{"id":606840,"date":"2026-05-27T15:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/606840\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:38:10","slug":"legend-53-who-kod-lennox-lewis-in-historic-upset-to-make-comeback-and-chase-unlikely-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/606840\/","title":{"rendered":"Legend, 53, who KO’d Lennox Lewis in historic upset to make comeback and chase unlikely record"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hasim Rahman has decided to astonishingly return to the ring at the age of 53.<\/p>\n

Rahman hasn’t entered the squared circle since 2014 well beyond his prime years after a stellar career in the heavyweight division.<\/p>\n

\"Hasim<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Lewis’ famous conqueror Rahman will return as a veteran, 25 years on from his KO winCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The American duelled with some of the greatest to ever do it including Evander Holyfield<\/a> and Wladimir Klitschko<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But he was notorious for becoming just the second fighter to stop Lennox Lewis<\/a> as a professional, famously flattening him in South Africa in 2001.<\/p>\n

Although losing to Lewis in an immediate rematch, the result was one of the biggest upsets ever and his legendary name sits in boxing folklore.<\/p>\n

But in a shocking new development, he has confirmed he will return to the ring as a professional well into his 50’s.<\/p>\n

Most read in Boxing<\/p>\n

The veteran is set to announce his return this week, with the seemingly impossible goal of trying to become the oldest heavyweight world champion in history.<\/p>\n

He is set to fight again for the first time professionally since 2014 ending a 12-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

Rahman’s first outing is set to be on Tuesday July 14 at ESL Ballpark, with his opposition to be confirmed in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Of course his goal is wildly optimistic at best, but he isn’t the first to chase highs well beyond his physical prime.<\/p>\n

Oliver McCall, the only other fighter to KO Lewis, has also been fighting in bizarre outings<\/a>, but is not targeting the very top of the division.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen what level Rahman will compete at, but there will be danger if he does choose to try and launch a world title campaign.<\/p>\n

\"Hasim<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Rahman astonishingly wants to become the oldest ever heavyweight championCredit: GettyWhy is Rahman coming back?<\/p>\n

Boxers, particularly legends who reach the top of the game, struggle to leave the sport behind.<\/p>\n

Rahman has long suggested he believes he has more to give in the heavyweight division.<\/p>\n

And he has admitted in the past that he can never shut down his fighting spirit years on.<\/p>\n

He explained: “It\u2019s something that\u2019s in me. The identity as the heavyweight champion is there forever. <\/p>\n

“Like it, love it, it\u2019s there. I\u2019ve never retired. Now my actions may show something different but I\u2019ve never declared that I\u2019m a retired fighter.<\/p>\n

For me, I feel like being heavyweight champion of the world, all that\u2019s going to do is propel me to be champion in anything I do. <\/p>\n

Read More on talkSPORT<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

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“Because I already raised the bar for myself. So now, whatever endeavours I get into, the goal is to be the champ.<\/p>\n

“Boxing saved my life.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hasim Rahman has decided to astonishingly return to the ring at the age of 53. Rahman hasn’t entered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,6102,206784,206786,206785,30626,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-606840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-news","tag-hasim-rahman","tag-hasim-rahman-comeback","tag-hasim-rahman-next-fight","tag-lennox-lewis","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}