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Wednesday, November 14, 2001
Updated: November 27, 3:32 PM ET

Hasim Rahman

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Page 2

Heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman will fight former champ Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas on Saturday night, when he will try to dispell the notion that he is this generation's Buster Douglas, a guy who got lucky one evening against a more talented but less prepared boxer.

	Hasim Rahman says his "Up Close" battle with Lennox Lewis didn't set a good example for kids.

Page 2 makes no predictions, but we can tell you this -- The Rock took 10 of our best shots, and didn't go down once.

1. Page 2:. Do you think your scuffle with Lennox Lewis on ESPN's "Up Close" was good for boxing?
Rahman: I do and I don't. I think it was, because it renewed some interest in the sport. Before that, the public really seemed to be losing interest. But for the children and stuff like that, it was wrong. They should know that two grown men have no business putting their hands on one another.

1a. Isn't that what you do for a living?
Rahman: Well, except for in the ring.

1b. What's your response to people who said the fight was staged?

	Rahman, left, says he doesn't "want to have any feelings toward Lewis, one way or another."

Rahman: Well, Lennox broke my Rolex watch. And I definitely don't play like that. I worked too hard for that. And I don't think that Lennox, on top of being knocked out in South Africa, would choose to get thrown through a Formica table. He'd never agree to that. It's ridiculous.

2. Deep down, do you really not like Lennox?
Rahman: I don't really see us in the same circle. I don't see us ever intertwining anywhere. He might as well be anybody in the world that I'm never going to see again. So, it really doesn't matter what I feel about him. I don't want to have any feelings toward him, one way or another. I don't care.

3. A lot of people have said your victory over Lennox Lewis was a fluke, that you landed one lucky punch. What's your response to that?
Rahman: Come over to my house and watch the fight.

	Rahman would definitely like a free shot at David Tua.

4. If you could have one open punch against anyone alive, who would it be?
Rahman: David Tua. Without a question. Just to get even for the sucker punch he hit me with that got him a title shot. He should be thanking me. He should have given me a cut.

5. What sport produces the toughest athletes?
Rahman: Me and Shannon Sharpe were arguing about that not too long ago. I think it's definitely football. He argued boxing. But I told him that in football you have to worry about so many different guys hitting you. In boxing, I only have to worry about one. And the injuries are so much worse in football. How many guys do you see that have a torn ACL or a concussion or even get paralyzed from football? Too many.

5a. What was Shannon's argument for boxing?

	Shannon Sharpe says boxers are tougher than football players -- even if Rahman disagrees.

Rahman: Honestly, I really can't remember. But I'm sure if he had any valid points, I would have remembered them.

5b. So, who would win a street fight -- Ray Lewis or Mitch Green?
Rahman: Ray Lewis. Period. He's got that Baltimore in him.

6. How difficult is it to be away from home, to be away from your wife and your children, during the months that you are training?
Rahman: The way I look at it is this: I have a certain number of years that I'm going to be young enough and healthy enough to be in boxing. So I might have to leave for a while to train and get ready for a fight, but I have plenty of time to make up for it when I get home. When I'm finished with boxing, I can take three years off and stay home with them every day if I want. That's the upside to being away.

7. What's the best thing about how your life has changed since becoming the heavyweight champion of the world?

	Muhammad Ali, right, would be a guest at Rahman's ideal dinner party.

Rahman: No bills.

8. If there was one thing you'd want the public to know about you and understand about you, what would it be?
Rahman: That he loves his mother. Nothing more, nothing less.

9. What three people, alive or dead, would you invite to dinner if you could?
Rahman: Besides my Grandma, I'd say Rocky Marciano, Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali.

10. If you could have any of these three superpowers -- be invisible, the strength of 100 men or the ability to fly -- which one would you pick, and and why?
Rahman: I guess I'd want to be invisible. I could hear everything, see everything and do everything without being seen or heard. Plus reporters wouldn't bother me.

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