ZAHIR RAHEEM

updated February 20, 2007

At the age of 28, Zahir has been fighting as a pro for over 8 1/2 years. A former amateur star and veteran contender at featherweight, he is now fighting at 130 to 135 pounds.

He is coming off his career best win in his last fight on September 10, a decisive 12-round decision against former three-time world champion Erik Morales.

After the fight, Zahir said, "I beat a legend tonight. I made all the sacrifices coming into this fight. I believed in myself and I fought a smart fight. All I needed was a chance to prove myself. None of the elite fighters ever gave me a shot, before Morales stepped up. Now the sky's the limit."

Zahir had fought very good opposition and had several impressive wins to his credit earlier in his career, as well, the most notable an eighth-round knockout against former WBA bantamweight and WBC featherweight world champion Luisito Espinosa in October, 2002.

Manager Cameron Dunkin said, "Zahir's a terrific fighter. I signed him in January. We're just looking to keep him busy and get a shot at the world title. He's ready to go any time.

"I signed him originally out of the '96 Olympics. I gave him his first 11 fights. His contract was coming to an end, and he asked me if I would release him. He had a chance to make some money, and I said yes. Then he turns around and comes back. He said, 'You've always been fair with me. I need your direction, will you manage me?' So he signed with me. One good turn deserves another."

Zahir had his only loss as a pro in July, 2004, a close and very controversial 12-round decision against Rocky Juarez. The controversy centered around referee Robert Gonzalez, who repeatedly interfered with the fighters and penalized Zahir three points for holding Juarez behind the head.

HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant said, "Gonzalez...made it seem like Raheem was fighting two guys."

John Whisler of the San Antonio News-Express reported, " Houston referee Bobby Gonzalez...so disrupted the flow of the bout that both fighters ended up being hurt in the end. Gonzalez could have pulled the fighter's gloves off Juarez's head himself, but instead he allowed the issue to build and get out of control."

Key Fights - 2005 - WON VACANT WBC INTERNATIONAL L TITLE - in his last fight on 9-10-05 in Los Angeles, CA, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former WBC super featherweight, featherweight, and super bantamweight world champion Erik Morales (48-2): the fight headlined at the Staples Center and drew an announced crowd of 10,584; Morales pressed forward, but Zahir frustrated him with lateral movement, staggered Morales in the 5 th round, and dominated most of the fight; Morales rallied in the 11 th round and rocked Zahir with a right hand, but Zahir won by scores of 118-110, 116-112, 115-113; after the fight, Zahir said, "It was due. It was my time. I always believed in myself when nobody else would. It wasn't a gift, I earned it. I want to be a legend. He's a great warrior, and I give him all the credit."...

On 2-26-05 in Bayamon, PR, he TKO'd Jose Quintana (11-5-2): Quintana fouled repeatedly with headbutts, elbows, and low blows, but Zahir dominated the fight; Quintana's corner signalled the end in the 6 th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:51; after five rounds, Zahir led by scores of 50-45, 50-45, 49-46...

2004 - on 7-17-04 in Houston, TX, he lost a 12 round unanimous decision against top contender and hometown favorite Rocky Juarez (20-0): it was a very close fight, and referee Robert Gonzalez of Texas repeatedly interfered with the action; Zahir started fast, frustrated Juarez with movement, and outworked him in the first two rounds; Juarez rallied in the 3 rd and bloodied Zahir's nose, and scored a knockdown in the 4 th; Zahir was also penalized one point in the 4 th for holding behind the head; he came back in the 5 th and outworked Rocky in several rounds, but was penalized another point in the 6 th and one more in the 10 th, both for holding behind the head; Zahir finished the fight strongly - it looked like the decision could go either way, and some observers thought he deserved to win, but the judges scored 114-110, 115-109, 113-111...

On 4-22-04 in Tulsa, OK, he TKO'd Rodney Jones (25-5) at 2:16 of the 1 st round...

2003 - on 7-25-03 in Tulsa he knocked out Agustin Lorenzo (27-17-3): Zahir rode into the arena on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle; he scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 1 st round, and Lorenzo was counted out at 0:58...

On 6-24-03 in Buffalo, NY, he TKO'd former African jr. featherweight champion Ablorh Sowah (17-4-1): Zahir scored one knockdown in the 3 rd round; he scored another in the 4 th, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:40...

On 3-28-03 in Tulsa he knocked out former IBF jr. bantamweight world champion Juan Polo-Perez (44-30-4): Zahir knocked down Polo-Perez for the full count at 2:30 of the 3 rd round...

On 2-24-03 in Norman, OK, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Isidro Tejedor (15-11-4): Zahir scored one knockdown in the 4 th round and another in the 5 th, and won by scores of 100-90, 100-90, 99-90...

2002 - on 10-11-02 in Tulsa, OK, he knocked out former WBA bantamweight and WBC featherweight world champion Luisito Espinosa (46-10): Zahir arrived at the outdoor arena in a helicopter; it was a good fight - Espinosa scored a knockdown in the 2 nd round and rocked Zahir in the 3 rd, but Zahir came back, outworked Espinosa and wore him down; Zahir knocked down Espinosa in the 8 th round - he got up, but Zahir went on the attack and the referee stopped the fight at 2:02...

On 3-30-02 in Concho, OK, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Joe Morales (17-6): Zahir dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown in the 4 th round and kept a busier pace throughout; Morales was warned for repeated fouls, and penalized one point for throwing Zahir to the canvas in the 10 th; scored 119-107, 118-108, 114-112...

On 3-9-02 in Elizabethtown, IN, he TKO'd Benito Rodriguez (33-31-4) at 1:04 of the 4 th round; after the fight, Zahir said, " I am content with the win and happy about the knockout. I did something that a lot of other good fighters were unable to do, and that is knock him out. This guy had over 60 fights and he is very durable. He hit me with a couple of good shots early that I shouldn't have gotten hit with, but I recovered. I'm feeling good and I'm ready for anybody. I just need to stay focused and a title shot will come."...

2001 - on 11-24-01 in Concho he TKO'd Steve Trumble (11-15) in the 2 nd round...

On 8-24-01 in Reno, NV, he knocked out former Mexican jr. bantamweight champion Ricardo Medina (24-21-5) at 0:29 of the 5 th round; Medina went on to win the NABF title...

2000 - on 9-23-00 in Rama, ONT, he knocked out Stephen Rose (7-3): Zahir scored two knockdowns in the 1 st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 0:58...

On 5-2-00 in Philadelphia, PA, he won an 8 round decision against Russell Stoner Jones (12-7)...

1999 - on 1-29-99 in Ledyard, CT, he won a 6 round decision against Pasqual Rouse (6-4-1)...

1998 - on 9-25-98 in Ledyard he TKO'd Shawn Powell (11-11-1) in the 5 th round...

On 6-13-98 in Atlantic City, NJ, he won a 6 round decision against Adam Salas (6-3)...

On 5-5-98 in Biloxi, MS, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Billy Gates (5-1): Zahir scored a knockdown in the 2 nd round and won by scores of 60-53, 59-54, 58-53...

On 3-14-98 in Atlantic City he knocked out Garvin Crout (6-1) in the 3 rd round...

1997 - on 12-6-97 in Atlantic City he TKO'd Terry Smith (3-2-1) in the 4 th round...

On 9-19-97 in Atlantic City he knocked out Lionel Odom (3-5): Zahir was knocked down two times in the 2 nd round, but recovered to knock out Odom in the 5 th round...

He debuted at the age of 20 on 11-16-96...

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 1996 U.S. Olympic representative, 119 pounds: in his first fight in Atlanta on 7-20-96, he won a 19-4 decision against Jong-Gil Ho of North Korea; in his second fight on 7-25-96, he was stopped at 2:15 of the 1 st round against Arnaldo Mesa of Cuba; looking back on the loss, Zahir said, " I went into a state of depression. I didn't care about boxing or living. I just didn't give two kicks about the sport. Until I was offered a contract, I didn't even care about boxing."...

1995 National PAL champion, 119 pounds...1992 National Junior Olympic champion, 85 pounds...1991 National Junior Olympic champion, 80 pounds...

Zahir said, "Every kid loves wrestling. I went into the recreation center down in Philadelphia where Fred Jenkins was at. I was young, about eleven. And I seen a real ring for the first time in my life and it just like, it took me into a trance, it really did. I seen that ring, I got so excited like, 'Man, a real ring!' I didn't think of boxing, I didn't think of wrestling, I just thought, 'A real ring!' I be seeing rings on TV all the time, so I wanted to go jump in the ring, and they told me, 'Hey! Hey! You got to get out of here, you can't get in that ring.' So as I was getting out the ring, though, I got stuck on a picture of Muhammad Ali. I just started daydreaming, eleven years old, just daydreaming, 'I'm going to be like him.' I looked back at the ring, throwed down the paper and came back, and been in here ever since.

"I had about 200 amateur fights. I was going to Marquette, Michigan. I was in school, up there in college in Northern Michigan University on a boxing scholarship, man. I went there about four years. I went to the Olympics. I didn't finish college, I left when I was offered a contract after the Olympics. Now it's a job, it's a business now."...

Zahir is single...

STRENGTHS: Has good skills, speed, and mobility...is experienced against good opposition...had a strong amateur background...

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 28 fights...151 total rounds...

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5.3 rounds...

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 57 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds - 3 (2-1)...10 rounds - 1 (1-0)...