I dreamt of boxing at the Olympics but ended up watching from a prison cell – now it’s crunch time in my career
HASIM RAHMAN JR had to painfully watch his Olympic dream from a prison cell – but now he is fighting to make up for lost time.
The heavyweight is the son of two-time champion Rahman Sr, who famously knocked out Lennox Lewis in 2001.
So for Rahman, moving into the family business was a no brainer as he quit American football to pursue boxing.
And he took to it well, having almost 100 amateur bouts which set up Olympic aspirations.
But that was cut short in 2012, when Rahman was involved in a car crash which fatally killed a 43-year-old truck driver in Las Vegas.
Only 20 at the time of the incident, he was later incarnated for three years after being charged with reckless driving.
Opening up to SunSport, Rahman said: “It just made me realise how important my family was.
“We all help each other, it’s not just me and my career, it’s my brother and his career. It’s my mum and what she’s doing, my dad and what he’s doing.
“It’s everyone and we come together as a family and we have one goal and that’s to keep the Rahman name on top.
“When I was away, my family was the only way I got through it. If it wasn’t for my family, I don’t know where I would be.”
Rahman watched from his cell as Team USA failed to enter a heavyweight in the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
But after his release that December, he made his professional debut in 2017 and has been on a mission ever since.
Rahman, 32, said: “I always feel like I’m chasing it a little bit. When I left I was considering being a 178-pounder in the trials.
“But I went away about six-seven months before the trials happened so I didn’t get to participate and I had to watch the Olympics through a cell.
“And it really hurt, especially seeing people out there that I felt like I could have made a difference if I was there.
“It was just tough to go through that experience but I came home and I’ve made the most of the opportunities that have been afforded to me.
“But it’s crunch time now. I should be winning these fights, I should have won my last two fights so we go back, look at it, pray about it and Inshallah we come out on top July 22nd.”
Despite having a famous fighting surname, Rahman felt as though his biggest bout was outside the ring.
Because when he and younger brother Sharif were amateurs, they filed a lawsuit against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
They had been included in an episode of Showtime’s All Access, in which both of them claimed they sparred for over 30 minutes without a break.
The brothers sought damages of more than $10,000 after alleging battery, tortious assault, false imprisonment, negligent hiring, training, supervision and retention and unjust enrichment.
It was later settled out of court, but Rahman believes it left him blacklisted by the powers that be.
He said: “I’m always going to be fighting that a little bit but it’s up to me and my brothers to break that barrier.
“But it just makes it that much more difficult when you’re fighting against people that are very, very high up in the sport.”
Rahman notched up 12 straight wins before losing in 2022 to Kenzie Morrison, 33, son of ex-champ Tommy.
But four months later he was set to replace Tommy Fury, 24, as an opponent to fight YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul, 26.
Eventually that was also scrapped amid a weight disagreement and instead Rahman was signed by Paul’s rival KSI to Misfits Boxing.
Rahman lost his Misfits debut last November to ex-NFL and UFC star Greg Hardy, 34, who had a SEVEN STONE advantage.
Now he is back on Saturday night against bare-knuckle boxing champion and former UFC heavyweight Alan Belcher, 39.
Rahman said: “I know he’s very tough and he’s going to bring a lot of pressure and I know he’s a knockout artist.
“He’s already said he’s coming to knock me out in the second round, so it’s going to be bombs away come July 22nd, that I can guarantee.”
Rahman has teased a switch to MMA himself while not ruling out a return to traditional boxing – as he looks to leave an unprecedented legacy.
He said: “I want to set a mark that can’t nobody touch. I want to do something that is like, ‘Wow, he really did that.’
“I’ve had some really tough fights, I’m coming off two really tough fights and I have a tough fight ahead of me. So there’s one thing right there.
“Especially in this era, people don’t take tough fights and can’t nobody say to me I’m taking easy fights.
“Now it’s time to come out on the winning side and take tough fights after that.
“I don’t want to be known as a fighter that took easy fights or was scared to fight anybody.”