By Rick Folstad
(InsideBoxing) - Used to be you knew the name of the heavyweight champion the same way you knew the name of your dog, the make of your car and the color of your wife's hair.
The heavyweight champion used to be an icon, a mythical hero, one of those giants who shared space with the great ballplayers of the era: Jim Brown, Willie Mays, Rocky Marciano.
It was easy to remember the names back then. There was only one champion at any given time and he seldom went to court or changed camps or sued his promoter. Usually, he just fought in the ring, took on all the top contenders until one of them knocked him on his butt. Then he moved on and we learned and remembered the name of the new champion: Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali.
Things have changed.
Ask the guy fixing your car or cutting your hair who the heavyweight champion of the world is, and he'll probably look at you like it's a trick question. Evander Holyfield will probably be mentioned. Maybe Lennox Lewis or Mike Tyson. I doubt you'll hear the name John Ruiz, and I don't think Hasim Rahman will get too many votes. Most people don't know who he is, where he's from or how to pronounce his name.
``Hasim Rahman? Isn't he a forward with the Knicks?'' No. He jumps through hoops for Don King.
You remember Don King. He's racked up more court time than Judge Judy, heard more gavels bang than Robert Downey Jr. He's never seen a federal building he hasn't been indicted in.
A brilliant ex-con, he can shake your hand, pinch your wallet and stroke your ego while telling you you'll make millions if you'll just sign on the line.
Not that I'm accusing King of petty larceny. You don't buy mansions by picking pockets. You buy mansions by cutting big deals with over-matched pugs, guys who don't know the difference between annuities and anniversaries, who get lost in the hocus-pocus of big money, fast talk and fine print.
That's how King operates, with mirrors, smoke and a good line. He never met a sucker he didn't like, and boxing is full of them.
Right now, he's just trying to find a way to keep his judicial record intact, to duck prosecution again and save his fanny from anymore lawsuits that keep popping up while he tries to steal the heavyweight champion.
Forget his name already? It's Hasim Rahman. He's from Baltimore. Won the title from Lewis in April when he landed one of those overhand rights that look like something thrown in a bar fight.
Right after Rahman landed that right, King showed up and stole him, flashed some cash and took him away from promoter Cedric Kushner like a kid scooping up a stray puppy.
So now everyone is in court in New York trying to straighten this thing out, trying to decide who Rahman's promoter is, if he has to fight Lewis next as was stipulated in his contract for the first fight, who gets to promote the next fight, what color trunks Rahman has to wear, who gets to ring the bell, and which ring girls should be invited to the postfight party.
Meanwhile, another lawsuit has been filed against King. This one comes by way of Lewis' promoter in America, Main Events, which claims that King is trying to steal Lewis.
Is that possible?
No wonder no one knows who the heavyweight champion of the world is. You've got to read the courts section of the newspaper to find out who's ahead. While all this courtroom drama drags on, Lewis is watching his life flash before his eyes, claiming that at his ripe old age, his boxing prowess could slip away any minute. He wants his title back before he grows much older and before Rahman does something stupid, like lose it.
Isn't that what Lewis did?
You can reach Rick Folstad by email at folstad@insideboxing.com