Zahir Raheem has Arrived... Finally! By Jeff Mayweather
(September 12, 2005) *This Article is Sponsored by  Photo ©
Saturday night was a defining moment in the career of Zahir
Raheem, the once highly touted amateur star and member of the
1996 Olympic Team. Raheem had almost become an afterthought nine
years removed from the amateurs and never winning a significant
professional fight with the exception of a 2002 TKO victory over
Luisito Espinosa. Losing a close fight to 2000 Olympian Rocky
Juarez, not because of his lack of talent but because what
appeared to be a lack of heart, as he constantly looked for help
from the referee and alluded to his legs not being there because
of the weight he had to lose.  The events of Saturday night at
the Staples Center will erase all that happened on July 17,
2004, the night he went against Juarez. One would be inclined to
believe that weight loss was a determining factor in Raheem's
only loss. The challenge put before Raheem on Saturday night was
against a solid, proven ch