Der üblicherweise ganz gut informierte Dan Rafael von espn.com schreibt in seiner heutigen Kolumne was davon, daß es zwischen Top Rank und Sam´s Leuten Diskussionen über einen möglicherweise anstehenden Fight in Deutschland geben könnte. Hier ein paar Zitate:
"But with a few weeks to reflect on his upset loss, Rahman (41-6-2, 33 KOs) has decided he wants to come back sooner than later and could wind up headed for Germany before the end of the year to face Sinan Samil Sam (26-3, 15 KOs), a fringe contender with a high ranking in one of the sanctioning organizations.
"Now, 'Rock' tells me that he'd like to get back in the ring as quickly as possible, November or December if possible," co-manager Steve Nelson told ESPN.com. "We've asked our promoter, Top Rank, to see if they can make a fight with Sam. 'Rock' made it very clear to me and to Top Rank that he has no problem going to Germany for the fight. We have no problem with that."
To that end, Top Rank this week began talking to the Sam camp about the fight. Sam has won two in a row since November, when Maskaev outpointed him in a title elimination fight to get the shot at Rahman.
"He very much wants to become a three-time heavyweight champion," Nelson said. "He feels he has the ability. He feels the 'Rock' that fought Maskaev wasn't the best he could be and he wants to redeem himself once again."
Rahman, at first, figured to wait until next year before taking an easy, confidence-building fight but changed his mind.
"He wants to fight some type of contender next and then look to pick it up and keep picking it up until we get another title shot," Nelson said.
It is possible a potential Rahman-Sam fight could be sanctioned as a WBC eliminator given that Rahman dropped to only third in the organization's ratings following his loss to Maskaev; Sam is fourth. Nos. 1 and 2 -- Samuel Peter and James Toney -- just fought an eliminator, clearing the way for Rahman and Sam to fight the next one.
"I think there's one more run for 'Rock' at this point of his career, but he cannot afford another misstep," Nelson said. "He has to do everything correctly. If he does, it he can become a three-time heavyweight champion of the world."
"But with a few weeks to reflect on his upset loss, Rahman (41-6-2, 33 KOs) has decided he wants to come back sooner than later and could wind up headed for Germany before the end of the year to face Sinan Samil Sam (26-3, 15 KOs), a fringe contender with a high ranking in one of the sanctioning organizations.
"Now, 'Rock' tells me that he'd like to get back in the ring as quickly as possible, November or December if possible," co-manager Steve Nelson told ESPN.com. "We've asked our promoter, Top Rank, to see if they can make a fight with Sam. 'Rock' made it very clear to me and to Top Rank that he has no problem going to Germany for the fight. We have no problem with that."
To that end, Top Rank this week began talking to the Sam camp about the fight. Sam has won two in a row since November, when Maskaev outpointed him in a title elimination fight to get the shot at Rahman.
"He very much wants to become a three-time heavyweight champion," Nelson said. "He feels he has the ability. He feels the 'Rock' that fought Maskaev wasn't the best he could be and he wants to redeem himself once again."
Rahman, at first, figured to wait until next year before taking an easy, confidence-building fight but changed his mind.
"He wants to fight some type of contender next and then look to pick it up and keep picking it up until we get another title shot," Nelson said.
It is possible a potential Rahman-Sam fight could be sanctioned as a WBC eliminator given that Rahman dropped to only third in the organization's ratings following his loss to Maskaev; Sam is fourth. Nos. 1 and 2 -- Samuel Peter and James Toney -- just fought an eliminator, clearing the way for Rahman and Sam to fight the next one.
"I think there's one more run for 'Rock' at this point of his career, but he cannot afford another misstep," Nelson said. "He has to do everything correctly. If he does, it he can become a three-time heavyweight champion of the world."
