Badr Hari vs Ruslan Karaev 2007

Last Updated on Friday, 25 February 2011 00:28 Thursday, 24 February 2011 22:41

Written by Bernie Connors

Now that we know Badr Hari is returning to action against Tony Gregory for It's Showtime on May 14th, I thought this would be a good time to show one of my all-time favorite fights. When you read that either Badr or Ruslan will be involved in a fight, it's sure to be exciting. Put them both in the same ring and you get fireworks.

In their first meeting, Ruslan knocked out Badr with a right hand in the early stages of the first round. Although they would rematch just five months later, it must have seemed like an eternity for the mighty Moroccan as he surely had revenge on his mind. Badr came into this contest riding a two-fight win streak while Ruslan was coming off of a KO loss to Glaube Feitosa. The timing was just right for Hari to avenge that demoralizing defeat and prove that it was just a fluke.

As usual, Ruslan starts the fight with a feverish pace. He doesn't want to allow Badr to settle into a rhythm and establish his gameplan. Not to be denied, Badr is giving back as much punishment as he's taking and the round finishes as what amounts to a war of attrition, albeit a very entertaining one.

The second round starts with Ruslan going after Badr but we start to see a shift in momentum early on. Hari is landing more punches and doing more substantial damage. The left straight that he hits Karaev with at 5:25 into the video almost plants the spirited Russian six feet under and turns his nose into a crimson fountain. This turn of events seems to reinvigorate Karaev as he shows no quarter going right at Badr with punches. He stalks Hari landing punches leading to a left that stuns Badr and ultimately another left to the chin that drops The Golden Boy. The crowd's going wild! Ruslan smells blood and it's not just from the left hand Badr landed on him. Karaev goes in for the KO but as great fighters do, Badr sees an opening and sneaks a right hand in for the knockout. A perfectly placed punch right on the chin sends Karaev towards the canvas to the cry of "Ahhhh down goes Karaev!" from Michael 'The Voice' Schiavello.

A great ending to an absolute war of a fight.

What's your favorite fight? Leave me a comment and explain why.

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