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By Edward Lea 6/01/02
BOXING / NO BUTTS ABOUT
THIS / TECHNICAL SPLIT DECISION GIVES HOLYFIELD
VICTORY IN 8TH AGAINST RAHMAN
Date: Sunday, June
2, 2002
Section: Sports
Edition: Atlantic & Cape May
Page: C1
Byline: By DAVID WEINBERG Staff Writer
Caption:
Evander Holyfield connects with a left to the face of Hasim Rahman on
saturday night during their heavyweight bout at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic
City.
Evander Holyfield
still does not know what it is like to lose here.
The four-time heavyweight champion improved his record in Atlantic City
to
10-0 Saturday night by posting a controversial, technical split decision
against Hasim Rahman at Boardwalk Hall.
Ringside physicians Howard Taylor and Dominic Colletta stopped the bout
in
the eighth round because of a tennis-ball-sized hematoma that had formed
over Rahman's left eye. The injury was determined to have been caused
by
an accidental head butt, which meant the bout would be determined by the
three judges' scorecards after seven rounds in accordance with New Jersey
Athletic Control Board regulations.
"When I spoke to him, he told me that everything was blurry and it
was
affecting his vision,'' Colletta said.
Judges Steve Weisfeld and John Stewart both favored Holyfield by a 69-64
margin. Melvina Lathan favored Rahman 67-66.
The Press scored it 68-65 for Holyfield.
Referee Tony Orlando twice warned Holyfield for using his head but did
not
penalize him.
"There were no accidental head butts,'' Holyfield of the round and
brought
in the doctors to look at Rahman's head.
"I don't think it was a fair or an official fight,'' Rahman said.
"Every
time I threw my right hand, he would drop his head. He was head butting
me
from round one and I pointed it out to the referee.
"I didn't think it would do this much damage, though. He must have
a metal
plate in his head. I've never seen anyone do this much damage with a
punch.''
An announced crowd of 9,831, anxious to quench a four-year thirst, guzzled
every punch of the first major fight to be held at the arena since 1998.
The action in the ring was non-stop and the roar from the stands never
dimmed, proving once again that nothing matches the electricity of a big
fight.
With the victory, Holyfield (38-5-2, 25 KOs) moved into position to
challenge for a world title for the fifth time. The 39-year-old will soon
become the No. 1 contender in the WBC and will soon earn a shot at the
winner of next week's Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson showdown.
Rahman (35-4, 29 KOs) vowed to retire if he did not win but delivered
a
respectable performance that suggested he should maybe rethink those
plans.
He showed improved movement, hand speed and defense under the guidance
of
new trainer Bouie Fisher, traits that would have carried him past most
other opponents.
Rahman looked sharp in the opening round, but Holyfield soon imposed his
will. He easily slipped inside Rahman's jab to land straight right hands
and also brought the crowd to its feet on several occasions with furious
rallies when he had Rahman pinned against the ropes.
"I felt good in there,'' Holyfield said. "He is a good fighter,
so I knew
I had to counter punch him.''
Although Holyfield had built up a sizeable lead, Rahman remained unfazed.
Because of his intense training camp, he entered the ring in tremendous
shape and was hoping that would pay off as the fight progressed. Because
of the welt, however, he did not get the chance.
"I thought he was going to be active early and try to end it because
he
knew I had been knocked out (by Lennox Lewis) in my last fight,'' Rahman
said. "I was trying to wait for the later rounds, when I knew he
would
tire. "I don't feel Evander beat me tonight.''
Holyfield-Rahman, which was promoted by Don King and hosted by Park Place
Entertainment, represented the return of big-time boxing to the area after
a four-year hiatus. Boardwalk Hall, which underwent a $90 million
renovation, hosted its first boxing show since then-WBO featherweight
champ Prince Naseem Hamed retained his title with a 12-round decision
over
Wayne McCullough on Oct. 31, 1998.
Prior to Holyfield-Rahman, the last major heavyweight fight in the
hallowed arena took place on March 28, 1998, when Lewis earned a
fifth-round TKO over Shannon Briggs.
The drought nearly ended four months ago. Bally's Atlantic City and
Showtime Boxing were finalizing plans for a fight between Mike Tyson and
Ray Mercer for Jan. 19, but Tyson backed out of the bout at the last
minute to accept a title shot against Lewis.
Tyson-Lewis will be held in Memphis next Saturday. Major boxing cities
such as Atlantic City and Las Vegas passed on the bout after Tyson's
tirade against Lewis at a press conference in New York.
PUNCHLINES: Holyfield
earned $5 million for the fight and Rahman got $2
million. Bally's president Ken Condon reportedly paid a $1.5 million site
fee. Do not be surprised if another big fight is announced soon. King
watched the bout while seated next to Donald Trump. Bally's Atlantic City
will offering the only local public showing of Tyson-Lewis via closed
circuit TV. Doors to the Main Ballroom at Bally's open at 9 p.m. and the
main event is slated to start at 11 p.m. Tickets are priced at $30 and
are
available at Bally's box office or through Ticketmaster (800-736-1420).
Live boxing returns to town on June 29, when WBO heavyweight champion
Wladimir Klitschko (38-1, 35 KOs) defends his title against former champ
Ray Mercer (30-4-1, 22 KOs) at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
To e-mail David Weinberg
at The Press:
DWeinberg@pressofac.com
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