DIRIYAH, Saudi Arabia — Hasim Rahman has been exactly where Andy Ruiz Jr. is.
In 2001, Rahman entered his fight against WBC, IBO and IBF heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis as a 20-1 underdog. Few, if any, gave him a chance to dethrone the man who was recognized at that time as the best heavyweight on the planet.
After four competitive rounds, Rahman uncorked a hellacious right hand that caught Lewis flush and sent him to the canvas in a heap. Lewis was unable to beat the count, and Rahman was crowned the new heavyweight champion.
However, Lewis invoked his rematch clause and exacted revenge on Rahman with a devastating fourth-round knockout.
As Ruiz prepares to prove that his shocking stoppage of Anthony Joshua to become the unified heavyweight champion wasn’t a fluke, Rahman — who will corner Michael Hunter in the co-main event for his fight against Alexander Povetkin — spoke to DAZN News about what mistake Lewis and Joshua both made and disagrees with a common narrative that has been consistent with Ruiz-Joshua 2.
Like Lewis-Rahman, many believe that Joshua overlooked Ruiz and paid dearly for it. But Rahman vehemently disagrees with that assessment.
“I don’t believe that at all,” the former champion said. “He was already training for a supposedly tough fight. It wasn’t like the opponent changed the same week. He had five weeks to prepare for Andy Ruiz.”
As with his victory over Lewis, Rahman thinks the "overlooked" excuse comes out of convenience rather than giving credit to the victor.
“I think it’s a nice go-to excuse,” he continued. “Before I fought Lewis in South Africa, he was punishing his sparring partners. You can say what’s convenient, but the bottom line is, like Joshua with Ruiz, Lennox didn’t know what to expect with me.”
Ultimately, Rahman believes that Joshua made the exact same mistake Lewis made nearly two decades ago.
“Lennox wanted to knock me out, and when you go looking for the knockout, you are subject to getting knocked out,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened with Joshua when he tried to knock out Ruiz. He got caught. And now the secret is out — Ruiz knows exactly what to do.”
Rahman believes that Joshua will attempt to make adjustments, but Ruiz just might have his number when the two clash at Diriyah Arena on Saturday. Regardless of what happens, Rahman says that Ruiz has secured his place in boxing history.
“You can never take away what Ruiz did to Joshua,” Rahman said. “Like me, Andy Ruiz will forever be in the history books as a heavyweight champion, and he can always say that he was once the baddest man on the planet.
"Andy Ruiz will be called a heavyweight champion for life."