MUHSIN CASON never meant to follow his brother Hasim Rahman into boxing – but has quickly become a familiar face among boxing’s best.
Rahman is the former heavyweight world champion, who famously knocked out Lennox Lewis in 2001.
But Cason, 21 years younger, had no interest in picking up the gloves until it was forced upon him as means to escape.
The current unbeaten cruiserweight needed out of Boston, where he was living at the time, and could only live with Rahman under one condition.
Cason, 28, told SunSport: “Of course I knew about boxing because of my brother, but I had no interest in it.
“I actually came into boxing by mistake, I needed to get away from a situation I was in while in Boston.
“And my brother said if I come to live with him in Vegas, I gotta box.”
Before boxing, Cason was a bouncer and it was while working the doors his natural talent was revealed.
He explained: “I was working with a guy called Travis – he’s a professional boxer too – at the club and we got into an incident where he had to put some guys out.
“The guy swung at me, I knocked him out with one punch and my friend said, ‘You gotta come to the gym’.
“At first I said no, but he kept asking me, and then when I needed to get out of Boston, I thought I’d try it.”
Before Cason was allowed to join Rahman in the fight capital of the world, he was sent to Philadelphia to first learn the ropes.
There, he sparred under the watchful eye of legendary coach Nazeem Richardson, who sadly died in July 2020.
Cason passed the test and moved to Sin City, where Rahman threw him in the deep end.
He revealed: “I was able to spar so many great fighters in a short span because of who my brother was, I was connected already.
“I was able to have a fast learning curve, he put me in there with four world champions before I even had my first seven amateur fights.”
Cason, now 9-0, has shared the ring with the likes of Caleb Plant, David Benavidez and Badou Jack, all ex-champions.
And among other top prospects, he has also been introduced to the new era of social media stars, crossing over to the boxing ring.
Cason was one of the sparring partners KSI – a British YouTuber – had in camp before winning his rematch with Logan Paul in 2019.
And despite learning the ropes from his famous brother and experienced veterans, Cason was taught new lessons by KSI & Co.
He said: “What I learned from the boxing game is that it’s changing, and I had to change with it.
“I’m watching KSI and for his first professional fight he’s making millions of dollars.
“But it’s not because of his skills, it’s because of how many butts he puts in seats.
“One thing I took from him was, OK I need to make sure I have a social presence, that way I can get on those big cards.
“As far as KSI, I have a lot of respect for him and Jake Paul, because they are willing to go above and beyond to make sure they get what they need done and create than fan base where it’s never going to leave.”
Cason also lent KSI’s friend ‘AnEsonGib’ a hand before the gamer was beaten by Jake Paul in 2020.
Since then, Paul, 24, has improved to 4-0 as a boxer and fights Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy, 22, next on December 18.
And thanks to Cason’s friendship with Paul’s assistant trainer J’Leon Love, he has been sparring the American celebrity in Puerto Rico.
Cason revealed: “They did approach me, but J’Leon Love is a very good friend of mine, we actually have a show together called the NeighborsShow.
“My relationship with him, I guess made me pop up on their radar as they needed top cruiserweights.”
Having mixed it with both the old and new generation, Cason resonated most with the words of wisdom he received after meeting Mike Tyson, 55, in August.
He said: “I would love to thank Amer Abdallah, my advisor, Badou Jack, a good friend of mine, as they brought me in the back to meet Mike Tyson.
“I had a great conversation with him. One thing I got was, money isn’t everything and don’t change yourself to get to that money.
“Because at the end of the day, the money can go, but it’s yourself that you have to deal with for the rest of your life.
“And I took that to heart, because I plan on making a lot of money in this sport and I plan on being a recognised face in this sport.
“With that I need to make sure that I am still Muhsin Cason.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
