Lewis vs Rahman: The night one big right hand toppled the heavyweight king

On April 22, 2001, at Carnival City in Brakpan, South Africa, Lewis vs Rahman ended with one of the most improbable upsets in modern heavyweight history. Hasim Rahman, a huge underdog from Baltimore, dropped unified champion Lennox Lewis with a right hand in the fifth round and took the WBC, IBF and IBO titles 5,200 feet above sea level.

Lewis walked in 38-1-1 and defending for the fourth time since reclaiming the WBC belt from Evander Holyfield. Rahman was 34-2, carrying the “Rock” nickname and a career record that had kept him a step outside the top contender conversation. Nobody gave him a prayer. He gave himself five rounds.

Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman remains the perfect example of why you should never underestimate your opponent, especially in the heavyweight division.

How Lewis vs Rahman got to Brakpan

The venue was a casino resort outside Johannesburg, chosen to accommodate altitude rules and broadcast windows. Brakpan sits at roughly 5,200 feet above sea level, which changes both the air and the lung capacity a boxer carries into the championship rounds.

Rahman flew in on March 27 to acclimatise. He spent nearly a month at altitude and sparred with local heavyweights. Lewis arrived on April 10. Reports in the lead-up had him filming a cameo on Ocean’s Eleven in Las Vegas during the back end of camp. Preparation for Lewis, by every account written since, was not.

The main event ring-walked at around 5am local time to hit HBO primetime for Saturday, April 21, in the United States. South African referee Daniel van der Wiele worked as the third man in the ring.

Lewis vs Rahman: The right hand that changed everything

The early rounds felt routine for the champion. Lewis boxed off the jab, dropped the right hand when he wanted it, and banked rounds. He was listed as a 20-1 favourite on the night and wasn’t at his best, but was in front on the scorecards.

Round five changed it. Lewis backed onto the ropes, let his right hand drift low, and Rahman — who had been throwing wider than anyone liked in rounds one through four — stepped in and landed a straight right over the top. Lewis went down hard. He made it back to his feet at nine. The legs were not there. Van der Wiele waved it off at 2:32 of the fifth. The heavyweight division was stunned, and the king had been dethroned in the most dramatic style.

Rahman was the new WBC, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion of the world.

What Lewis vs Rahman left behind

The Lewis vs Rahman rematch clause was the immediate story. Rahman tried to walk away from it. Lewis took him to court, won, and flattened him in four rounds at the Mandalay Bay on November 17, 2001. A straight right hand ensured Lewis got his revenge.

For Rahman, Brakpan was the peak of a 20-year career that never climbed that high again. For Lewis, it was the costliest training camp of his life and the one fight he still talks about with more regret than any other in his record, including the Oliver McCall loss in 1994.

Twenty-five years on, Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman is still the reference point for every “he’s not taking this one seriously” pre-fight note, and the right hand that landed in Brakpan is still the right hand every heavyweight underdog is chasing.

Lewis vs Rahman — one night, one right hand, one of the biggest upsets the heavyweight division has ever produced.