maskaev doesn?t have a shot. If you have a strong punch, you always have a shot. But Rahman has to be the favorite.”
Thomas Hauser, lead writer for secondsout.com, said he thinks Rahman will knock out Maskaev.
“Hasim Rahman is a good, solid heavyweight fighter,” he said. “Rahman is not the same fighter he was when he lost to Maskaev the first time. He?s probably a little bit better fighter and Maskaev is worse.”
Rahman nearly landed on HBO commentator Jim Lampley as he fell from the ring in the first fight.
“Fortunately for me, he didn?t really plant on my lap,” Lampley said. “Rock?s a better fighter. He has a lot riding on this fight.”
Rahman was winning his first match with Maskaev on all three judges? scorecards when he was surprised with a knockout punch on his 27th birthday in his most devastating pro loss.
“The most important thing for me is to be in shape,” Rahman said. “The first fight, I was winning easily. Before the fight, I went back to Baltimore and started doing things I shouldn?t be doing.”
Rahman has been training at a high altitude in Big Bear, Calif., about 7,000 feet above sea level. Oscar de la Hoya and Shane Mosely have also gone there to train.
“It?s definitely tough getting acclimated,” he said. “I just need to be away from everything and concentrate totally on training.”
