NO SHAME IN THEIR GAME
www.insideboxing.com
By Blackbull
(IB-March 30, 2003) - It’s just about fight time and all the fellas’ are sitting
in the front room awaiting the battle between David Tua and Hasim Rahman.
Tuned in to the Home Box Office, chips and dip on the table with alcoholic
beverages on tap. What more can the fellas want?
A good fight would be nice.
In HBO’s first presentation - a heavyweight elimination bout - we saw “Blob and
Blubber” enter the ring.
Rahman “The Rock” weighed in at a hefty 259.5 lbs. while Tua weighed in at 245
lbs. These being the official weights so by fight time you can add a good ten
pounds to each fighter.
Was it disrespect for one another that neither of the fighters would train for
this fight? After all, this is an elimination bout with the winner fighting
Chris Byrd for the world championship. So again, why?
Rahman’s shorts were so huge, I’m sure they had to be specially made. And Tua’s
legs were so big that they rubbed each other from the knees up. Instead of
trying to force a pair of shorts on, Tua just fought wearing a skirt.
Rahman’s game plan was simple… Throw jabs and keep the shorter guy at bay. And
he stuck to his plan very well. That’s all Rahman did. It worked for him for the
first half of the fight as he won the first 5 rounds by flicking his jab at Tua.
Tua never has a game plan. He only knows how to fight one way, move his body and
throw the haymakers. Once they land the opponent falls. Simple.
Throwing haymakers won the second half of the fight for Tua although he was
never able to land one “solid and flush”. But they did land, winning him rounds.
It was after the bell rang in the 12th round ending the contest that we saw any
kind of urgency to win the fight by both fighters. For seconds after the bell,
both fighters went at each other in desperation and we saw the only knockdown of
the evening. Rahman catches Tua on the chin and sends him to the canvas, skirt
up and all. To bad the best exchanges of the fight happened after the fight and
did not count.
This contest ends in a draw. Now what? Will HBO treat the fans to a rematch? Or
maybe Byrd can fight both these guys at the same time, Rahman and Tua
alternating rounds.
HBO’s feature presentation paired Bernard Hopkins defending his title against #1
rated Morrade Hakkar of France.
What a joke of a fight this turned out to be. Hakkar started the fight with a
very good impression of “Tigger” the tiger on Winnie the Pooh, bouncing around
the ring with no intentions of mixing it up with Hopkins.
Hakkar eventually settled down and tried to tangle with Hopkins but Hopkins was
just too much for the Frenchman.
After eight rounds Hakkar’s corner requested a halt to the contest. Referee
Frank Cappuccino stops the fight awarding Hopkins the victory.
If this is the best the French can produce then it no wonder they don’t want to
fight.
It seems to me, there are other fights that would be more entertaining to
televise, but since there is no shame in this game, the fight fan will have to
settle with what they can get.
Moncayo Blackbull can be reached at blackbull@insideboxing.com
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