Jack Welsh
www.ringsports.com

In most boxing precincts, the dialogue is still a debate who Hasim "Rock" Rahman suckered the most America's fight media or David Tua, who posted a controversial TKO five years ago.

As for bragging rights, the former WBC heavyweight champion might be quick to remind only two of 44 writers picked him to win the other night in the First Union Spectrum in Philadelphia.

But when it came to putting his career back on track, Rahman had every right to feel like the winner he appeared to be even when this 12-round IBF heavyweight elimination bout was declared a draw.

Like their first meeting at Miami in 1998, irony surfaced when Rahman caught Tua with a left hook an instant after the final bell. The 9-5 favored Samoan via Auckland, New Zealand half stumbled, hall fell on his back but referee Rudy Battle of Philadelphia canceled any dispute when he declared the punch was late.

In the judges' official scoring, Bill Clancy had it 116-112 for Rahman while Bob Grasso's tab was 116-112 for Tua and George Hill's vote was 114-114. This observer's opinion was 115-113 for Rahman. The Associated Press' ballot was 116-112 for Rahman.

Neither promoter Don King or the arena staff released official attendance for the 16,500-seat Spectrum, but the house, pro Rahman, indicated it might be half-full from the timbre of its' protest when ring announcer Jimmy Lennon indicated there would be no winner. Rahman, the pride of Baltimore, shocked the game's most knowledgeable analysts when he weighed-in at 259.5 while Tua, lauded as the divisions, top hitter, looked trim and ready at 245. It was Rahman's largest since he beat Corrie Sanders, now the WBO champion, at 245 three years ago. When Rahman won the WBC crown by stopping Lennox Lewis Apr.22, 2001 in South Africa, he was 238 and seven pounds heavier when the huge Brit regained the title seven months later on a seventh round kayo.

Having lost to Evander Holyfield last year, Rahman's career was on the line against Tua, who he referred to as "the fat midget", knowing well that three losses in a row and you're out in anybody's league.

"I'm confident but not overconfident. I know Tua has a weakness I didn't know in our first fight. If the media thinks he's going to blow me away, it is in for a surprise. Tua has never been knocked out or down, so I'll be the first to accommodate the fat midget."

It was a career match-up for both TNT punchers, Tua, coming in with a 42-3, 36 KOs resume and a $1 million guarantee. For Rahman and his 35-4, 29 ledger, it was the same seven-figures but for the winner, he becomes the No.1 mandatory challenger to face Chris Byrd, the IBF's incumbent out of Flint, Mi.

Rahman had his share of trainer problems in the countdown to the first bell but he wound up with the highly regarded Miguel Diaz in his corner. The key message was simple: "Stay away from Tua's potent left hook and work behind your jab."

This ambitious warrior from Md. didn't waste any time, either sticking with the jab or firing double overhand rights. Tua, moving on those powerful legs, was a herky-jerky target with those head and shoulder feints. And always primed with the left hook.

Rahman was fighting smart. and doing something I expected John Ruiz to do with Roy Jones---grab the enemy and smother his offense with your superior weight. Tua did get off four quick jabs but the ex-champion repeatedly wrapped him up with his arms in the fourth round. Rahman's jab was beginning to bruise and landing well with the right to the chops.

Scorecards had Tua shutout through the first five rounds. The 'Throwing Samoan' was effective with the left hook, either leaping and digging inside short opening in seventh round, Tua stunned Rahman with a short right hand and repeated the weapon several times when he didn't get trapped with Rahman's smothering clinches. One of Tua's better rounds but he still trailed.

Rahman dictated the fight's tempo and surprised everybody with the jab that had Tua's nose bleeding and right eye closing underneath going into the ninth round.

Now stalking intently, Tua scored with jabs in the 10th round and caught Rahman with a booming overhand right which left a small cut on the outside of his left eye.

In the 11th round, it was a prowling Tua going for broke, ignoring Rahman's jabs to score quickly with two solid rights to the head. The Rock was wobbled but he managed to keep his footing and smothered Tua twice with clinches. There was another right but Tua was tied up again as Rahman countered with a combination.

With Tua looking for a miracle kayo, Rahman grabbed him three times in the first 40 seconds of the 12th round. The baby tank threw a left-right-left.

Rahman wasn't going to get careless with Tua in the final minute, pressing his poundage and then firing that left hook when the fight was over.

Once the decision was announced, Rahman was happy with what he considered was a moral victory. Yet once in the ring talking with HBO's Larry Merchant, the Baltimore bomber indicated he "got the shaft again."

"This wasn't any different than our first fight. The same old stuff again. I have beaten David Tua twice and I still don't have a win over him. I cut him up, I made him bleed from his nose and his mouth and I knocked him down. The public knows who won this fight. You could hear them booing," Rahman reflected.

"If you listened to the media, I was supposed to be a dead man coming in there. This was suppose to be David Tua's coming out party. I feel like my stock has definitely rose with this fight. I definitely showed that could stand in there and compete with the best in the world. Tua hit me with some big shots, right hands and hooks but I too his best punches and came back with even bigger punches of my own."

Rahman says he is ready to fight anybody in his next fight who can generate the most money.

"If the public wants to pay big for a third match with Tua, that's okay with me. But I really think Don King has some bigger things in mind for me. Earlier
I twisted my ankle in camp and couldn't train properly. I was eating too much and went up on the scales but we got that straightened out. I knew I wouldn't have any trouble going 12 rounds and doing it my way."

Byrd, who was at ringside waiting for a winner, feels Rahman deserved the victory and would be his best challenger in stimulated a good box office.

"I thought Hasim pulled the fight out and I think he deserves to fight for the IBF title. You win, you move on to a bigger fight. I feel HBO would really like this fight and if we can get it together, it would be a winner," the IBF titleholder opined.

"We both beat Tua. When I beat Tua, he was one of the beat. I beat Evander Holyfield over 12 rounds and Rahman feels he would have beaten Holyfield if it had gone 12 rounds. Nothing else makes sense. So right now, the only fight out there is Byrd and Rahman. It's a very makeable fight, if we can do it."

Tuaman, more bruised and bleeding than his title loss to Lewis three years ago, confirmed "it was a tough fight and a close fight."

"Rahman showed everybody a great jab tonight. I hit him with everything I had. Maybe I was too busy admiring my work too much. I need to work on following up and throwing more than one punch at a time.

Some times I was too patient when I should have been pressing with lead punches. I was more of a counter-puncher more than stressing my will with the jab. Let's do it again. It's a good fight for boxing and the fans," said the disappointed Kiwi Klouter........

HOPKINS IN BAD NIGHT TO GIVE PHILLY THE SHAFT

Don King ppaid Lou DiBella an extra $100,000 to hype undisputed world middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins' defense as the main event against a French refugee named Morrade Hakkar and it as a moment the master of misdirection will never pass on to his grandchildren.

Philly's great boxing legacy took a large kick in the butt when Hopkins reminded the reluctant public it was his record 16th title "risking" and WBC compounded the fracture when it let the Gaelic stiff come to America as its No.1 mandatory contender.

God knows whom Hakkar beat to get a 29-4 record and it must have been a track meet the way he ran for the first four rounds. Referee Frank Cappuccino should have disqualified himself for simply standing in the ring and watched Hakkar take laps.
It wasn't until the third round the red-faced corner told the stiff, "You gotta throw a punch." Hopkins' stooge took a knee in the fifth round without being touched. The 38-year-old champ finally caught Hakkar with a slapping right in the sixth round and St.Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases, came to everybody's rescue when the visiting corner stopped the freak show in round eighth.

In case you forget, Hopkins. now 42-2-1, is the same big bomber who retired Felix "Tito" Trinidad in the fall of 2001 and has done little since. But he couldn't have picked a worse night to give his local fans a sucker punch.