Hasim Rahman vs Monte Barrett

Hasim Rahman gained the vacant interim World Boxing Council heavyweight championship by outpointing Monte Barrett over 12 rounds at the United Center in Chicago on August 13, 2005. The contest had been arranged after WBC champion Vitali Klitschko repeatedly postponed a proposed defence against Rahman because of injury. Rahman, the organisation’s leading contender and a former undisputed champion, entered with a record of 40 wins, five defeats and one draw. Barrett, ranked second by the WBC, had won 31 of 34 contests and was making his first appearance in a world-title match. He had earned his position by defeating the previously unbeaten Dominick Guinn and Owen Beck, while Rahman had restored his standing with five successive victories, the latest a fourth-round stoppage of Kali Meehan.

There was no sustained attack at the opening bell. Rahman established his left jab and advanced carefully, while Barrett remained at long range and looked for opportunities to counter. The two men were friends outside the ring, and their familiarity appeared to contribute to a cautious beginning. Rahman was the steadier of the pair. He held the centre, pushed Barrett backwards with the jab and seldom exposed himself to the right hand. Barrett circled and feinted but released too few punches to disturb Rahman’s rhythm. Much of the early work consisted of single jabs, brief exchanges and clinches before either man could build an attack.

Barrett became more active in the third round. He began using his own jab and caught Rahman with a sharp left which briefly unbalanced him. It was Barrett’s clearest early success and suggested that he might force Rahman into a more demanding contest. He did not apply sufficient pressure. Rather than remain close and make Rahman work, Barrett returned to circling and holding whenever the former champion stepped forward. Rahman resumed command with the jab, sometimes doubling it and following with a straight right. His punches were not delivered with full force, but they were accurate enough to score and to prevent Barrett from setting his feet.

Through the middle rounds, the contest settled into a repetitive pattern. Rahman came forward behind his left hand, touching Barrett’s head and chest and then bringing the right across when the opening appeared. Barrett moved along the ropes, occasionally answering with a quick combination, but he spent too much time waiting. When Rahman closed the distance, Barrett frequently tied him up rather than attempting to work inside. Referee John Callas was repeatedly required to separate them. Neither man was cut or knocked down, and there were few exchanges in which both remained within punching distance for more than several seconds.

Rahman’s jab was the governing punch. It gave him control of the space between them and reduced Barrett to isolated counters. Barrett possessed adequate hand speed and occasionally made Rahman miss with upper-body movement, but he rarely converted those defensive successes into useful attacks. Rahman was not especially quick, yet he remained balanced and economical. He understood that Barrett was allowing the rounds to pass and had no reason to abandon a method which was steadily increasing his lead.

By the seventh and eighth rounds the crowd had become restless. The promised heavyweight contest had produced little close fighting and almost no sustained aggression. Barrett continued to retreat and clinch, while Rahman maintained his deliberate pursuit. Rahman’s right hand landed intermittently, though never with the force of the punch which had knocked out Lennox Lewis four years earlier. Barrett’s caution denied Rahman many clean openings but also denied Barrett any realistic chance of taking control. The action remained orderly rather than severe, with Rahman collecting rounds through initiative and the more consistent jab.

Barrett attempted to increase his work late in the contest. Rahman’s pace declined in the tenth, and Barrett began stepping forward more often instead of conceding the centre. He jabbed with greater purpose and put together several combinations, showing more urgency than he had during the middle rounds. Rahman appeared tired but was not in serious trouble. He held when Barrett came close, answered often enough to discourage a prolonged attack and continued to land his jab whenever the challenger paused.

Barrett produced his best sustained effort over the final three rounds, but it came after Rahman had established a substantial advantage. He pressed harder and forced Rahman to give ground, though his attacks still lacked the volume needed to change the result. Rahman finished cautiously, protecting his lead rather than attempting to force a stoppage. At the final bell there was no uncertainty over the winner. The principal question was how widely the judges would reward Rahman’s greater activity against Barrett’s largely defensive performance.

Judges Mauro Di Fiore and Tom Kaczmarek each scored the bout 118-110 for Rahman, while Jerry Jakubco returned a card of 116-112. Rahman therefore won by unanimous decision and became the interim WBC heavyweight champion. The two wider totals reflected his control through most of the first nine rounds; the narrower card gave Barrett greater credit for his late improvement. None of the scores could be considered surprising. Barrett had shown occasional skill and finished with some purpose, but he surrendered too many rounds by moving without punching and holding whenever Rahman approached.

The victory placed Rahman in line to meet Klitschko for the full championship. That contest did not take place. Klitschko later retired due to ongoing injuries, and Rahman was elevated from interim to full WBC champion. His performance against Barrett had not been dramatic, but it was controlled and effective. He used the jab, avoided unnecessary exchanges and accepted a points victory when Barrett declined to force a harder fight. Barrett’s first championship opportunity ended not through lack of ability or courage, but because he waited too long to use either with sufficient insistence.

Rahman did what a heavyweight should do when the other man refused to take risks. He established the jab, held the centre and made Barrett follow without giving him the countering opportunities he wanted.

Barrett had earned his chance by beating Dominick Guinn and Owen Beck, but on the night of his career he was too cautious. He moved, feinted and clinched, yet rarely committed enough punches to change the fight. By the time he showed urgency, Rahman had banked most rounds.

It was not entertaining, and Rahman never threatened to reproduce the right hand that flattened Lennox Lewis. But this was sensible work. The scores were wide because Barrett surrendered the initiative. Rahman deserved every part of the decision.