Evander Holyfield is about to embark on yet another comeback campaign. By Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
There’s an old, well known adage that tells us “you can never go home”. Boxing history is replete with a multitude of examples of old warriors, of varying levels of skill and acclaim, returning for one last shot at fleeting glory, if not youth itself. Is it any wonder that so often they fail? If anything, boxing demands “youth” and the fire, spirit and strength that comes with the peak years of a fighter, forget trying to climb an improbable precipice of ambition years beyond one’s best, against the bigger and far younger, that enjoy the high point of their careers.
At the advanced age of 48, Evander Holyfield is about to embark on yet another comeback campaign. The former four-time heavyweight king has repeatedly stated his goal of becoming the sports only five-time heavyweight king, indifferent to the many lessons boxing history has provided to the contrary. In today’s fragmented heavyweight environment, and with the four major alphabet organizations each having their own version of a heavyweight champion, Holyfield’s chance to accomplish this remote goal would seem to be far greater than what would have been the case, say, in 1957, when there was only one heavyweight champion.
Not coincidentally, there was another ancient great lurking about in heavyweight waters back in 1957. On his two previous tries at winning the sport’s most coveted prize, he was turned back by the vestiges of talented youth. Speed and sheer strength overcame experience and willingness when in with younger men who were naturally bigger, despite the oft-sheer brilliance of his fistic offerings. His name was Archie Moore, a much-revered virtual ring Methuselah inside the confines of the squared circle.
Like Moore during that period, Holyfield is trying to stay active facing journeymen, collecting incidental paydays and ensuring that his name is somewhat relevant by staying in the media spotlight. With each win Evander inches forward towards the illusory goal of that chance title opportunity. To date, he has managed to regain a semblance of his past form and capture a portion of the public’s faith with displays of technique and power, but against a level unlike that of the Klitschko’s or WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. In Archie Moore’s case, the quality varied based on assignment, but it must be noted that at that time Moore was still the recognized World light heavyweight champion, despite his setbacks at heavyweight. As such, his ability to raise his game to a world class level, and keep it there when it counted most cannot be disputed. The question here is can Holyfield raise his game to a world class level against one of today’s top ten contenders, enough to garner a ranking, let alone challenge the likes of a top-ten contender such as Eddie Chambers, Tomasz Adamek or one of the Klitschko’s?
Consider the unlikely comeback of “Big” George Foreman. Foreman had been out of action for a full decade and in that time had gained approximately 100 pounds. Over that span, he had become an ordained minister and committed his life and energies to his small church and its membership. Out of a desire to raise funds for a youth ministry, he embarked on an ill-advised comeback.
With a new look and a kinder, more amiable approach, Big George had managed to re-invent himself. He shed 60 pounds and embarked on three year-long tour of club shows and cable dates facing a series of no-hopers along with a generous helping of C and D-level journeymen. Although the years had stripped him of that once ferocious aura, he still had the heavy clubbing power of his youth, a vastly underrated left jab and a calmness and composure that he lacked during his first career during his prime. As time went on, he eventually regained his timing and positioned himself for a title shot, something nobody could have fathomed in 1987 when he first announced his return.
Ironically, that title shot came against a prime 28 year-old variant of Evander Holyfield. Holyfield rebuffed the 42 year-old convincingly, responding to Big George’s advances in their 1991 encounter with mobility, prudent application of combination punching and a solid work rate – the very assets greatly lacking in his arsenal today. Their championship match was a colorful example of youth being served.
History suggests that “The Real Deal” is very likely to fail in his attempt to win another major world title, even gets to the point where he is granted such an opportunity. At his very best as a heavyweight, his strengths were technique, mobility, work rate and stamina. If he didn’t outbox and outwork his opponent, he’d gut it out, often to the extreme pleasure of the crowd, and almost always certainly against a far bigger man. He never had George Foreman’s God-given, fight-stopping punching power or physical strength. His game was based on a completely different set of criteria. And his burning desire to win put it all together. The ravages of time have blunted his physical attributes. Father Time and mileage have left him a fraction of what he once was despite the immense pride and that burning desire to compete. In a very real way, he has become his most dangerous foe.
Today the heavyweight division is ruled by two talented behemoths and a gifted mouthpiece. Each has formidable boxing skills, and in the cases of Wladimir Klitschko, Ring Magazine’s recognized World heavyweight champion, a certain studied fluidity combined with legitimate knockout power. If given the chance, I cannot envision Evander simply laying down or quitting on his stool between rounds. He’ll approach today’s best with the memory and internal fire of his youth, but ultimately find that the bigger and younger champions have more skill, strength, speed and power. He’ll be hopelessly out-maneuvered and out-gunned. Before long, the two attributes he was lauded for years ago, will be exposed as lacking – his ability to absorb punishment and his stamina. As such, he will not be in the fight long enough to be able to truly compete, and likely suffer a devastating and potentially dangerous loss.
Today, when watching Evander embark on his ring walk or weigh-in with his still magnificent physique, it is strangely akin to a chance meeting with an old and long admired high school buddy. Despite the warm regard and glorious memories of days gone by, the sobering reality is that much water has passed under the bridge and that people change as they get older. What worked then doesn’t necessarily work or fit now. The desire to turn back the clock and once again recapture what once was won’t work. You simply cannot go home again, and in boxing that axiom applies just as much in the ring as it ever does in the real world, but on a much more harsh and emphatic scale.
I wish Evander would pick-up on that, and leave well enough alone. He was one of the greatest heavyweights ever and in my books an all-time great fighter, but he belongs to a different era, one that ended long ago.
Right or wrong, Holyfield fights on By Kevin Lole Yahoo Sports
Right or wrong, Holyfield fights on By Kevin Lole Yahoo Sports
Evander Holyfield is not hurting boxing. He’s not committing some atrocity by fighting Sherman Williams in a pay-per-view bout on Saturday at the same West Virginia resort where Slammin’ Sammy Snead was once the head golf professional.
More From Kevin Iole
* Hopkins shares birthday, values with MLK Jan 17, 2011
Evander Holyfield says his faith in God keeps him fighting when others feel he should retire.
(ap)
He’s working for a living.
He’s selling a product: Himself. He’s no different than a door-to-door salesman who is hawking vacuum cleaners and hearing no far more than he does yes. Holyfield gets that most fans aren’t interested, but he’s hoping enough of you will find his boxing matches of interest to pay $29.95 on Saturday to see it.
He’s one of the four best pay-per-view draws in boxing history, along with long-time rival Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. He’ll be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame the first time he is eligible, though judging by the way he’s going, that may not be until 2020.
But he’s 48 now and not a very good boxer. He’s no threat to win the heavyweight title, though he’s still good enough to box the ears off guys like Williams.
Any time Holyfield fights these days, there’s outrage. Six years ago, the legendary New York Times columnist, Ira Berkow, traveled to Holyfield’s 54,000-square-foot mansion outside Atlanta to ask him why he refused to give it up.
Holyfield was a few months past an embarrassingly one-sided loss to Larry Donald that caused the New York State Athletic Commission to put him on an indefinite medical suspension for poor performance when Berkow made the trek to Georgia to interview him for a piece that appeared in the Times’ Jan. 7, 2005 edition.
Holyfield was 42 then and had lost three in four and five of his previous eight, a stretch in which he went 2-5-1.
But, then as now, Holyfield was refusing to quit, telling Berkow his goal was to win the undisputed heavyweight championship one more time before he retired.
“I believe in the word of God,” Holyfield told Berkow. “And I believe in what it says about overcoming. That no matter what the situation, you can overcome it. As the Bible says, ‘I walk by faith, not by sight.’ “
Holyfield hasn’t wavered on that stance despite literally hundreds of calls for his retirement in the media. Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News, the long-time president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, became the latest to do so on Friday when he closed his column by writing, “Walk away, Evander. Nothing you do, in a professional sense, can add or detract to what you’ve already accomplished. You’ve earned your rest. Enjoy it.”
Tim Dahlberg, the brilliant national sports columnist of the Associated Press, was ringside for most of Holyfield’s biggest moments, including his stunning 1996 win over Tyson. On Tuesday, Dahlberg ridiculed Holyfield’s resolve to regain the title.
” … Listen to Holyfield talk and you get the feeling he really does think he can be a heavyweight champion again,” Dahlberg wrote. “Unfortunately, that’s a dangerous thing for a 48-year-old who has been through way too many ring wars to speak.”
Holyfield hears the critics, but he disagrees. Earlier this month, he uttered nearly the same words to Fanhouse’s Lem Satterfield that he did to the Times’ Berkow six years earlier. Asked by Satterfield about risks to his health by continuing to fight, Holyfield again referred to his religious beliefs.
“But the fact of the matter is that I’m a Christian, and I believe in Jesus,” Holyfield said. “That is my protection. He’s been my protection, and, so, you know what? Because I believe in the word of God, this is the reason that I’m able to do what I’m able to do. And there ain’t been nobody that’s been able to do it better.”
He’s one of the five or 10 best heavyweights who ever lived and has long since established his Hall of Fame credentials. No matter how bad he may look on Saturday, and no matter how much worse he may get, he can do nothing to obscure the fact that he’s among the greatest to have ever stepped inside of a ring.
The outrage over his continuing to fight is because of a fear that he’ll be injured, that he may wind up like Freddie Roach or, worse, Muhammad Ali, silenced forever by Parkinson’s.
He’s passed all the tests and so he continues to fight, undeterred by the critics and absolutely convinced that the undisputed title is his destiny.
I wish he would stop, because it’s painful as a fan to watch. He’s like Johnny Unitas with the Chargers or Willie Mays with the Mets, old men stumbling around and unable to come close to their former skill or grace.
But he’s fighting on pay-per-view and there is no more democratic form of television.
If you’re interested, plunk down your 30 bucks and buy it.
If you’re not, skip it.
Me? I’ll pass. I heard there’s something good on QVC at that time.is not hurting boxing. He’s not committing some atrocity by fighting Sherman Williams in a pay-per-view bout on Saturday at the same West Virginia resort where Slammin’ Sammy Snead was once the head golf professional.
More From Kevin Iole
* Hopkins shares birthday, values with MLK Jan 17, 2011
Evander Holyfield says his faith in God keeps him fighting when others feel he should retire.
(ap)
He’s working for a living.
He’s selling a product: Himself. He’s no different than a door-to-door salesman who is hawking vacuum cleaners and hearing no far more than he does yes. Holyfield gets that most fans aren’t interested, but he’s hoping enough of you will find his boxing matches of interest to pay $29.95 on Saturday to see it.
He’s one of the four best pay-per-view draws in boxing history, along with long-time rival Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. He’ll be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame the first time he is eligible, though judging by the way he’s going, that may not be until 2020.
But he’s 48 now and not a very good boxer. He’s no threat to win the heavyweight title, though he’s still good enough to box the ears off guys like Williams.
Any time Holyfield fights these days, there’s outrage. Six years ago, the legendary New York Times columnist, Ira Berkow, traveled to Holyfield’s 54,000-square-foot mansion outside Atlanta to ask him why he refused to give it up.
Holyfield was a few months past an embarrassingly one-sided loss to Larry Donald that caused the New York State Athletic Commission to put him on an indefinite medical suspension for poor performance when Berkow made the trek to Georgia to interview him for a piece that appeared in the Times’ Jan. 7, 2005 edition.
Holyfield was 42 then and had lost three in four and five of his previous eight, a stretch in which he went 2-5-1.
But, then as now, Holyfield was refusing to quit, telling Berkow his goal was to win the undisputed heavyweight championship one more time before he retired.
“I believe in the word of God,” Holyfield told Berkow. “And I believe in what it says about overcoming. That no matter what the situation, you can overcome it. As the Bible says, ‘I walk by faith, not by sight.’ “
Holyfield hasn’t wavered on that stance despite literally hundreds of calls for his retirement in the media. Bernard Fernandez of the Philadelphia Daily News, the long-time president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, became the latest to do so on Friday when he closed his column by writing, “Walk away, Evander. Nothing you do, in a professional sense, can add or detract to what you’ve already accomplished. You’ve earned your rest. Enjoy it.”
Tim Dahlberg, the brilliant national sports columnist of the Associated Press, was ringside for most of Holyfield’s biggest moments, including his stunning 1996 win over Tyson. On Tuesday, Dahlberg ridiculed Holyfield’s resolve to regain the title.
” … Listen to Holyfield talk and you get the feeling he really does think he can be a heavyweight champion again,” Dahlberg wrote. “Unfortunately, that’s a dangerous thing for a 48-year-old who has been through way too many ring wars to speak.”
Holyfield hears the critics, but he disagrees. Earlier this month, he uttered nearly the same words to Fanhouse’s Lem Satterfield that he did to the Times’ Berkow six years earlier. Asked by Satterfield about risks to his health by continuing to fight, Holyfield again referred to his religious beliefs.
“But the fact of the matter is that I’m a Christian, and I believe in Jesus,” Holyfield said. “That is my protection. He’s been my protection, and, so, you know what? Because I believe in the word of God, this is the reason that I’m able to do what I’m able to do. And there ain’t been nobody that’s been able to do it better.”
He’s one of the five or 10 best heavyweights who ever lived and has long since established his Hall of Fame credentials. No matter how bad he may look on Saturday, and no matter how much worse he may get, he can do nothing to obscure the fact that he’s among the greatest to have ever stepped inside of a ring.
The outrage over his continuing to fight is because of a fear that he’ll be injured, that he may wind up like Freddie Roach or, worse, Muhammad Ali, silenced forever by Parkinson’s.
He’s passed all the tests and so he continues to fight, undeterred by the critics and absolutely convinced that the undisputed title is his destiny.
I wish he would stop, because it’s painful as a fan to watch. He’s like Johnny Unitas with the Chargers or Willie Mays with the Mets, old men stumbling around and unable to come close to their former skill or grace.
But he’s fighting on pay-per-view and there is no more democratic form of television.
If you’re interested, plunk down your 30 bucks and buy it.
If you’re not, skip it.
Me? I’ll pass. I heard there’s something good on QVC at that time.
Watch Evander Holyfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5PxuZ8u52Q
Doors open at 6 PM/ET, first bout at 7 PM/ET, and first PPV fight at 9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT.
For more information about the Holyfield-Williams PPV event go to www.greenbrier.com, www.NCMusicFactory.com or www.integratedsportsnet.com.
Redemption In America presented by ARK Promotions in association with The Greenbrier, will be distributed in North America by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay per view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Avail-TVN and DISH Network in the United States, as well as Viewer’s Choice and Shaw PPV in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.
http://www.fightnewsextra.com/cc/redemptionamerica/index.html, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOfXUB0I_ko, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOfXUB0I_ko
http://twitter.com/holyfieldwilli,http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5743710/evander_holyfield_heavyweight_title_fight_january_22_redemptio/
http://www.viddler.com/explore/njreese584/videos/56/
Evander Holyfield Redemption in America
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