Boxing: Money KOs Rahman bout

Trying to arrange a decent boxing match can be like trying to herd cats - and that's why former world heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman won't be appearing on the undercard for the David Tua-Shane Cameron clash next month

However, the promoters of the October 3 fight say Rahman could yet take on the winner of the Tua-Cameron bout and that it could potentially be held in New Zealand - although they were at pains to make it clear they may not be the ones arranging it.

Rahman's name was mentioned often in the build-up to Tua-Cameron as the lead bout on the undercard but, while promoters Duco Events got Rahman on board, things proved more difficult when it came to an opponent for him.

The problem, according to David Higgins of Duco, was money - even though Rahman had signed a contract to fight for "a reasonable" amount, that sum only held if Rahman's opponent was a little-known fighter or, as Higgins put it using boxing parlance, "a bum".

Duco tried to match up Rahman with New Zealand-born, Australia-based heavyweight Kali Meehan, whom Rahman beat in a title eliminator in 2004.

That began a long, slow return to the WBC world crown Rahman first won in 2001 when he famously knocked Lennox Lewis out before just as famously being knocked out in the rematch.

Meehan is ranked third in the world by the WBA and there would have been a deal of interest in a rematch.

The 37-year-old Rahman, like Tua, is on the comeback trail after losing his WBC title to Oleg Maskaev in 2006 and after losing to the heavyweight regarded as the best in the world across all boxing organisations, Wladimir Klitschko.

They fought for the IBO, IBF and WBO titles, with Klitschko winning against the tough Rahman by a TKO in the seventh round last December.

So Meehan vs Rahman would have been of international interest - but both wanted a lot of money, about $500,000, and Duco baulked.

"From a promoter's point of view, there is not much point having a fight like that on an undercard - it is really a main event all its own," said Higgins. "The alternative was to match Rahman against a no-name, a bum, and we decided we really wanted a contest where either fighter could win."

That resulted in the John Hopoate-Colin Wilson fight instead which Higgins, like all promoters, was pushing vigorously as a prime contest - the loser of which would likely be facing retirement, he claimed.

Hopoate is the former Wests Tigers NRL player banned after being found to have inserted fingers in the anuses of opposing players during tackles and who took up a boxing career soon afterwards. Pursuit of proctological interests is difficult when wearing boxing gloves but that and other 'bad boy' antics from the NRL lend Hopoate a certain cachet.

In one by-product of the prodding incidents, Hopoate's then manager said he would sue a New Zealand organisation for using a photograph of one of the Hopoate "tackles" as part ofits campaign for men to get tested for prostate cancer.

However, of most interest is Rahman's keenness to fight in New Zealand. Higgins said Rahmen, a former enforcer for drug dealers who was once allegedly shot five times, had been eager to take part in the October 3 fight card and had sent encouraging signals.

Higgins said he would not be surprised if the WBA agreed to a title eliminator bout between the winner of this fight and Rahman.

That might be particularly true if Tua wins - as he has fought Rahman twice before in controversial circumstances.

In their 1998 bout, Rahman was winning the fight to find a mandatory IBF contender when Tua clattered him with a punch that many said was delivered after the bell.

Instead of giving Rahman the five minutes to recover usually accorded a boxer in such circumstances, the fight continued after the usual one-minute break between rounds and the referee stopped the fight as a fizzing Tua rained blows on Rahman.

In the rematch, in 2003, they fought to a draw - so a third fight between these two could be of international interest. This is especially so as the WBA heavyweight division has been in a bit of a mess.

Giant Russian champion Nikolay Valuev is scheduled to defend his title against Britain's David Haye in November after all sorts of goings on involving main contender Ruslan Chagaev, ludicrously acclaimed as a 'champion in recess' after illness and injury claims.

It is also not drawing too long a bow for such a bout to be held in New Zealand.

Many bouts, particularly heavyweight, are held out of the US as the main pay-per-view audience is predominantly Hispanic, interested primarily in other weight divisions.

But...this is boxing. Anything can happen, or not.

Plans to bring renowned ring announcer Michael Buffer to New Zealand to do his trademark "Let's get ready to ruuuumble" ballyhoo have fallen through.