Evander Holyfield

Raekwon

First off let me just say that Evander Holyfield is one of my all time favourite boxers. He is a former unified cruiserweight world champion and a former four time heavyweight world champion and IMO he has achieved more from boxing then most of the current crop of heavyweights will ever achieve put together.

The question is why is he still boxing???

His next fight is against Fres Oquendo on November 10th in San Antonio, Texas. Does he really need this fight? Does he really believe he can defeat any of the heavyweight champions from the former eastern bloc to become a five time champion? Obviously so, but he is nearly 44, he has lost 3 out of his last four fights (one by knockout), plus he has a dodgy ticker. I know he has immense heart and courage but he is in a position to get seriously hurt. He should walk away from the sport now because he is already a hall of famer and he has nothing more to gain.

cooker3

I agree completely, he is in danger of ruining his legacy.

Thing is he seems to genuinally believe he can do it which is sad as it is so blatantly obvious he can't. You just wish someone would sit him and down and tell him he is not good enough anymore.

But in all sports but boxing especially it seems fighters don't know when enough is enough, I suppose all that training and effort that goes into it over so many years, can be hard to leave it and say your done.

But for sake of his health alone really hope he gives up soon!

nacho libre

i might get stick for saying this but i believe he would prefer to die in the ring trying than die of boredom and frustration sitting at home. i think he knows the risks he's taking but can't help himself. i'm sure he has been told by numerous people not to fight.

Bodhidharma

Great fighter - 15 years ago! As a heavyweight he wasn't fantastic. The guy tended to use his head a lot. In saying that though he was a fierce warrior, his heart is massive and i'm afraid it will unfortunately also lead to his downfall.
I hope i'm wrong but i dont see a happy ending for the Real Deal.

Dempsey

He loves the sport and I hope he wins. Age is only a number.

Remember Foreman defeated Moorer at the age of 45

Raekwon

Bodhidharma wrote:

As a heavyweight he wasn't fantastic

I'll have to disagree with you there. The fact that he holds victories over the likes of a prime Riddick Bowe & an always dangerous Mike Tyson plus the fact that he has been a heavyweight champion for an unprecedented four times, puts him in legendary status in my book.

I know what you’re saying though, he was an amazing cruiserweight but how many cruisers, or light heavyweights for that matter, have moved up and done half as well as Holyfield in the heavyweight division?

The man is a legend. But he really should have hung up his gloves right after he beat John Ruiz to become the champion for the forth time and became a trainer or something.

cowzerp

Evander is the most successful heavyweight ever winning the title an unpreceedented 4 times-all this and he was actually a small heavy weight-i agree he should stop but hes got the fighting bug and thats hard to shift-i believe he could win another title but dont think he should try-never write of holyfield as thats when he'll be even better...

Big Ears

Dempsey wrote:

He loves the sport and I hope he wins. Age is only a number.

Remember Foreman defeated Moorer at the age of 45

Foreman's style suited him aging much better , and the ten year layoff he took before hand meaned he hadn't aged as badly as Holyfield has .

Foreman took a beating against Moorer before landing a beautiful 1-2 and Moorer was out . However Foreman always had a punch , Moorer was considered chinny for a heavyweight(he did start at Light-Heavy) and not manny men could have been able to absorb the damage George did .

Holfyfield doesn't have the punch , he probably wouldn't ge a chinyy fighter if he somehow managed a title shot(unless it's Wlad but that would be the worst fight for him) and he can't take the punishment Foreman did , this is shown by his 9th round stoppage defeat to James Toney . Toney has fought 6 times at heavyweight and that's his only stoppage win .

The fact of the matter is Holyfield isn't just badly passed his best boxing wise , he's also showing syptoms of being punch drunk(his speech is terrible now) and I don't think he should of been medically passed fit to fight having previously had his license suspended for diminished skills . He was of course able to get around that by getting relicensed in an easier state to get accpeted medically once the license had expired .