Boxingtalk Prospect Watch: Sharif Rahman

By G. Leon

03/07/2018

Boxingtalk Prospect Watch: Sharif Rahman

Congrats on your recent victory over Tahlik Taylor. Can you give us some thoughts on your performance? Thank you. I give myself like a B- for that performance, maybe even a C+. It was a good fight, I did my research on the guy and I knew he was going to come out and try to bum rush me, so I knew I needed to stay composed and show my defense, stay behind my jab and execute wisely. I feel like I stuck to the game plan, but I could have done it even better.

GL: It was your first fight in eight or nine months, how did feel to shake the rust off?

Sharif Rahman: "I feel like I did and I'm happy that it did go four rounds because I feel like I needed that. The thing about me is I'm always training, I'm always sparring and working, so I didn't feel too rusty. It's just that sparring a fighter and actually fighting them are two totally different things with totally different feels."

GL: Do you plan on campaigning at 168 moving forward or are you working yourself down to middleweight?

SR: "Honestly my plans are to become world champion and undisputed world champion at 160, 168 and 175. I feel like right now I'm pretty comfortable at 168 but I'm going to work myself down to 160 because when I fight for a title the first time I want it to be at 160 before I move up to 168. It was my first fight back in a while, so I felt pretty good at 168 and I'll be even stronger at 160."

GL: How important is it for you to stay active now?

SR: "It's very important to me because in two weeks I'm going to be 22 years old, I have a one year old child that will be two in October and I have a family to feed and a legacy to build, so it's important that I stay active. I'm not going to allow myself to blow up in weight, I'm going to stay training and I'm actually going to go on a run as soon as I get off the phone with you."

GL: I spoke with your brother earlier he was talking about coming back on August 17th in Minnesota, will you be on that card as well?

SR: "Yes. We'll both be fighting on there God-willing."

GL: Is there a brotherly competition between the two of you to out-shine each other when you're fighting on the same show?

SR: (laughs) "We just kind of motivate each other more than a competition. We are very competitive people, but the name Rahman is a legacy in itself, we just want to up the legacy to another level so we don't really compete with each other, we motivate each other because we want the family to be known as the best ever to lace up a pair of gloves. I want my brother to be the best. We're in two completely different weight classes, so I want him to knock everybody out and become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world just like he wants me to. We compete in other things like video games and stuff like that, but not boxing."

GL: Ok so who's the best at video games? What are y'all playing 2K, Madden?

SR: (laughs) "I think I got a slight edge on him there. I think he's got me in 2K, I'm not that really feeling the new 2K, but Madden, I'm one of the best Madden players in the world. We also play Fortnite a lot, but I'm new to it and he's more experienced, but overall I think I'm a little better at video games."

GL: Can you talk about the asset that your father is as you progress as professional boxer?

SR: "I say it all the time that my father is a real life cheat code. He gives me advice on everything I need and I can call him and say I'm fighting a dirty fighter, or a tall fighter and he'll know exactly what to tell me. He knows me better than most people and I feel like having him in my corner gives me that extra boost and rush of adrenaline rush. He's been a huge blessing and I wouldn't trade him in for the world. Having a father that's been to the top of the stop having given me a lot of knowledge on what goes on behind the scenes."

GL: Why have you been fighting so infrequently?

SR: "After my fight at the end of 2015 I had to get an operation on my leg because I had a tumor in my leg that had to be removed. I needed about six months to recover from them and then I got lasik eye surgery and I had to recover from that. 2016 was a recovery year and I was back at it full time last year, but me not having a manager or promoter makes it harder to get fights. My father has been helping get fights for me and I'm planning on being more active, I want to fight another four of five times this year and I think it's going to happen. I'm just looking to stay busy, even if I have to go Tijuana to fight, I'll fight anywhere, I'm going t keep working my weight down and stay busy. Over time the people are going to find out who I am, I know what I can do in that ring, all I need are the opportunities."

GL: What part of your game do you feel needs the most sharpening?

SR: "Everybody could always improve in all areas, but I would say settling down more. In the amateurs you come out and throw a lot of punches and I was taught to move a lot, but in the pro's I've got to learn how to stay in the pocket and sticking my shots more. It's things that will come over time with activity, I plan to improve in every fight."

GL: Closing thoughts?

SR: "Stay tuned because I'm coming, you're going to hear a lot from me and my brother soon. Our family is going to take the boxing world by storm."

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