By James Slater – As fight fans know, Evander Holyfield, despite being a few weeks shy of his 48th birthday, refuses to call it a day and retire. “The Real Deal,” already a four-time heavyweight champion, feels very strongly he can rule for a fifth time.
A news story currently circulating the net has Holyfield, 43-10-2(28) talking about how he remains as the most well known heavyweight out there, and that the likes of the Klitschkos and David Haye have to face him in order to make money.. And Holyfield, who faces tough journeyman Sherman “The Tank” Williams on November 5th, feels the current champions would face him if they thought he was an easy payday for them. Holyfield, however, thinks the champs know they would have a tough night with him, and this is why neither Wladimir, Vitali nor Haye are in a hurry to give him a shot.
“I’m looking at both the Klitschko brothers and David Haye,” Holyfield said. “I want to fight the people with the titles. I’m fighting this Williams guy because I need to stay active. I just can’t wait to get to the guys with these three belts. So whenever they are ready, if they want a big payday, they have to fight somebody the people know. I’m still the most popular heavyweight that is fighting.
“If they felt I was an easy night they would go ahead and fight me. But they realise they don’t want to get duked by the old man.”
Does Holyfield really feel he has the beating of either of the three current belt-holders, or is he simply delusional? Fans have been asking this question for the longest time (at least when they weren’t asking, no, pleading with, Evander to retire) and as long as he keeps on winning, Holyfield will continue to puzzle the fans. As far as him saying he is the best-known heavyweight out there, Holyfield is probably correct. The world over, fans remember him for his great nights with the Tysons, the Foremans and the like. But “The Warrior” hasn’t been that fighter for a long time.
Foreman’s name comes up quite often whenever Holyfield speaks these days. Using “Big” George as an example of what a man his age can do in the ring, Evander wants to repeat what Foreman, then almost 46, did against Michael Moorer back in 1994.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, 38 years. I’m good at what I do,” Holyfield continued. “I realised every shot is not going to take anything away from me, that’s the only reason I did it. That goal I’ve set, I’ve got to keep pushing for it until I get it and hopefully before I hit fifty I’ll do that. I fought George Foreman when I was 29 and he was 42. Everybody laughed at him and when we fought, I did win the fight but he kind of won the people.
“After, he became the heavyweight champion of the world because he beat the guy who beat me. He knocked him out!”
And its seems Holyfield, after all he’s been through in the ring, believes he too can catch lightening in a bottle and land one last great punch on the chin of one of the defending champions. Or, to be completely accurate, Holyfield, who wants to become the UNDISPUTED champion some twenty years after he first won the heavyweight title, feels he can somehow turn back the clock not once, but three times in order to realise his dream!