“Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko and Hasim “The Rock” Rahman

On December 13th, Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko and Hasim “The Rock” Rahman will square off in Germany for the IBF Heavyweight Title. The bout was scheduled on somewhat short notice. Klitschko was originally set to fight IBF mandatory contender Alexander Povetkin, but Povetkin pulled out with a partially torn ligament in his left foot. The choice of Rahman as an opponent disappointed some in the boxing community, as most do not feel Rahman is worthy of a title shot against the younger Klitschko.

Rahman’s last bout was a no-contest with James Toney, as Rahman elected to not continue due to a cut after a clash of heads. This had been originally ruled as a TKO win for the Michigan motormouth, however it was overruled to a no-contest. The matchup between Klitschko and Rahman is viewed almost universally in the boxing world as a foregone conclusion, three years overdue for a Klitschko-Rahman matchup, and that was a different Klitschko anyway. Nevertheless, big upsets do happen, as Rahman can attest to...more