It may seem like a joke, but at the grizzled age of 44 Evander Holyfield is attempting to become Heavyweight champion of the world again. To get that title shot, Holyfield might not even have to face a much younger man. The "Real Deal's" next boxing fight is coming up on June 30 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, where he'll face 41-year-old Lou Savarese in a 10-round non-title bout.
The way old boxers are hanging around way past their primes and stepping back into the boxing ring after supposedly retiring these days, perhaps they should make a boxing senior circuit.
Since making his return to the ring a little more than a year ago, Evander Holyfield has said he wants to win back a heavyweight title by the time he turns 46. Holyfield may not have the speed and power of his youth anymore, but according to him he has the smarts in the ring to beat his younger challengers.
In his last three fights Holyfield has proven himself to be right. In August 2006, he dominated 33-year-old Jeremy Bates in a fight that was stopped in the second round after Holyfield beat Bates to a pulp. A few months later in November 2006, Holyfield won a unanimous decision after going 10 rounds with 34-year-old Fres Oquendo. In his most recent fight in March of this year, Holyfield delivered a second-round TKO to 33-year-old Vinny Maddalone. Those three wins gave Holyfield a lifetime record of 41-8-2 with 27 knockouts, and illustrated that he may not be completely done beating up on other boxers just yet.
Savarese also stepped back into the ring last year after a bit of an absence. You may recognize Savarese more from his recent acting roles than from his boxing career. The fighter has appeared in The Sopranos, Law and Order SVU, and portrayed Max Baer in a James J. Braddock documentary on ESPN. In his first boxing fight in nearly two years, Savarese faced Marcus Rhode in March 2006 and was victorious after delivering a second-round knockout. He returned to the ring again in January 2007, and sent Travis Fulton to the canvas in the third round. After those two wins, Savarese's record stands at 46-6, with 38 knockouts.
Don't let Savarese's recent knockouts fool you, though. During his prime he wouldn't have been a match for Holyfield and he still doesn't compare to the former heavyweight champ, even though they're both over 40. Reports are that this is Holyfield's last step before getting a shot at WBO Heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov. If that rumor has any truth to it, Holyfield has all the motivation he will need to put Savarese flat on his back.
Bet on the boxing match at WagerWeb Sportsbook
1 comment:
Holyfield won. It's clear that Holyfield will be alright as long as he is matched with faded, old fighters such as Savarese. However, he may well be hurt seriously against a young and hungry contender. In my opinion, he should just walk away from boxing since he has nothing more to prove. He needs to retire before he gets hurt badly.
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