CHICAGO, Illinois, 15 August 2005 — Hasim Rahman captured the interim World Boxing Council heavyweight title on Saturday, winning a unanimous decision over American compatriot Monte Barrett.
The victory sets up the former WBC and International Boxing Federation champion for a mandated bout with oft-injured Vitali Klitscko to settle the dispute over the WBC strap.
Judge Bill Lerch scored the bout 116-112, while judges Mauro DiFiore and Nobuaki Uaratari scored the fight 118-110 in favor of Rahman. The 32-year-old Rahman (41-5) controlled the fight almost all the way because of Barrett’s tentativeness to attack.
Rahman connected on a couple of rights in the fourth round that both wobbled and opened a cut over the left eye of Barrett.
Neither fighter was very active throughout the match to the dismay of the crowd, which booed at the end of almost every round.
Despite pleas from his corner, Barrett (31-4) never seemed to get going until the final round when he wobbled Rahman with a combination.
But he was never able to follow up with the shot to provide the knockout he needed.
Injuries to Klitschko, 33, forced three postponements of a planned fight between the WBC heavyweight champion and Rahman.
When the Ukrainian world champion’s request for an optional defense was denied by the WBC last month, the way was paved for the winner of Saturday’s interim bout to fight Klitschko by November. Barrett, the WBC’s No. 2 rated challenger, now boasts a record of 31-4 with 17 knockouts. Meanwhile, Ricardo Mayorga pounded Italian Michele Piccirillo to score a unanimous victory and claim the vacant World Boxing Council super welterweight title at the United Center on Saturday. The Nicaraguan easily won on all three scorecards: 120-105, 117-108 and 117-110. The 31-year-old Mayorga (28-5-1) was his usual flamboyant self, calling out Piccirillo several times to come at him.
Instead, it was Mayorga who attacked and floored his opponent twice in the second round and once in the fourth.
Piccirillo (44-3) managed to stay on his feet the rest of the way, but never was able to mount any type of real offense. Luis Collazo made himself a viable candidate to fight some of the bigger names in boxing as he successfully defended the World Boxing Association welterweight for the first time with his eighth-round technical knockout victory over Miguel Angel Gonzalez. Collazo (26-1, 12 KOs) is the WBA welterweight champ but Zab Judah is the unified champion and WBA super champion.
