Rahman Wins Big Following in South Africa
"Simply the Best as 'The Rock' Rules," said one headline in **** The Star****, a Johannesburg-based daily, on Monday.
Rahman won the hearts of his South African hosts before stunning them and the world with his fifth-round knockout victory over Britain's Lennox Lewis on Sunday.
To the delight of the local boxing community, he has promised to return to South Africa to defend the WBC, IBF and IBO crowns he took from the 35-year-old Lewis.
Boxing is second only to soccer in popularity among the country's Black majority and Rahman had impressed the media and fight fans with his dedication as he trained with local boxers at a gym in a tough downtown Johannesburg neighborhood.
He visited AIDS centers in a country ravaged by the deadly disease and prayed in local mosques.
Soft-spoken but brimming with confidence, the little-known American fighter came across as modest and approachable, in sharp contrast to Lewis and his camp, which was accused of arrogance by the local press for frequently showing up late to press conferences and other events, Reuters reported.
Crucially, the Baltimore-based fighter also showed up a month before the fight to adjust to the time difference and Johannesburg's 5,600-foot altitude.