“Struggle For Supremacy”: A Preview-Part Two.

Holyfield-Donald.

On that magical night in 1996, when Evander Holyfield performed a miracle before our eyes by completely dismantling Mike Tyson in eleven rounds, we could scarcely have imagined that in the years to come it would be Holyfield himself that would so readily degrade his legacy

and the heroism his performance represented. Even after suffering Tyson’s rabid mutilation of his ears in the rematch, truly one of boxing’s most shatteringly nonsensical moments, Holyfield’s amazingly controlled response and evaluation of the situation in immediate interviews reflected an inner calm in the most obscene of circumstances. That type of depravity and the kinds of demons ravaging Tyson were beyond him, they were instruments of torture for weaker minds and Holyfield was entirely too resolute, too centered to fall prey to them.

In 2004, Tyson is still the example of debauchery for others to measure themselves by and to extract a modicum of relief at how much nearer salvation they are than he is. Tyson’s rapid degeneration to bedlam was predictable but Holyfield’s unrelenting insistence to compete beyond his means continues his own sad decline. Holyfield knows about exploitation, as do all fighters, financially or otherwise. Like an addict, Holyfield is willing to endure the indignities, his own physical warnings and the severity of the risk under which he places himself, and perhaps more disturbingly, so are many other people in this business, individuals that only have to look the other way to benefit from his refusal to accept the facts.

Persisting in his futile aim to recapture the undisputed heavyweight championship has presented him with an increasingly steep mountain, one that grows evermore perilous with each step. The next step is Larry Donald, and it may be the most treacherous of all. Larry Donald is a fighter who behaves as if the opportunity to face great fighters and to win world titles were things thrust upon him. Donald has portrayed himself as a reluctant participant in serious boxing matters to date, and yet it is he that poses the greatest threat to Holyfield at this point in time. Why? Simply because his vulnerability could afford Holyfield a crucial victory, one that would lead him to the title shot that hangs tentatively before him. Donald might fall, and Holyfield would be left in the path of a fighter entirely more capable of ending Holyfield’s career for him. It might sound like slander, but the boxing world will soon see the end of Evander.

Rahman-Meehan.

Talk is cheap and Hasim Rahman has talked a lot in recent times without doing a lot to back it up. The facts are that Rahman has not won a single fight of any consequence since he hit the lottery punch against Lennox Lewis three years ago in South Africa. Even before that

cataclysmic moment in the life and times of Lewis, Rahman was a fighter that lacked drive and motivation and seemed to be disinterested right up until the moment he greeted a smile from Lewis with that unanswerable right hand. However, Rahman was merely a battered spectator to the Lewis resurrection later that same year and since then, he has trodden one doomed path after the other. He was unfortunately stopped by a horrific head injury against Evander Holyfield and unacceptably allowed his weight to balloon before out-boxing David Tua en-route to an unsatisfying draw. But no sympathies should be allowed to Rahman for his tedious effort against Ruiz in December last year.

When two fighters speak in passionate terms of their life struggles and the sacrifices they have made to reach the summit upon which they find themselves, each truly believing that they will defeat the other; inevitably, one is going to fall short. Rahman has appeared for this fight in surprisingly good shape and for the most part, he has decided to decline the opportunity to degrade Meehan; calling the New Zealander a champion in response to Meehan’s debatable decision loss to WBO champion Lamon Brewster earlier this year. When Meehan was stopped in a single round by England’s Danny Williams, I should think even he would have had trouble digesting the possibility that he would be positioned as he is today, for maximum exposure, one defining performance away from recognition as one of the world’s leading heavyweight fighters. Pedigree must be attributed to Rahman in this case, who even in losing has shared time with far greater opposition than Meehan. But a measure cannot be put on a man’s soul, his desires and his inner strengths. For Meehan to claim victory, it will be those things that will have to rise, engulf and overwhelm Rahman in what would be the greatest upset of the night.

Realistically, this is a night when perhaps only one fight (Byrd-McCline) represents anything like a real championship occasion, as its two combatants are likely the only ones on the card that could compete with true heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Despite the agendas of all of the fighters involved, for boxing and its fans, the true motive of the night will be to see who will emerge as a viable opponent for Klitschko if he should overcome Danny Williams next month. It is a struggle for supremacy tonight, but in the grander scheme of things, it is a fight to earn merely the chance at the truly legitimate title.

Jim Cawkwell can be reached at jam2lis@sprint.ca