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Home >> Main Bill >> Headliners

Four more Heavyweight Contenders


The "Battle for Supremacy" heavyweights at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 13

Part 2

 

HASIM "The Rock" RAHMAN
Former WBC/WBA Champion
Baltimore, Md.
39-5-1 (32 KOs)

Training Site: Pat Barry's Gym in Las Vegas
New Trainer: Thell Torrence, who was mentored by Eddie Futch and has
trained Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe, Audley "A-Force" Harrision, Ken Norton
and others.

'Old School' Attitude: Known for his impatience with fighters who lack
commitment after being schooled by the legendary Eddie Futch, Torrence
likes what he sees in Rahman after working with the former heavyweight champion for just three weeks. "I agreed to work with him because he was willing to work within my program. From the very beginning he has been honest with me telling me where he's been, where he is now and where he wants to go."

"Rahman's personality sometimes takes me back to my early days with
Riddick Bowe because he is a good-natured, funny fellow. He's also been giving me a great effort every day.

"I thought Meehan won his fight with Brewster," Rahman said. "I told Don
to get me the guy who really beat Brewster. He's a nice guy and showed his
friendship with Brewster. He rocked Lamon to sleep like a baby. He won't
do that to me. I will be ready to fight this fight and every other fight I have until I am once again champion of the world."

vs.


KALI "Checkmate" MEEHAN
WBO/IBF Asia Pacific Champion
Wyongah, Australia
29-2 (23 KOs)

Training Site: Sydney, Australia.
Trainer: "Magic" Mark Janssen. Meehan's recent successes on the world
stage can be attributed in large measure to his trainer since 2003,
"Magic" Mark Janssen, who retired as an undefeated Australian middleweight ranked in the world top five, before becoming a trainer. Janssen's steady hand has guided Meehan to new heights.

Boxer Training with Aussie Rugby Squad? Meehan has taken up training at
the Parramatta Rugby League Team Training Facility in Sydney where he is
currently in two-a-day workouts: He runs sprint sessions from 6 a.m. to 7
a.m., lifts weights from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and conducts training and
sparring sessions from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. when the Rugby players aren't using the facility. The Parramatta players have been fascinated by Meehan's
training sessions and have become fans of the heavyweight, and Meehan is a fan of the team as well. Meehan's near-defeat of WBO heavyweight champion "Relentless"
Lamon Brewster on Sept. 4 has made him a sensation down under. He calls himself "Australasian" to recognize his birthplace of New Zealand and his home of Australia.

"To be here fighting on this show is so great," Meehan said. "When I was a
little boy, I wanted to fight. Then as my career progressed, I wanted to
fight in America. Now to be fighting at Madison Square Garden, and also
fighting with the best heavyweights of my era, is something I would never
imagine could happen."


EVANDER "The Real Deal" HOLYFIELD
Four-Time World Heavyweight Champion
Atlanta, Ga.
38-7-2 (25 KOs)

Training Site: Houston, Texas
Trainer: Ronnie Shields, who trains Juan Diaz, Ivan Hernandez, Juan
Lazcano and Dominick Guinn and has trained "Iron" Mike Tyson, Vernon "The Viper" Forrest, Jessie James Leija, Andrew Golota, Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker, Arturo Gatti and others.

Holyfield took a break from training after his loss to James "Lights Out"
Toney and will not have been in a fight for over a year when he enters the
ring on Nov. 13 and will be 42 years old.

Don King said about Holyfield, "He's an old man just rolling like a
river."

"This is the first step I have to take, looking over my past fights,"
Holyfield said. " I have made some adjustments and realized I have to be
totally dedicated and ready to fight.

"I couldn't get another fight. I wanted a championship but that didn't
happen. I couldn't let a whole year go by (October 2003 was his last
fight) so I had to take this fight.

"The big thing was to get a championship fight but unfortunately it didn't
happen that way. So instead of letting a whole year go by without no
competition at all, I think that would have hindered me. So more than
anything I had to go back to how I usually think. I can't be so concerned
about getting a championship opportunity. I have to be more concerned
about winning it when I get it. So I have to prepare myself so whenever the time will come I'll get it and win it.

"It's not like I had a big problem with Chris Byrd. It's that at that time
my health wasn't the best that it could have been.

"I think that anytime I go into the ring, people know that I'm not going
in there boasting that I'm better than anybody. They know that I'm going in
there for a goal. The thing is not to fight just to fight. I have a goal
to become heavyweight champion of the world. It's not because I need money; it's not because I have a bad attitude and I can't do nothing about it.
It's just the fact that I have to finish the right way. The finish is to be
heavyweight champion of the world."

"The big thing is, I'm in this game because I believe I can win it, not
because of the condition that the fighters are in or because of the
competition. I always felt that I was the better fighter than the fighters that were fighting.

I have a passion for the game. I go to sleep and wake up still wanting to
fight. I've never been a person who cares what anyone else says. If that
was the case, I'd still be in the ghetto. You're only old when they throw
dirt on you.

"Being undisputed champion is something that's been there since 1992 when I lost to Riddick Bowe. There have been times to step away, but my goal has always been to be undisputed champion. The importance is to be the best. If I only get one title, it's only one-third. There are still two other
people with titles who think they're the best. The reality is you have to have
all three belts. Then no one can say they're better than you."

vs.

 

LARRY "The Legend" DONALD
Former NABO Heavyweight Champion
Cincinnati, Ohio
41-3-2 (24 KOs)

Training Site: King Training Camp in Orwell, Ohio
New trainer: Colin Morgan, who was born in Georgetown, Guyana, and now
lives in New York City and also trains WBC cruiserweight champion Wayne
"Big Truck" Braithwaite. Morgan has also trained Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis early in his career, Andrew Murray, Gary St. Claire, Tiger Martinez, Bert Cooper and others. He is considered by many to be one of the more under-rated trainers in boxing.

"Larry is willing to learn and he is a very hard worker," Morgan said.
"He has relied too much on his natural abilities, which are huge.

"I'm teaching Larry that if he wants to go to the next step, he must
develop his natural killer instincts and punch properly by sitting better on his
punches to get more snap, which will result in knockouts. You'll see the
difference when he steps into the ring with Evander."

"Working with Colin has been great," Donald said, "Believe me, my whole body has been feeling it, too.

"It's always good to fight a Hall of Famer," Donald said of Holyfield. "A
lot of people may think he don't have it anymore but he do. When he comes to fight, he comes to fight. Anybody who goes in with him and expects him to lay down has a problem.

"I'm not disappointed in my career. All around I've had a beautiful career.
A couple of fights I may have fallen short but you can't fall apart.
That's when you have to be at your best. I feel I should have gotten more
opportunities, but everybody isn't willing to step in the ring with me the
way Holyfield is. He never ducks and dodges nobody. Why would he start
now?

"Holyfield has a goal, and I have a goal, and we both can't reach 'em. His is to become five-time heavyweight champion. I'm just striving to be
champion. That's what's going to make our fight magnificent. This is a
title eliminator.

"It's very rare to get all those top-notch fighters on one card. This is
going to be beautiful. I'm excited to be part of it. For me, what this
fight's all about is opportunity. Nothing will stop me and I am ready to
rumble."


 







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