Hasim

Hasim Rahman promised his son, Hasim Jr., a sensational victory for his 13th birthday. Last night in the scheduled 10-rounder at Michael's Eighth Avenue, the former heavyweight champion came through. Rahman landed an overhand right and scored a knockout of Rob Calloway at the two-minute mark of the second round. Rahman, a Baltimore native, is now 38-5-1 with 31 knockouts. Calloway, of St. Joseph, Mo., fell to 48-5-1. Rahman froze the darting Calloway with a hard jab and a short right hand in the first round, later staggering him with two straight jabs.

Former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman may have to stand in line for a rematch with John Ruiz - that is, if the World Boxing Association champion's handlers have their way during this weekend's anticipated negotiations with promoter Don King. "Our first choice is a unification fight with any of the other three champions. Our next choice would be Jameel McCline [ranked No. 14 by the WBA]," said Ruiz's attorney, Tony Cardinale, who, with manager/trainer Norman Stone, plans to discuss his fighter's future with King on Saturday in New York.

Former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman said yesterday he has agreed to a rematch with World Boxing Association champion John Ruiz, possibly in August, though Ruiz has not yet signed on. Rahman said he wants to win the title from Ruiz, then bring his hometown of Baltimore its first world championship fight, perhaps in October at M&T Bank Stadium. But he said everything is contingent on Ruiz's signing. And Rahman, 31, also must first defeat Rob Calloway, 34, in a June 17 fight at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie.

Baltimore native Hasim Rahman promised to "destroy" Al Cole in last night's comeback fight at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie. But even though the ex-heavyweight champion wobbled his older opponent on several occasions and appeared to have him ready to go in the seventh and ninth rounds, the wily veteran was still standing after 10 hard rounds. All three judges scored the bout for Rahman, 96-94, before a sellout crowd of well over the capacity of 1,800, on a card televised by Comcast SportsNet.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The last time Hasim Rahman fought at Boardwalk Hall, he left with a grotesque lump on his head, the result of an accidental head butt that led to a technical decision loss to Evander Holyfield in June 2002. Saturday night, a largely unmarked Rahman sat in the post-fight news conference at Boardwalk Hall after his unanimous decision loss to John Ruiz, who, by contrast, was red around his eyes and nose - the latter of which bled during their 12-round fight. "I felt like the fight should have gone my way," said Rahman, who apologized for what he considered a lackluster performance.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - On Friday, John Ruiz's trainer, Norman Stone, handed someone an invitation to a party. "Are you going to this?" asked Stone, referring to a post-fight get-together slated for Ruiz's opponent, Baltimore's Hasim Rahman, after the latter's anticipated win in their World Boxing Association interim championship bout. "I'm going to a party," Stone assured. "But it won't be this one." Stone was indeed the one celebrating last night after Ruiz gutted out a 12-round unanimous decision over the former heavyweight champion before 12,346 at the sold-out Boardwalk Hall.

LAS VEGAS - Propped against the wall of the garage at Hasim Rahman's newly purchased, five-bedroom home in a gated community 10 miles from The Strip is a reminder of why the boxer relocated his family from Maryland. "Every day I pull into the garage, that's my inspiration," Rahman said, pointing to a photo depicting his 2001 victory over Lennox Lewis, who is shown lying on his back in the ring. The knockout made the Baltimore native the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for the next seven months, until Lewis reclaimed the title.

The purse bid for a World Boxing Association heavyweight title bout between Baltimore's Hasim Rahman and David Tua, the organization's Nos. 1 and 2 contenders, respectively, has been postponed from tomorrow until Sept. 15, Rahman said yesterday. WBA champion Roy Jones, who won the crown from John Ruiz in March, had until last Monday - the culmination of a mandated 180-day period - to defend it or risk being stripped in accordance with organization rules. Jones has indicated he will drop to light heavyweight to fight Antonio Tarver, who owns the two belts that Jones vacated to move up to heavyweight.

A third fight between Baltimore heavyweight Hasim Rahman and David Tua, this one for the World Boxing Association crown held at the moment by Roy Jones, could take place as early as Dec. 13 at a site to be determined, Rahman's co-manager, Steve Nelson, said yesterday. With Jones planning to move down to light heavyweight for a Nov. 8 bout against Antonio Tarver, the WBA has ordered a purse bid for a Rahman-Tua bout to be held on Sept. 5 in Miami. Don King and Cedric Kushner, promoters of Rahman and Tua, respectively, can pre-empt the purse bid by striking a deal before next Friday.

Baltimore heavyweight Hasim Rahman apparently will get a third shot at David Tua, this time for the World Boxing Association title held by Roy Jones, in accordance with a mandate by that organization. The WBA has ordered a purse bid for a title bout between Rahman and Tua, the organization's next-highest contenders for Jones' title. Jones, who rose from the light heavyweight division to dethrone then-WBA champ John Ruiz, said he is dropping back down to light heavyweight for a bout against highly rated Antonio Tarver on Nov. 8. "We received a letter from the WBA advising us that the title is becoming vacant and that they were mandating Rock to fight David Tua for the title," said Steve Nelson, Rahman's co-manager, along with Stan Hoffman.