Hasim Rahman agreed to fight Wladimir Klitschko only last month, days before his 36th birthday. Nevertheless, Klitschko believes Rahman, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, was better than the man he replaced, unbeaten Russian Alexander Povetkin. Povetkin had to pull out with an ankle injury, so Klitschko was happy – and wary – of giving Rahman another shot at his IBF heavyweight title on Saturday at SAP-Arena. “Wladimir is very focused. He realizes how dangerous a puncher Hasim is,” his trainer Emanuel Steward said. “We take him very seriously. We consider him more dangerous than Povetkin. We expect a very tough fight. Wladimir considers him the most dangerous one-punch fighter he's ever faced.” It will be Klitschko's sixth defense of the IBF title he won against Chris Byrd when it was vacant in April 2006. This will be his third fight of the year, after beating Sultan Ibragimov by unanimous decision in February, and knocking out Tony Thompson in July. He'll take a 9-centimeter height advantage into the ring against Rahman at 1.98 meters, but the Ukrainian-born fighter prefers to avoid risks and tries to stay away from danger. Klitschko's chin remained suspect, and Ross Puritty, early in Klitschko's career, and Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster have all knocked him down. “I am not going to underestimate him in any way,” said Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs). “I am going to do my job the best way I can and I will try to do it quickly.” Rahman arrived in Germany from the United States only on Monday, but in his only public training session he looked trim and impressive.
