by James Slater: Donnell “The Real Touch Of Sleep,” not only has a very cool nickname and shares the surname of one of heavyweight boxing’s greatest-ever world champions, he also has in his possession an unbeaten pro record. Currently 28-0(24), the 35 year old Holmes has one of the best records of active American heavyweights. The problem, however, is there are no overly recognisable names on Holmes’ record..
The reason for this, according to Holmes, is because big name fighters have chosen to avoid him. This may or may not be true, but the 35 year old has been guilty of embarking on a period of inactivity as of late. Saturday’s fight in Paris, Arkansas, will mark Homes’ first outing since October of last year. So far, there is no opponent named for Saturday’s bout, but Holmes will want to keep his best asset, his unbeaten record, against whoever it is he faces. The fight will get nowhere near as much fan attention as the big Oscar De La Hoya comeback affair that takes place the same night, but Donnell Holmes just might one day surprise us all and go on to achieve some noteworthy results at heavyweight.
The approx 230 pound Holmes, who hails from North Carolina, turned pro back in January of 2003, and has kept a clean sheet (two draws aside) ever since. After having had over 80 fights as an amateur, Holmes is perhaps one of today’s more experienced U.S big men. Still, the 35 year old will have to make up for lost time and get some serious momentum going in the next year or so if he is to get as far as fighting for a version of the heavyweight title. In his last bout, back in October, Holmes beat a quite familiar name in tough journeyman Billy Zumbrun. Holmes had a fairly hard night, but certainly did better that Riddick Bowe did when he fought Zumbrun in his comeback attempt a couple of years back. Holmes floored the durable Zumbrun, a guy who has only been stopped twice in the last six years, and captured an eight round decision.
Now, some seven months on, Holmes gets back in action at the weekend. He may not have fought any big names yet, but as long as he keeps his unbeaten record, Holmes will continue to be at least somewhat marketable. Hopefully, the guy he fights on Saturday will be someone who is a reasonable test.