In case anybody has forgotten, Evander ‘Real Deal’ Holyfield’s fight with Francois Botha takes place at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas this coming Saturday, April 10th.
The 47 year old Heavyweight legend is on the comeback trail after his controversial World Championship defeat to Nikolai Valuev in December of 2008.
While Evander looked to have won the bout, the judges saw fit to give the seven foot Russian the victory, which left Holyfield, and the majority of the public, reeling.
As a person of British nationality, and somebody who actively followed Lennox Lewis when he was boxing, I was both angry and shocked when his fight with Evander was declared a draw in their infamous fight back at the Garden in New York in ’99. A part of me felt like Lewis had been vindicated a little when Valuev retained his title.
But then I thought of the tremendous accomplishments that Evander has achieved throughout his career and, most importantly, his will to keep on fighting, and then I realised that the judges did not do him a favour by giving him the win.
I don’t know, perhaps the judges thought that if they showed Evander that they were not going to give him a world title, no matter what, he would simply go away.
They thought wrong!
So, now, for a Pay Per View fee of a suggested retail price of $29.95, you can watch the Holyfield army march on.
I am a boxing fan, first and foremost, but I am also a fan of Evander and his career and it saddens me that he feels the need to fight on. Holyfield gives the impression that he is doing it for the glory but we all know from recent reports that he has financial difficulties, a story all too common with aging boxers. Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Joe Louis and Randolph Turpin, to name just a few, all suffered from financial difficulties.
Many people have predicted that Evander will suffer from severe illnesses later on due to his keeping on fighting, and I am sure Holyfield is well aware of this, but his strong mental spirit is what continues to carry him through his career and his life.
But if Evander has financial troubles, why can’t he start or enter a new business venture, one that does not have a negative risk on his life?
I am afraid of thinking that his career, and his own life, will end up in the same way that many boxers have gone before him. And that is something I don’t want to see happen!
Fans can help by boycotting watching his fights, both in terms of buying a ticket to watch him in the arenas, and on television. It may be an act of tough love but an act of love, nonetheless. Besides, what do you think you will be getting for your 30 bucks. my American friends?
For your hard earned thirty dollars, you will be seeing a shell of a once great fighter!
To be absolutely blunt, I think the Nevada Athletic Commission are absolutely crazy to grant Evander a license to fight in their State. In my view, that’s another example of the authoritative figures in boxing not giving a care about their fighters but about the money that goes with the sport. I appreciate the fact that it is a business but sometimes you have to have a heart!
Had Evander Holyfield chosen to take part in something else to take care of his financial affairs, I would have wished, and supported him well, but as a boxing and Holyfield fan, I simply can’t support his right to keep fighting.
I urge the fans to do the same!
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