- 2 days ago
Lennox Lewis defends his IBF/WBC/IBO Heavyweight Title against Hasim Rahman on HBO Boxing from South Africa.
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00:00for the undisputed crown. And May 26, Floyd Mayweather Jr. returns fighting Carlos Hernandez
00:06in Grand Rapids, Michigan. HBO, the heart and soul of boxing. Also, don't miss next week's
00:13episode of On the Back, Larry. Lennox Lewis has seen Rachman lightly, as many observers believe
00:21has been the case. Can Rachman raise his game to such a level that he can turn that into a
00:26disastrous problem for Lewis? The only thing we can be sure of is that he's raised his
00:31pre-fight game. First, by arriving here conspicuously early to train and acclimatize himself. And
00:41then by behaving like a model American abroad, identifying with the masses of underdogs here
00:49who are just underdogs not only in life but mismatched all over. He's just an underdog
00:57in a fight. And finally, by dealing with the very cocksure Lennox Lewis in a surprisingly light
01:05way. He touche-ed the other day. If he's so confident, how come he demanded a return bout
01:11clause in our contract? That return bout clause will only kick in if Hasim Rachman fights the
01:19fight of his dreams, as a man named Douglas did in Tokyo 11 years ago. Yeah, but the numbers
01:26are a little bit less forbidding for Rachman. For Rachman, of course, Buster Douglas was a 40-1
01:31underdog in Tokyo. And the odds in the nearby casino here favoring Lewis are right at about
01:3715-1, although a couple days ago they had dropped all the way to 7-1. That was before Lewis weighed
01:42in at a reasonable seeming 253. George, Lennox did acknowledge to us in our fighter meeting that
01:49if he were fighting a more dangerous opponent, specifically Mike Tyson or Vladimir Klitschko,
01:55he would have left America to come here to Mile High Johannesburg way before 12 days ago,
02:01which is when he left here to come and fight Rachman. Can Rachman use that advantage and Lennox's
02:08seemingly casual approach to the fight to upset the odds in his favor? Yeah, because Lennox could
02:13be going against a much dangerous opponent than he can imagine, overconfidence. Rockman can use this.
02:19All he needs is one inch of confidence and a two-inch punch. He can become what has happened in the
02:26heavyweight division multiple times, the new heavyweight champ of the world. It has happened.
02:31And you're saying categorically that Lewis has been overconfident in his approach.
02:35Maybe so. But then he weighed in just right.
02:38Yeah, it looked pretty good. Let's take a look at the tail of the tape. As a matter of fact,
02:41Lewis, a few days ago, got on scales here with clothes on and weighed 268. That frightened a lot of
02:47people. And yesterday when he got on the scale, he was back to a more reasonable seeming 253.5.
02:52Lewis is 35 years old, seven years older than Rachman. But Lewis, of course, relatively untouched
02:58for 35. His height advantage stays in place. Three inches here against Rachman.
03:03Rachman with only two inches less in reach. And he says, despite Lennox's long jab, I think I can jab
03:10with him. Punched at numbers, Larry. Take a look at their relative activity against David Tua. You can
03:16see that Rachman, who was as far ahead of Tua as Lewis was in their fight through the first eight
03:22rounds, was much more active. And it's in the jabs that we might see whether this can be a fight.
03:30Can the jabber be outjabbed by the challenger?
03:34A word on scoring from our unofficial ringside judge, Harold Letterman.
03:38Okay, Jim, we're so often asked, you know how each individual round is scored. We use four points,
03:44clean effective punching, effective aggressiveness. In other words, you got to land punches while you're
03:48coming forward. Ring generalship, who's putting his opponent where he wants to have him. And defense,
03:53keeping those hands up, elbows in tight, blocking the punches and slipping punches. Jim.
03:58All right, Harold. As the challenger, Hasim Rahman will enter the ring first.
04:07Rahman's made a lot of friends here in South Africa.
04:12Longest inactive stretch of his career.
04:19Since a fight against journeyman Frankie Swindell, prior to that, he had a seventh round TKO
04:24over South African star, Corey Sanders, in a slugfest on HBO.
04:45It's dark, and hell is hot.
04:48Ain't no sunshine when it's gone.
04:51Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, Lobote.
04:54See you later, James.
04:56Follow us, baby.
04:59Hey
05:13Typical of this most cruel of sports,
05:25Rachman's career is defined more by his two losses
05:29than by his 34 wins.
05:32He outboxed David Tua for nine rounds,
05:34then got hit by a left hook after the bell,
05:37didn't get a chance to recover,
05:38and was stopped 35 seconds into the 10th.
05:42He was leading Oleg Moskov in Atlantic City
05:44when he left himself open for a huge Moskov right hand,
05:49went through the ropes, and was counted out.
05:52He says he learned everything he needed to know
05:55from those two defeats to go on now,
05:58improve his career,
05:59and become the heavyweight champion of the world.
06:12And now the crowd waits to see
06:14the undisputed heavyweight champion.
06:17he said,
06:17lets see if he's taking a look.
06:20As we have seen
06:21the waves going on now and's socotus,
06:24and remember his cad Hanson in the instant,
06:24as we még gyer has
06:25he was finalement on now,
06:26to be of Main Baron.
06:27And now,
06:29and now is to return.
06:31Not again,
06:32again,
06:35above the summit,
06:36and the number of peoples
06:37in the world and of Wongร
06:42and Jell willkraft
06:44back in the dance.
06:45Lennox Lewis lingered in America partially to film his own role in Steven Soderbergh's
06:59new movie Oceans 11, which was being shot in Las Vegas on April 5 and April 6.
07:05Lewis actually got into the ring at the MGM Grand Hotel with possible future opponent
07:11with the Premier League going up to Ukraine.
07:23And he is watching around the world.
07:27Eunice! Eunice! Eunice!
07:30Eunice!
07:31Eunice!
09:02Born in London, raised largely in Jamaica and Kitchener, Ontario, won an Olympic gold medal for Canada in 1988, migrated back to England to become England's first undisputed heavyweight champion in more than 100 years.
09:1638 wins, one loss on the surprise knockout by Oliver McCall, the draw in the Evander Holyfield fight that almost every ringside observer regards as a Lewis victory, his 15th appearance in a heavyweight championship fight.
09:31Let's go to ring announcer Duncan Pollack for the official introductions.
09:35Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Slime Nationals Carnival City Casino's Big Top Arena.
09:42Lion Promotions, Golden Gloves and Maniacs, in association with Cedric Kushner Productions and Budweiser, the undisputed, undefeated King of Peers brings you thunder in Africa.
10:00Ladies and gentlemen, this is for the WBC, IBO and IVF Heavyweight World Titles.
10:16Our supervisors from the WBC, please welcome Mr. Frank Will from Melbourne, Australia and Mr. Sam Ransami from Jasper in South Africa.
10:27Our supervisor from the IVF, our supervisor from the IVF, Marion Mohamed from New Jersey in the United States and from the IBO from Florida in the United States, Mr. Ed Levine.
10:39Our judges at ringside.
10:42From Washington DC in the United States, Valerie Dorset.
10:47From London in England, Mr. Dave Paris and from Johannesburg, South Africa, Mr. Thabo Spampool.
10:57Introducing the principles to you.
11:04Fighting out of the blue corner on my right, he weighed 107.96 kilograms, 238 pounds.
11:13His record, 34 wins, 2 losses, 28 wins by way of knockout.
11:19He is in the black and red trunks, the former IVF Interconcernational Champion and undefeated former WBU Heavyweight Champion of the World from Baltimore, Maryland in the United States.
11:33Please welcome, our team, the right, last time.
11:39Ladies and gentlemen, the referee for this fight, from Turban in Belgium, Mr. Daniel van der Wieler.
11:55We get to the champion.
11:56He weighed in 114.99 kilograms, 253 and a half pounds.
12:05His record, 38 wins.
12:07One loss, one draw, 29 wins by way of knockout.
12:12He's in the white trunks with red Truman.
12:15He brings to the ring a gold medal from the 88 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.
12:19He brings with him the WBC, IBF, and IBO Heavyweight World Trials.
12:27He comes from West Ham in London, England.
12:30And he is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Lance Glenn Lewis.
12:41I saw a sign in Soweto the other day that said, Africa is not for sissies, dare to succeed.
13:08That's what this is about.
13:10Heavyweight championship fights are not for sissies, either.
13:20As the two fighters walked around listening to Duncan Pollock's introductions,
13:25Lennox Lewis leaned over and whispered to Emanuel Stewart,
13:28who then went to the referee and asked him to go to Rachman's camp
13:33and have them lower his cup and his trunks.
13:36The referee did so.
13:38So already, Lewis has one small victory before the fight begins.
13:46Now let's see if Rachman will try to out-jab the jabber
13:50as he told us he thought he could.
13:53Rachman's starting off with his left jab to the back, which is what you want to do to make the taller man bend his waist a little boy so you can jab him into the face.
14:04Then there is no reach advantage.
14:06And as you pointed out, it's quite a challenge getting Lennox Lewis to come down and fight smaller.
14:11Among the big men in the sport, he is maybe the most adept at staying big.
14:15Right, George?
14:16That's a good way of saying it.
14:18Rachman's got to understand, look, you get in that ring with the heavyweight champion,
14:21you've got to become the heavyweight champion yourself.
14:23For the first time, he's been introduced as the champion, but when that bell rings, it's as much yours as it is his championship.
14:33Rachman turns his head to the right when he jabs, and that's not a good idea with a right-hand puncher like Lennox Lewis.
14:39I can tell you that Fox has seen it.
14:44He saw him turn his right head, his head to the right when he jabs.
14:51One of the criticisms of Rachman for his career is that he's sometimes off-balance after he throws,
14:57particularly after he throws the right hand, lifts the back foot, and gives his opponent a chance to counter.
15:02When Michael Grant did that kind of thing against Lennox Lewis in Madison Square Garden, Lewis made short work of him.
15:12Rachman hasn't decided yet what kind of style he really would like to get into.
15:15I've actually seen him go softball, switch it up.
15:19You do all these kind of things, that means you haven't decided what you can do,
15:22and what you're good at, nor is your balance.
15:25Lewis lands a jab, Rachman comes with a right-hand over the top-up.
15:29Rachman seems very composed, given this is the biggest event of his life.
15:41He hasn't done anything to make Lennox Lewis be a little self-conscious yet.
15:46If you're going to step in and be the shorter man with your left jab,
15:49you've got to step in with all your might
15:51to make his jab become a toothpick, and you're the bowling ball.
15:55Rockman's stepping around Lewis's left there to tap Lewis on the face.
16:03Incidentally, if you have not seen the rock before,
16:05he was once in a devastating traffic accident,
16:08which he survived, though with 500 stitches on his head.
16:13The right side of his face has a lot of scar tissue,
16:15but he has not had problems cutting in that area.
16:19Lennox Lewis is not the kind of fighter who likes coming after you at all.
16:24He's a good counter-punch, and he prefers that his challenges come to him.
16:29That's why he's not reaching out as much.
16:31Yes, I gave that round to Rockman.
16:36Just like that.
16:40Just keep concentrating on your jab.
16:42Forget everything, because you'll hit it with the right hand,
16:43because we'll see with the right hand.
16:45Don't try to make it, okay?
16:46Work your jab.
16:47And what he's doing, I mean, he's stuck down the coach with a couple of jails,
16:50but we kept him down here.
16:50That's what I'm saying about you.
16:52Just keep working the jab.
16:53Put a little bit more pressure on him.
16:54You ain't got to be punching.
16:55Just move it in a little bit more pressure.
16:56You still have pressure on him a little bit more.
16:57You're letting him rest too much.
17:00There you go, jab.
17:00You're looking good, champion.
17:06Just like that.
17:07Every time you're fucking...
17:09Hit, move.
17:09Don't jab.
17:10Make the right kidney inside, okay?
17:12Suck it in.
17:13Stay like that.
17:14Don't let things get you excited.
17:15Just stay like you all.
17:16Make you relax.
17:17Suck it in.
17:19Suck it in again.
17:19One more.
17:20Good.
17:20Let's step go.
17:23Here's Rockman.
17:24He threw so many jabs to the stomach in that round,
17:28and then came up with one to the head.
17:34We remember a fight earlier in his career
17:36when Lennox Lewis had a lot of trouble with Frank Bruno,
17:39who was outjabbing him in the early parts of the fight.
17:44Bruno won the first five rounds
17:45before Lewis landed a huge left hook in the sixth
17:48to turn it around and set up a knockout.
17:51Lewis corner told him not to beat you inches with the right hand.
17:54Just keep your jab going,
17:55and he's tried it, but he leaped in with the right hand.
18:00Rockman's corner was right.
18:01Don't try to win but one round at a time.
18:04Keep going back to your corner
18:05with one round in the bank for you.
18:07CompuBox numbers in round one.
18:09Lewis 12 out of 31.
18:10Rockman 12 out of 44.
18:12Almost all the landed punches were jabs.
18:17Right hand, left hook, another right hand by Lewis.
18:21First power punch combination of the fight.
18:26If you're Lennox Lewis,
18:27you don't want to go a lot of rounds at 253 pounds.
18:31I can tell you that.
18:33Lewis has told anyone who will listen here
18:35that he would knock Rockman out earlier.
18:38His mouth is already open.
18:40I don't know if that's significant or not.
18:45Lewis says that he would get Rockman
18:47in the first couple of rounds.
18:49Could be significant.
18:51As he may be trying to avoid going the distance
18:54here at 5,700 feet altitude.
18:57That right uppercut was pretty close by Lennox Lewis.
19:01I also got Rockman thinking now.
19:03Put that right hand on the side of your face
19:05when you jab.
19:07On the left side of your face.
19:09Lewis' big weapon, of course,
19:11is his right cross.
19:13But he lands a lot of uppercuts
19:16when he's on his game.
19:17Uppercuts dominated his second fight
19:20against Evander Holyfield.
19:21Helped him win the decision.
19:24Go ahead.
19:25Rockman does not want to let Lennox Lewis
19:27get his left jab established.
19:29If he does, it's all over.
19:31Make him miss.
19:33Every time he throws a left jab,
19:34make him miss.
19:35And then hit him with your jab.
19:37Chopping right hand by Lewis.
19:47Landed in the area just below Rockman's ear.
19:53Lewis stopping Rockman with a jab there.
19:57Rock reaching.
19:57Lewis is trying to get him with that right hand.
20:07He's going to have to just ease the left jab
20:10and then faint the right hand
20:11and come back with the hook.
20:14Almost faint at that time.
20:15You've got to faint the right hand
20:16and then do it with the hook.
20:19Normally when Lewis is able to land
20:21his right hand effectively,
20:22it's because he set it up well with the jab.
20:25He likes to jab to the top of your head,
20:27try to get you to look down
20:28so that he's hiding his right hand from it.
20:33That's not the right hand you can hide.
20:39Next Wednesday,
20:40another edition of On the Record with Bob Costas.
20:43Already this season,
20:45Bob's guest list has included musicians
20:47such as Drew Springsteen,
20:50movie stars Ashley Judd,
20:52George Clooney,
20:54Tom Hanks,
20:55sports stars like Mark McGuire,
20:59Kobe Bryant.
21:01This week,
21:01he'll have Billy Crystal,
21:03the director of the movie 61 Asterisk,
21:05now playing on HBO,
21:06and also Ray Charles.
21:07It's live at 11 o'clock Eastern and Pacific.
21:09This is the hour where in the bush
21:19and in the swamps of Southern Africa,
21:21the Predators are out and about,
21:25and certainly in the second half of that last round,
21:29as you see there,
21:31Lennox Lewis looked like he was starting to go on the prowl.
21:36You see Lennox Lewis has been able to watch a lot of boxing matches
21:51and he's seen that Rockman is able to be knocked down
21:53and sometimes you don't concentrate on the other weakness that a fighter has.
21:56You just go after them with the power.
21:59Sometimes you just got to leave that knockout out of the video
22:02and study the fighter.
22:04Good point, George.
22:06The knockout will come.
22:10Two sharp, accurate jabs from Lewis there.
22:14Rockman reaching as he tries to get a right hand to the body.
22:17Rockman's plan appears to be just stay in the fight.
22:22Survive long enough.
22:25Maybe something will happen.
22:27Now he's able to get a left jab in.
22:30And Lewis with an uppercut.
22:32Rockman tries an uppercut of his own in return.
22:38Rockman pounding Lewis' left bicep
22:41before the referee breaks him up.
22:45That's a good left jab by Lennox Lewis starting to work now.
22:49Now from the middle of the second round on,
22:51Lewis has gotten sharper
22:52and more prolific with the jab.
22:56Rockman's got this big target.
22:58The chest of Lennox Lewis,
22:59the stomach of Lennox Lewis.
23:01Forget about the head
23:02and just get what you can easily get there.
23:05He can land shot after shot
23:10if he wouldn't aim so high.
23:11He was initiating with his jab.
23:38Right hand is blocked.
23:40Rockman trying to work him inside.
23:44And working very well.
23:45Jim outworking him.
23:47Left hand uppercut this time.
24:00Now all things are happening good for Rockman.
24:02Lennox Lewis' hands are low.
24:04All the things you want a heavyweight,
24:05a big heavyweight to do,
24:07drop his hands,
24:08stand there not moving his head.
24:10But you've got to take advantage of those things.
24:12However, swelling under the left eye of Rockman
24:15already here in round three,
24:16indicating that Lewis might have caught him
24:18with a right hand.
24:19Rockman gets to the body twice.
24:21Lewis throws him off.
24:25Lewis wild with the left.
24:28Rock goes back to pounding that bicep.
24:30Left hook to the body and a left behind it upstairs.
24:36That's a combination.
24:37They haven't often seen Lennox throw.
24:39Double left hook.
24:41Looking nice, Helen.
24:42Looking good.
24:43Just what you're doing.
24:44What you've added to your tag,
24:45you're starting to do more left hooks now.
24:47Including the one where you caught him down here.
24:48Because he's not looking for nothing underneath.
24:50Once you start shooting shots underneath,
24:52he's hitting right on the chin.
24:53Because he don't land no...
24:54All he's doing is doing this whenever he moves.
24:56Now you're starting to go to a moment with shots down here.
24:58He ain't the right here to land on the chin.
25:00Look over.
25:02Look over for a second.
25:03Stay there.
25:04Suck it in, Hawkins.
25:05Keep moving in here.
25:06He jammed to the stomach in the head.
25:07Up and down with your jab to mix him up.
25:09And slammed that right hand.
25:11Really slammed it in there.
25:13Keep right there.
25:14Keep right.
25:16You see them working on Rockman's eye.
25:22Just as Lennox Lewis was working on his eye during that round.
25:30That was the left hook to the body.
25:32Left hook upstairs combo.
25:34With which Lewis finished the round.
25:37CompuBox numbers.
25:38You saw that rocked through more.
25:40Lennox landed at a higher rate.
25:44Round four begins with a Lewis right hand.
25:46Harold Letterman, how do you have it?
25:48Through three.
25:48Okay, Jim.
25:4929 to 28.
25:50Two rounds to one.
25:52Lennox Lewis.
25:53Jim, when you get the big heavyweight jab,
25:55big roof to punch, he's brutal.
25:56That's what's happening here.
25:57Rounds two and three.
25:58Lennox got a lot of roof to punch.
26:00Cut loose just like he is now.
26:03The power punches at Lewis.
26:05Seemingly beginning to rock the rock,
26:08and now Rockman comes back with aggression of his own.
26:11You know, the bad thing about it for Lennox Lewis,
26:24he has no fear of Rockman's power.
26:26He doesn't cover it up at all.
26:28Rockman does keep his hands up.
26:32You must have fear.
26:34Well, sometimes the way you deal with fear, George,
26:39is you attack.
26:41Rockman is attacking.
26:48Lewis with his hands at or below his waist.
26:51Rockman hits him with a right hand inside.
26:53And it was a good right hand.
26:55It wasn't a lot of power on it,
26:56but it showed him that he can lend it.
26:57May encourage Lewis to keep his guard up a little bit more.
27:06You know, the sad thing about it,
27:07Lennox Lewis can win this fight with his left hand.
27:13And I guess it's so easy, he doesn't want to believe it.
27:15Maybe that's part, George, of underestimating your opponent
27:23and thinking you can go out and get him any time you want
27:27and so you don't work at it.
27:29You don't work at it.
27:31He hasn't worked at doing what he can do easily.
27:34Do it all with your left jab.
27:36You got the height, you got the reach.
27:37Now snap your left jab if you're Lennox Lewis.
27:40And if you're Rockman, keep attacking.
27:42Make a fight out of it.
27:43You only get one of these good fights like this.
27:46Keep fighting.
27:47And another right hand does, Rockman.
27:53And pops Lewis just above the ear in the clinch.
28:00Some pretty effective punching in round four
28:02by Hasim Rockman of Baltimore, Maryland.
28:05Trying to bring the heavyweight championship of the world
28:07to the United States of America.
28:11Evidently, Rockman's trainers know
28:13that he turns his head to his right when he jabbed.
28:16So they make him put the right hand right next to his left side
28:19of his cheek.
28:20Lewis targeting Rockman's swelling left eye with his jab.
28:24The crowd is chanting Rockman and Rockman when the underdog stays in there longer
28:35than you expect him to, when he performs a little better
28:39than you expect him to, he can win the drama of the fight
28:43and get the crowd on his side.
28:47Lewis landed a punch below the belt
28:49and Rockman attempted to retaliate immediately.
28:52He's on the left hook.
28:57He's watching right now.
28:58You start shooting the left hook.
28:59He'll be talking about it here.
29:00Shoot the left hook.
29:01Stick him on the left.
29:02And break off of your toes with the left hook.
29:11Put your left hook.
29:12Put your left hook.
29:13over here
29:33back to the point
29:37Daniel Vandavilla telling our Harold Letterman that the swelling in Rockman's left eye comes from an accidental buck.
29:46Harold Letterman asked if any point had been deducted. The answer was no.
29:51Only 17 jabs per round by Lewis by copy box numbers in the first four rounds and that's fewer than Lennox would want to throw to be at his optimum. Frankly, he isn't throwing that many punches at all. He's been under 40 punches per round.
30:06Heavyweight average is around 40. In most of his best efforts, Lennox is much busier than that. Sometimes 60 punches around.
30:15Rockman jabs to the body once or twice. Then he comes up with that right hand. Lennox Lewis better be careful.
30:22While Lewis hasn't been busy, he has been accurate. More accurate than Rockman.
30:27Well, that presents the classic quandary for the judges. Is the busier fighter better or is the one who lands at a higher rate better?
30:36Rockman blinked that right hand. He's having trouble seeing out of his left eye, it appears. And Lewis goes to the body with the left hook.
30:46Trying to get Rock to bring his hands down. Give him another shot at that swelling left eye.
30:52You know, you're fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world. If you start to bleed, so what?
30:57So far, Rock...
30:58Your eyes start to close, so what?
30:59Yeah, you gotta go. That's right.
31:00Don't make any looks. Don't touch your face. Keep fighting.
31:04So far, Rockman has done a pretty good job of staying off the ropes and toward the center of the ring.
31:10I don't like him touching his face like this.
31:12His two disastrous moments, George, against Moskayev and Tua, occurred when he had his back to the ropes.
31:19That's a big right hand by Rockman. That momentarily stuns Lewis. Lewis smiling at him as a result.
31:26Good right hand. That's what you gotta do. You fighting for the title. You want the men's title, go take it.
31:32Excellent chopping right hand.
31:38Lewis stopped jabbing. He can walk into some right hand. That's what's happening now.
31:42If you're gonna walk into them, then walk to the man. Use your left jab.
31:48Lewis with a jab right to the body. Left hook upstairs combination. Now he just fires the right hand.
31:55Lennox Lewis is like a big cat.
31:59Rockman jab, jab, jab, jab.
32:01Four of them chases Lewis across the ring.
32:05With a thunderbolt to the right hand.
32:09Shades of Oliver McCall. September 24, 1994. In London.
32:15He got a brand new heavyweight champion. And he's from the United States.
32:27He has taken this man seriously. And the way he fought the fight, you could see he wasn't taking him seriously.
32:37Because he wasn't fighting his normal fight.
32:41All week long, you were thinking it was shades of Tokyo.
32:45There were reminders of Tokyo Feb 10, 1990.
32:49Everywhere as they prepared for this fight.
32:51Lewis clearly preoccupied with other things in his life.
32:55Rachman focusing on the business at hand.
32:58All I can say is, beautiful, spacious guys.
33:05You like having an American heavyweight champion, George?
33:07Oh, we can sing the national anthem again.
33:10What a story as Hasim Rachman becomes the heavyweight champion of the world.
33:15In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the division.
33:19A shot in the dark as Lewis stood there with his hands down and invited Rachman to hit it.
33:31For Lennox Lewis, it was a crumble in the jungle.
33:37Not a rumble in the jungle.
33:40Larry, you better write some stuff down for us now. I'm shocked. I'm in shock.
33:45Lewis spent six and a half years rebuilding his reputation after the disaster against McCall.
33:52And now he lets it all come apart again on one big right hand.
34:07Alright, let's look back, Larry, at what happened in the round.
34:10Here's the first right hand that seemed to start the trouble.
34:13Lewis smiled after that one.
34:15He smiled and became more insolent and more lackadaisical and careless.
34:22Rockman got inside and hit him a terrific straight right hand.
34:29Just a perfect set.
34:30He had not thrown many right hands through the fight.
34:34Lewis lived down to his preparation for the fight.
34:43Absolutely.
34:44He just drowned in Ocean's Eleven.
34:47That's another brilliant line.
34:48Drowned in Ocean's Eleven.
34:49How's he gonna explain this to Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, and all of his co-stars on the movie?
35:02He can tell them it was a stunt.
35:03He can tell them it was a stunt.
35:05Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
35:07There's the stunt.
35:08A brilliant right hand by Rockman.
35:11George, you said overconfident before the fight.
35:15You can't do it.
35:16And he showed it throughout the fight, didn't he?
35:18And, uh, Rockman came here and became a local hero.
35:21The people cheered for him all the time.
35:24Well, he spent more than a month here.
35:27He did what he was supposed to do to prepare for the one big chance in his life.
35:32If you're not serious, do not come to Africa.
35:35You will get your title taken.
35:42So here it is.
35:44It ranks right up there with James Braddock knocking out Max Baer.
35:49Don't worry, George.
35:50Braddock Baer.
35:51Leave me be.
35:52Gashes Clay beating Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, 1964.
35:56James Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson in Tokyo.
36:00Here is a fight to go with goals as one of the four biggest upsets.
36:04in the history of the heavyweight division.
36:07What a wonderful feeling.
36:09Now let's go to Duncan Palak for the announcement of a new heavyweight champion in the world.
36:17Ladies and gentlemen, you came to South Africa to see the thunder.
36:23And the score has just broken.
36:27Ladies and gentlemen, the final stop, 2 minutes and 32 seconds into the fifth round.
36:33To the winner, the new WBC, REO, and RBA heavyweight champion of the world.
36:43From Baltimore, Maryland and the United States.
36:46The new undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
36:50Haseem The Rock Rockman.
36:52Haseem The Rockman.
36:53Haseem The Rockman.
36:54Haseem The Rockman.
36:55Haseem The Rockman.
36:56Haseem The Rockman.
36:58Haseem The Rockman
37:03Haseem The Rockman.
37:04Haseem The Rockman, formulateiramифslah Dum dawns Public Kasdan,
37:18there's the jubilant rockman as we take a look at final compu box numbers remember that only
37:26two punches in the end really mattered the two huge right hands that rockman landed to lennox
37:32lewis's chin in the fifth round and you see the difference in activity rockman throwing 101 more
37:39punches in the fight because he was better conditioned cared more prepared the right way
37:45and was ready tonight jabs 38 out of 135 for rockman lewis startlingly accurate at 51
37:54but only throwing 19 per round not enough to set up his power shot lewis again landing at a huge rate
38:02with his power punches but rockman threw almost exactly twice as many in this instance busier
38:10was better busier one big let's go to larry merchant with a new champ thank you thank you jim
38:19congratulations rock
38:23tell us what what happened in there why are you now the heavyweight champion of the world oh well i kept
38:29kept my prayers in order i kept my team right i just want to say allah
38:33uh and i want to say to the state of merlin where my mother can take her job and shove it she ain't
38:40working there no more and uh i just felt like i told y'all the whole time i was here i felt a sense of
38:45calm and confidence i didn't get nervous not one time since the fight was made i wasn't nervous in the
38:51dropping room my father made do i power do i is unbelievable all right i felt like you know he
38:57came out and tried to dictate the pace and uh he got a very strong jab right good right here and uh
39:02i felt like let me ask a question in here let me get in a word i'm the champion of the world now
39:08you gotta let me talk a little bit go ahead go ahead all right do you do you do you feel that
39:17the long preparation you did here in africa as well back in america is the reason that you had
39:25that calm and and gave you an edge over him well i believe that uh i never really took an opponent
39:30serious to the fact where i thought he could beat me except linux lewis i felt like if i didn't
39:34train properly he would have the edge i kept my prayers in order i did all my training and i came
39:39over to it you see one punch one punch power with the right hand i mean give me some props let's
39:44let's see all right let's take a look at the one punch and tell us what was happening did that
39:50punch earlier in the round set this up well i felt like uh oh that should be rated r anyway uh i felt
40:01like uh we accidentally hit but and uh he tried to he tried to take advantage of me much the same like
40:08floyd sanders when i was wiping my eye they tried to come get me when they see me like i feel like i'm
40:12vulnerable so they come trying to get me and when they come trying to get me a hurt man is a dangerous
40:17man so when they come get me i just you know come through law let it go what was your plan coming
40:24into the fight because it seemed that you came out and threw about eight or ten jabs to his stomach
40:29in the first round well i wanted to hit him to the body and i felt like the longer the fight goes
40:34regardless whether we was in altitude or not that i mean i have a very very strong jab anybody can
40:39attest to that he's been in the ring with me and i knew he would take his toll on him there's no
40:43excuses we didn't get it to the later rounds like everybody predicted i wouldn't have a chance
40:47in one through five what round was it number five his mouth was open as early as the second round
40:53did that signal to you that he was having a problem well uh i wasn't i know lennox louis a
40:59bright cage a veteran he got him married to his corner everybody was talking about that he could
41:04have been trying to bait me in so i wasn't really paying attention to that so now you showed or you
41:10showed him why he needed a return match clause in the contract well it don't make me a difference
41:15i'm gonna stay with my friends stay with the right faith i believe that uh power do i stand in my
41:21faith i mean as long as i continue to be in this box game i'm gonna have a measure of success inshallah
41:28what next well i'm gonna leave it to you know i'd like to come back to south africa and defend
41:34the people of south africa i love it i love south africa
41:40let me back let's do it again let's do it again i love south africa all right
41:45all right you love south africa so much we want to show a little bit more of the fifth round
41:51the right hand that seemed to set up the later sequence that came in and led to the knockout blow
42:03did you feel that he was just posturing at the end there when he was he was making believe that
42:08you hadn't hurt him at all no i felt like uh i believe that when i hit somebody i heard what
42:13degree i'm not sure but uh i was gonna keep to my my game plan unless i was out cold that's the thing
42:19i'm gonna fight until i'm out cold you know that line that's why y'all bring me back because you know
42:22i'm gonna fight regardless of who y'all put me in the ring with no lennox and tyson no lennox and tyson
42:27no lennox and tyson hey i fight tyson we can break tyson right here this south africa and i'd like to
42:34give props to my man my trainer adrian frenchy davis will be giving the man's door his first title
42:40loss in the headway jameson fight steve master star hoffman oh yes yes yes mac lewis also must
42:47cross to mac lewis first gym i ever want you i got you mr matt
42:50all right we're gonna roll this tape because we want people to see again see the early right hand
43:04in that round which perhaps 20 or 30 or 40 seconds goes describe what you see well i know
43:12you know it felt like i was cut i thought he was coming on i felt like that was a good right hand
43:16but uh like i said he didn't come right back when i was spent around so i felt like i might have
43:21stunned him a little bit but lennox is in shape it's cagey veteran i wasn't sure so you know you
43:26can't take too many chances with a guy like lennox a great champion you take nothing away from him
43:30and uh we can we can do it again thank you very much champ and thank you lennox
43:37lennox when all is said and done did you take him too lightly no not really you know this is what
43:51happens in heavyweight boxing you get caught with a good shot you don't beat the count uh they stop
43:55the fight simple as that but there's always a next time you know what i mean but but surely something
44:01led to what happened at the end you did you think he would be in there that long with you
44:06was he bothering you with his jabs with his jabs to your body yeah no i felt good in there it's just
44:12this is what happens in heavyweight boxing you run into a shot you don't beat the count they stop the
44:16fight but i felt wait wait wait wait wait you say they run in in heavyweight boxing in any boxing
44:22they're going to stop the fight if you don't beat the count well you know what it was a good shot come
44:27with a good shot i was coming in throwing a punch at the same time and you know he just connected with his
44:32punch all right you yourself admitted that if you were fighting somebody you thought was a more
44:36dangerous opponent you might have been here earlier that that weight that you had on is a window into
44:44your preparation and into your mentality about defending your title isn't it no not not at all
44:50i felt great going in there you know my my shape never showed at all in the fight the situations
44:57both are going in with a right hand one of them has to connect and it so happens that
45:00his right hand connect i never got beat i never beat the count simple as that i felt good you know
45:06this is what happens in heavyweight boxing all right let's take a look at the replay and you tell us
45:11you seem to think you were going to get out of that round after the first right hand hit you
45:16you were smiling at him and suddenly he had you on your right on your ropes yeah i mean you can tell
45:23he got through with a great right hand my back was against the ropes you know uh great right hand
45:29he come running the chin i went down i never beat the count they stopped the fight simple as that
45:34have you been thinking too much of mike tyson no absolutely not like i said there's no fight unless
45:40i get past i see what and you know he come with a great shot didn't beat the count but there's always
45:45the next time you know he threw that he threw that right hand he didn't even know where i was
45:49did he look easy to you in the fight well i was doing what i needed to do um you know i was getting
45:59to him with the jabs i was just walking him down um he came in with a with a left right and and i i
46:06missed i missed blocking it with my jab and he got got through simple as that as you can see i was
46:12always walking after him i was chasing him were you trying to land too many big punches
46:18no not really i was trying i was trying to get in there to definitely get him out uh i felt that
46:24he was definitely uh getting weak as the fight went on uh i just wanted to get in there with my jab
46:30i can't even believe that were you surprised that his composure in the fight that he seemed to be
46:37calm and just trying to do whatever he could do yeah i mean he was trying to land that big overhand right
46:43and just so happens you know he did he got through i missed it with my left left hand that's the that's
46:50the hand i usually block his right hand with but it happened it happened to get through and he caught
46:55me on the chin i went down but i'll be back again there's no way i'll sink him beat me twice
47:00so you do have a rematch clause in your contract and you do want the rematch definitely want the rematch
47:05uh you know i felt good after i got up and uh i thought i beat the count but you know the referee
47:10thought that this the fight should have been stopped but you know i've seen rotman's the champion
47:14today it's my understanding that in your contract he can fight one more fight before taking the
47:23rematch is that correct as you understand it no well i don't know about that but i definitely know
47:28there's a rematch clause and uh you know a second time around i've seen rotman is going to be down
47:33thank you very much champ thank you jim all right thank you very much larry and just momentarily
47:39on camera before i get a chance to talk with george foreman let me reestablish this james braddock
47:44beating max bear back back in the 1930s cassius clay beating sunny liston in miami beach may 25 1964.
47:54mike tyson losing to buster douglas in tokyo february 10 1990. and now this hasim rahman with a single
48:01shot right hand flooring and freezing lennox lewis to score one of the four biggest upsets in the history of
48:07the heavyweight division and win the heavyweight crown and george foreman what kind of a champion
48:13is hasim rahman going to be he's a delightful guy he's wiped my slate clean from what happened to me
48:18in africa now they'll be talking about what happened to lewis rachman he was determined he got in there
48:23he should have lost should have lost confidence but he kept throwing shots and we have a new heavyweight
48:27champion i love it ironically mike tyson for months his people have talked about rachman as a possible
48:34future opponent for tyson as tyson builds and tries to get ready to fight lewis now the idea of
48:40rockman tyson takes on a whole different meaning doesn't he's no opponent anymore he's the heavyweight
48:45champion of the world a brilliant performance by the rock who uh larry merchant um you and and several
48:52other critics pointed out how lackadaisically lewis trained and prepared for the fight there was
48:57nothing in the last week to indicate that he was that much more serious about it that he had been
49:02being back in las vegas april 6 april 5 shooting a movie while rachman was down here training you
49:09could see the casualness from minute one on the right you make a fighter a serious opponent if you
49:15don't take him seriously and that's what happened here tonight we a lot of people saw it coming but
49:23couldn't believe that hasim rahman would be the one that was executed you asked me the question earlier
49:30tonight can he raise his game enough if he's being taken lightly well he raised that right hand a
49:39couple of times and so uh what happened was we got a return to the theater of the unexpected
49:47in boxing and lewis gets a reminder of what happened to him against oliver mccall september 24 1994
49:52at the wembley conference center in london the previous time that he walked into a big right hand
49:58and had to try to make explanations after let's take a look now once again at round five at all of
50:05the fifth round action in real time and once again chart the progress of the developments that led to
50:11the big knockout and george while lewis was landing here i was getting ready to ask you as round five
50:17progressed does he walk around with his hands at his waist because he wants to invite the opponent to try
50:21to hit him upstairs or is it just because he's being lazy in there all of the above all the above you
50:27know i've often said when it all boils down the small heavyweights always reap the benefit this is not
50:33a big tall man sport you can rain for a bit but there's always going to be a six-one-er a tour
50:39a one-er and a tour who's going to take these boxing matches these title matches and as you can see
50:44rock the rock man small 6-2 but the right hand goes right in there in the middle of that big man
50:506-2 and 237 is not what not tiny it's not tiny it's joe lewis's height yeah you know but height
50:57joe lewis is height this is the second shall inherit the boxing world this is the second time there's been
51:03a major heavyweight championship fight in africa the second time there's been an upset uh-oh larry
51:10you went there anyway but i love it i'm happy to be a part of that among the four big upsets that i
51:16now rank at the top of the heavyweight division but that was an upset too it's this was always one of
51:21the great events in in all of sports when you get a change in the heavyweight championship and when you
51:30get an outright underdog a fighter most people thought was that was the first big right hand right
51:37there and you can see lewis smiling and george that always means yeah i'm hurt i'm hurt that's
51:43why i'm grinning at you whistling through the graveyard now watch lewis back over toward the
51:47ropes and rock comes in and fires the one big right hand shot about 15 20 30 seconds down the road from
51:54here and as lewis goes down we don't really know yet so let's check and be sure did he get stopped by
52:01the referee without a completion of the count because of his condition on the canvas or did the count
52:05actually reach 10. it was hard to tell in the bedlam that took place in the ring lewis's left hand is
52:12right there on the hip carrying it so low why not be knocked out when you now we've got the referee
52:19mr vanderwiela over here to the side tell me this was there a completed count here yes it was a
52:25completed count he was out when he hit the floor completely out and you make it all the way to 10 on
52:29this count yes yes yes okay all right well our videotape stopped before we saw the full completion
52:36of nine to ten but uh you're saying the count was fully complete yes i did the complete account uh he
52:41hit the floor and it was completely out it was an instinct that he wanted to get up but it was still
52:46out so officially it's ko not tko yes thank you mr vanderwiela all right so there you have it officially a
52:52knockout not a technical knockout for hasim rahman over lennox lewis that differentiates it incidentally
52:58from lewis's previous loss to mccall where he got up at the count of six but then was not allowed
53:03to continue in the fight by that referee fellow named lupe garcia from mexico technical difficulties
53:10did not allow us to show the conclusion of the count now we're going to show it to you so let's watch
53:15and see if we can pick up the ten count one two three four five six seven eight nine ten well
53:27jim you started a little late the count started as soon as he hit the canvas the count started
53:31okay so so you're confirming that yeah he was down and not only was he down it was a merciful
53:36stoppage also well i don't think he would have been able to continue in the fight anyway after
53:40taking a shot like that i gotta admit it's first time i've said a song outside larry uh merchant and he
53:45was shot did larry beat the count i can't believe it larry what a night what a night in south
53:52africa as the new darling of south africa baltimore maryland's hasim rahman becomes the heavyweight
53:59champion of the world you got a final postscript on this lm yeah there used to be a time when uh
54:04the media would trail the heavyweight champion around the world much like the media would trail a
54:10united states president around the world even if he was off to some
54:14uh formal meeting somewhere just in case something happens so how many media were here
54:22no american boxing writer i know of came to america came to south africa to see this
54:30assuming as many people did that it was a mismatch no american boxing right the baltimore sun didn't
54:36send a writer the baltimore sun sent a writer to cover a hometown boy there were three correspondence from
54:43uh new york times boston globe washington post who normally cover political affairs in south africa
54:50but be that as it may um there's something there's there's something exhilarating about a moment like
54:58this when you hear all of the speculation all of the months past about this fight happening or that fight
55:04happening and some young guy comes along and shoots holes through all of those plans and
55:13just remember we've been saying for some time jim that all of the recognized heavyweights were well
55:20into the 30s lennox lewis 35 years old how many times can you go to the well how many times can you
55:28get yourself in absolute peak condition sooner or later some young guy some ambitious guy was going to
55:35land a big punch on a veteran heavyweight it was later and it was tonight all those boxing
55:42journalists back in the states can surely appreciate if you had been here this week if you were on the
55:47inside of this event if you knew what was going on at some point regardless of how much you believed in
55:52lewis and i've always been a big lewis believer at some point you said to yourself tokyo felt a little
55:57bit like this right now it feels every bit like tokyo we'll have a final word on what happened here in
56:03the ring in just a moment let's look ahead to some upcoming programs on hbo this is a fantastic story
56:09fellas two yankees playing in the house that ruth built both going after his record
56:16in the season of 1961 mickey mantle and roger maris challenged a legend who's going to break babe
56:22ruth's home run record electrified a nation i don't care about this stupid record mickey
56:27why can't you just admit you wanted to and made baseball history
56:3361 saturday april 28th only on hbo the beat goes on fast and furious as ko nation brings you hot and
56:42rising star andrew six heads lewis he's quick he's powerful and he's the new welterweight champion
56:48after a showstop and knockout against former champ james page now he's craving a sugar rush but first he has
56:54to defend his title against the hungry larry marx and six heads lewis versus larry marx and diaz
57:00versus sencion live saturday april 28th on hbo ko nation on the ropes off the hook
57:09may 5 fernando vargas returns to the ring for the first time since his war with tito trinidad
57:13this time the comebacking vargas takes on veteran wilfredo rivera one week later on tv ko pay-per-view
57:19vargas conqueror trinidad joins the middleweight unification series he'll be taking on william
57:23joppy of washington dc for joppy's title belt the winner meets bernard hopkins in the fall to
57:28determine the undisputed middleweight champion hbo the heart and soul of boxing and don't forget
57:34this wednesday it's another edition of on the record with bob costas this season bob's special
57:39guests have included bruce springsteen george clooney mince mcmahon and ashley judd this week he'll
57:46have 61 asterisk director billy crystal and ray charles it's live at 11 p.m eastern and pacific tonight
57:53at carnival city just outside of johannesburg south africa lightning struck in the heavyweight division
58:00hasim rahman of baltimore a 15 to 1 betting underdog against undisputed champion lennox lewis of england
58:08fired two right-hand shots in the fifth round the second of which left lennox helpless on the canvas
58:15the champion was counted out and a new champion was crowned he's an american heavyweight champion
58:21and his name is hasim the rock rockman he brings fresh air to the heavyweight division
58:28next on hbo stay tuned for the sopranos on the east coast and the premiere of 28 days on the west coast
58:35so now for the entire hbo crew here in carnival city south africa i'm jim lampley saying see you next
58:41week from new york city the executive producer of hbo sports is rick bernstein tonight's edition of
58:47world championship boxing was produced by dave harman and directed by mark payton the feature
58:52producers were brian lockhart and thomas urtelfeld assistant to the producer abteen motia
58:57production manager john mccalli technical supervisor roy otaki and the technical director is joey abenda
59:04congratulations rock
59:34so
59:48you
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