holyfield's impossible dream

www.fighnews.com

May 25, 2006

By Richard Fletcher

Let me tell you how I feel about Evander Holyfield. I remember the steel in his eyes when he was at his peak. I remember the warrior spirit, the never-say-die attitude that carried him to the heavyweight championship and beyond.

But 18 months after having his licence suspended, the Real Deal still can't accept that his career is a done deal. Reports this week say Holyfield is pondering another comeback. He is quoted as saying: "If people really knew me, they know I'm supposed to be on top, and that's how I am supposed to retire."

But those people also know it's a futile quest and one that could lead to Holyfield getting badly hurt. At his best, Holyfield was a relentless threshing machine of a fighter, a fearless opponent who would never back down. But he is now 43 years old, well past the age when men should be fighting for money, and simply fumbling for reasons to justify his return.

Holyfield was banned by the New York State Athletic Commission after a points defeat by Larry Donald in November 2004, his fifth defeat in eight fights. A year before that, Holyfield was outclassed and stopped by James Toney, the former middleweight champ who went on win the heavyweight crown. In both fights, Holyfield looked like a shell of his old self, a man fighting on memory.

I wish Holyfield was young again, almost as much as the man himself. I fondly remember previewing his heavyweight debut against James "Quick" Tillis for Britain's Boxing News nearly 18 years ago. There was so much to admire even back then and, in a way, still is. But there is no way, even in this comparatively weak era, that he can regain even a portion of what he had.

Maybe Holyfield has put himself on some sort of mission to restore American pride. Although old opponent Hasim Rahman holds the WBC title, the heavyweight division is predominantly in the grip of Eastern Europeans. The current incumbents, Nicolai Valuev, Sergei Liakhovich and Wlad Klitschko, would not have lived with Holyfield at his best but, sadly, would probably embarrass him now.

No Holyfield fan wants to see that but Evander has always been his own man and he is, it seems, going to do everything in his power to fight again. He will point to the case of another former opponent, George Foreman, who came back after a 10-year absence and won the heavyweight title at 45, three years after getting outpointed by Holyfield.
But Foreman had something Holyfield doesn't: concussive power even in advancing years. It was that which enabled Foreman to knock out Michael Moorer with a single right hand and regain the title he lost to Muhammad Ali in 1974.

Even at his peak, Holyfield wore opponents down with workrate rather than power, although he scored 25 KOs in his 38 wins in a career spanning 20 years. During that time, he became the best cruiserweight in history and fought every major heavyweight of his generation, failing to beat only Lennox Lewis. In 1996, Holyfield produced one of the great upsets when breaking down and stopping a resurgent Mike Tyson in 11 rounds. He could have retired then but didn't.

Now he wants to try to get it all back again. But it's an impossible dream. Holyfield's fierce pride is clearly still in tact but his reflexes have dulled and his punch resistance has diminished severely. For his own sake, I hope Holyfield's comeback doesn't happen but I've got a horrible feeling it will. I just hope the man doesn't live to regret it.

The Ruiz fights alone are evidence that Holyfield should have retired a few years back. No way that sucker should have had close fights with Holyfield if Holy was near good form. At the very best Holyfield MIGHT be able to defeat this Valuev guy, since I hear he is pretty horrible. But thats what folks said bout Ruiz too. At worst Holyfield could seriously get himself hurt. He needs to stop, there is no way in hell he can ever defeat Rahman, Wlad Klit, Liokavich and Valuev and become Undisputed Champ again. Is what he needs to do if he still has such a passion for the sport is start training fighters or become a commentator or something. Just keep him and Mike away from each other though. ;D

i don't think nothing will stop him from getting back in the ring

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hulk

The Ruiz fights alone are evidence that Holyfield should have retired a few years back. No way that sucker should have had close fights with Holyfield if Holy was near good form. At the very best Holyfield MIGHT be able to defeat this Valuev guy, since I hear he is pretty horrible. But thats what folks said bout Ruiz too. At worst Holyfield could seriously get himself hurt. He needs to stop, there is no way in hell he can ever defeat Rahman, Wlad Klit, Liokavich and Valuev and become Undisputed Champ again. Is what he needs to do if he still has such a passion for the sport is start training fighters or become a commentator or something. Just keep him and Mike away from each other though. ;D

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you nbring up excellent points...Holyfield should have destroyed Ruiz....after he lost he should have retired because he obviously didn't have "IT" anymore....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bigragu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hulk

The Ruiz fights alone are evidence that Holyfield should have retired a few years back. No way that sucker should have had close fights with Holyfield if Holy was near good form. At the very best Holyfield MIGHT be able to defeat this Valuev guy, since I hear he is pretty horrible. But thats what folks said bout Ruiz too. At worst Holyfield could seriously get himself hurt. He needs to stop, there is no way in hell he can ever defeat Rahman, Wlad Klit, Liokavich and Valuev and become Undisputed Champ again. Is what he needs to do if he still has such a passion for the sport is start training fighters or become a commentator or something. Just keep him and Mike away from each other though. ;D

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you nbring up excellent points...Holyfield should have destroyed Ruiz....after he lost he should have retired because he obviously didn't have "IT" anymore....

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Thank you. I still remember watching the first Ruiz vs Holyfield fight with my dad. The commentators remarked that Ruiz was probably most famous for his 20 second KO loss to David Tua rather than anything else. I laughed said Holyfield ought to destroy this guy. Then I was subjected to a close and very very boring fight. I was very surprised. I thought maybe Holy had a bad night so I watched the second Ruiz fight, and pretty much the exact same thing happened. :P

It’s really not surprising, the Heavyweight division is wide open. It would be hard not to come out of retirement with the lack of real talent . All of the current champions are very beatable.
Yes Holyfield’s best days are over, and some of the assets that made him a champion are long gone. But he still have Determination factor. And he still have the heart of a lion, these are some qualities the other guys don’t have So I feel he still has a chance to reclaim a belt or two. I am looking forward to his up coming fight in Dallas.
A side note : Evander needs to be more active, and needs a few fights with these building block type opponents. Before stepping up . This fighting once a year kinda crap is not going to get him title ready .

a powerhouse is on the rise... wait a year or 2.... we're due............................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ....................I hope :-\ :-\ :'( :'(

RETIRE!!!!!!

Out of all of the heavies out there today , Holyfields the guy id like to see do well . I dont think he will and he should have retired a decade ago but the rest of todays heavies are nobodies compared to Evander in his prime

It's a quick payday or two. Holyfield boxing again is like one of us getting a PT summer job. You know it's just a stint going in.

People who retire from other sports can still play them in their backyard. People who retire from boxing sit around and watch boxing until they can't stand it anymore and get back in the ring. It's gotta be a hard thing to do.


Just a thought ---
It's alot eaiser to make a comeback in boxing than it is football (NFL). Football skills fade fast...
Has anyone seen my old freind Barry? Can you tell me where he's gone?