The old adage "everything old is new again" seems like an appropriate slogan for the heavyweight division in boxing these days. Depending on who's fighting, though, an edited slogan like "everything old ... is still old" may be more fitting.
Old retired or semi-retired heavyweight fighters have been crawling out of the woodwork to take another crack at a title repeatedly over the last year or two. David Tua, Corrie Sanders, Oliver McCall, Andrew Golota and even Riddick Bowe are all trying to reclaim their former glory. Headlining this list of former greats is Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield. Holyfield steps back into the boxing ring again this weekend as his attempt to become the oldest heavyweight champ continues.
The 44-year-old Holyfield is facing Lou Savarese on Saturday night at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. At 41 years old, Savarese is another old man trying to get in a few more fights before being put out to pasture.
Holyfield enters the bout with a lifetime 41-8-2 boxing record that includes 27 knockouts, while Savarese is 46-6 with 38 KOs. Holyfield is a huge -1000 betting favorite in the fight, and when you examine his and Savarese's boxing careers side by side it isn't hard to see why. Stacking up Holyfield's major wins would be like stacking up a list of Savarese's major losses in his career. Savarese is a +500 underdog in the fight and unless he gets a few good punches through Holyfield's aging defensive reflexes, he'll likely end up being simply a stepping stone for Holyfield on the way to his coveted heavyweight title fight.
With Holyfield being such a big favorite in the fight, the only real money to be made in the fight (unless an improbable upset occurs) is on the fight's length. The over/under for the rounds of the fight has been set at 9.5. In his last three fights, Holyfield has finished off two of his opponents in the second round and gone the distance against Fres Oquendo. Holyfield lacks the knockout power he had in his youth but if he can land enough early punches on Savarese, a TKO or stoppage is not out of the question.
Boxing betting odds available at WagerWeb Sportsbook
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