Holyfield outworks Oquendo

By Geoffrey Ciani: On Friday night, former undisputed heavyweight champion, Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield, continued his quest to become five-time heavyweight champion of the world when he scored a unanimous decision victory over heavyweight contender, “Fast” Fres Oquendo. The victory seemingly puts Holyfield right back into the mix of a wide-open heavyweight division.

Holyfield didn’t waste anytime as he immediately sent Oquendo to the canvas with the first punch he landed, a solid right hand to the temple area. It was a legitimate knockdown that totally caught Oquendo off-guard. Oquendo made it back to his feet with a new found respect for Holyfield’s power.

In the next few rounds, Oquendo seemed to be establishing a rhythm, as he began peppering the former champion with jabs and the occasional right hand. Unfortunately for Oquendo, he wasn’t focused enough to stick with his game plan, quite possibly out of fear of getting tagged by a Holyfield counter. When he used his jab, Oquendo seemed to be in control, but he used it so infrequently that it could hardly be considered effective.

In fact, Holyfield often looked like the younger fighter in the ring, as he continuously backed Oquendo up throughout most of the contest. At 44 years old, Holyfield certainly lacked the work rate that once enabled him to be one of the greatest fighters of his generation. Even still, despite the fact he was often throwing one punch at a time, Holyfield was still outworking and out-hustling his younger opponent. Indeed, it seemed as if the older fighter had stolen his younger foe’s will to battle, as Oquendo seemed content just backing away from Holyfield while throwing out the occasional jab in resistance.

In round six, Holyfield turned back the clock and unleashed a brutal combo on the inside. A nice left hook to the body sent Oquendo to the canvas again, however, the referee ruled that an unintentional low blow landed in the midst of the combination. Frankly, I didn’t see the low blow; it appeared to be a borderline punch from my vantage point, and in any case, it was the left hook that sent Fres crumbling to the canvas.

The “low blow” seemed to revitalize Holyfield, who continued his assault on the younger fighter. In the end, Holyfield simply outworked his younger opponent and waltzed his way to a clear-cut decision. The final scorecards saw Holyfield as the unanimous winner by scores of 116-111, 114-113, and 114-113. In all honesty, I thought Holyfield won by an even wider margin: I scored the bout in his favor by a margin of 117-110.

So what’s next for “The Real Deal”? Holyfield has made no secret of the fact that he wants one of the champions in his next bout. Whether it be Wladimir Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev, Nicolai Valuev, or the newly crowned WBO champion, Shannon Briggs, Holyfield wants a title shot. With his recent win over Oquendo, he might just get one.

SAN ANTONIO--And, on the Seventh Day, Evander Holyfield rested. The four-time world heavyweight champion, who scored a stirring victory over Fast Fres Oquendo here Friday night in the Alamodome (as seen on PPV in 130 countries), went to church Sunday morning. But Holyfield did not rest long. "After the fight, after working so hard on the whole promotion for six weeks, the grueling training regimen and then going 12 hard rounds, I told Evander he should at least take a week off. So I surprised when Evander phoned me this afternoon and said he was ready to go back to work. He does not want time for rest and recreation. I listen to him not only as a boxing legend but as my business partner and co-promoter," Murad Muhammad of M& M Sports said.

"But Evander said. 'Let's move on the next task.' That is how deeply focused this great athlete is on his quest to make history as the first five-time heavyweight champion. " (Holyfield's company is called Real Deal Events..

Holyfield, age 44, knocked Oquendo down in the opening round of the main event which was witnessed by an enthusiastic crowd of 10,133. With steady jabs and hooks and persistent body punching, Holyfield came away with a unanimous decision.

"Evander was just excellent," Muhammad said. "Every boxing commission in the world should license him now. They should all follow Texas' lead. He has had two fights in Texas and he has two solid victories. After Holyfield put Fres down, Fres changed his plan. He switched from a plan for victory to a plan for survival. I can't blame Oquendo for that. If I was Oquendo, I would've started running,holding and clutching also. That just shows the man is not stupid."

With the backing of San Antonio business mogul/civic leader Red McCombs, the former owner of the NBA Spurs and the NFL Vikings, the promotion was a smash hit in this area. The obvious question asked immediately was if Holyfield will return to the Alamodome.

"We're thinking about that because from Mr. Mccombs on down, the community showed us love. We were embraced by the churches, the schools, the media,. law enforcement and the military people. When we got endorsed by Red, when he praised the show and Evander, well that was one legend praising another legend. That really put the icing on the cake," Muhammad said. "We also had two basketall superstars, George "Iceman" and Tim Hardaway, endorsing us."

Muhammad said Houston, where Holyfield trains, and Memphis are bidding for the next Holyfield bout. Muhammad also said unnamed foreign countries are also calling.

"Houston figures in there because Evander has made it his second home. It would also be logical because we had such great receptions in Dallas and San Antonio. But now Memphis wants in. Mayor Willie Herenton even sent his lawyer, Charles Carpenter, into San Antonio to arrange a meeting with us. My Event Coordinator, Akbar Muhammad, and I are looking at numerous proposals."

Muhammad said all four governing bodies--WBC, WBA, IBF and the WBO--should now give Holyfield a suitably high ranking.

"We ask that, not as any favor, but strictly on merit. By beating Oquendo and scoring an upset over this rugged contender, Holyfield proved he has plenty left. So we appeal to Jose Sulaiman, Gilberto Mendoza Sr. and Jr., to Marian Muhammad and to Paco Valcarcel to rank Evander properly."

Muhammad also tipped his cap to the co-featured bout fighters who also thrilled the fans in the seats and the TV audience. Jose Navarro captured a split verdict over local Gabriel Elizondo and, in a real thriller, Golden Johnson and Oscar Diaz waged a bloody war which Johnson won when cuts prevented Diaz from continuing.

"We had three great bouts on TV," Muhammad said. "The price was $44.95 but, think about that. It was really $15 per fight. I thank matchmaker Chris Middendorf and Navarro, Elizondo, Johnson and Diaz for giving the customers so many thrills. I also want to thank George Greenberg, Doug Levy and President Bob Thompson from Fox who put together such a great telecast along with producer/director Bob Steinfeld. I must also say that the talent, Chris Rose, John Salley, Chris Byrd, Rich Marotta, Barry Tompkins and Sean O'Grady were also great. And don't forget Rick Kulis. It all made for a memorable night."