The Greatest of Saturday Night
by April 30, 2001 12:00 am 74 views
Baltimore boxer Hasim Rahman may not be “The Greatest of All Time,” but he was the best professional boxer in the world on Saturday, April 21.
He knocked out World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis for a fifth-round upset in Brakpan, South Africa. The fight didn’t carry the political and social significance of “The Rumble in the Jungle,” the 1974 bout in which Muhammad Ali regained his title from George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire.
But the bout, after all, was for the most recognizable individual championship in the world. We tried to read more about Rahman on April 22 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, but its 20-page sports section that day contained not one word about the upset.
The Morning News did, however, have the story. Kudos to that newspaper’s sports copy desk, which made sure the fight at least made Page 5 of their section.
Scandals and letdowns have eroded much of boxing’s luster over the last 25 years. But a heavyweight title upset is still international news, even for a supposed “state newspaper.”