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Evander Holyfield Will Be Boxing's Next Tragic Story

Colin Linneweber
Feb 2, 2010

Evander โ€œThe Real Dealโ€ Holyfield canceled his Feb. 20 match in Uganda against WBF world heavyweight champion Francois โ€œWhite Buffaloโ€ Botha, because Holyfield said the promoter failed to pay him.

Nevertheless, Holyfield (47-10-2, 27 KOs) told www.espn.com that his fight versus Botha (47-4-3, 28 KOs) will be rescheduled for Mar. 6 at a site yet to be determined inside of the United States.

โ€œIโ€™m not going over,โ€ said Holyfield, 47, the only boxer to ever win the heavyweight title four times. โ€œWeโ€™re moving the fight to the United States, but they havenโ€™t got a site yet. But Iโ€™m still supposed to fight Botha.โ€

Holyfieldโ€™s delusional and selfish manager, Ken Sanders, is also attempting to pit โ€œThe Real Dealโ€ in a prizefight against New Yorkโ€™s Derric Rossy (22-2, 12 KOs) less than two months after his proposed contest with Botha on Apr. 24 in Las Vegas.

Holyfield, a true boxing legend who earned a bronze medal as a light heavyweight at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, is a spent fighter and he has absolutely no business entering the ring at this stage in his career.

In August 2005, the New York State Athletic Commission compassionately banned Holyfield from fighting in โ€œThe Empire Stateโ€ due to his โ€œdiminishing skills.โ€

Holyfield has lost two consecutive scraps and he has amassed a paltry record of 4-5 in his last nine bouts.

At this juncture, Holyfield is plainly fighting for monetary reasons and that is an utter recipe for disaster in the world of boxing.

Last year, the Atlanta nativeโ€™s mansion went into foreclosure and www.tmz.com reported this past weekend that Holyfield filed documents in Cobb County Superior Court in Georgia to have his child support payments modified because of his decreased earnings.

โ€œHolyfield is a classic case of not letting go,โ€ said Ed LaVache, the owner of the Boston Boxing Club in Allston. โ€œFor a lot of these guys, boxing is all they know and itโ€™s the only way for them to make money. So, they keep fighting until the fight is lost in them.โ€

Nevada has rigorous testing standards and it hopefully will be difficult for Holyfield to get licensed to fight at his advanced age.

โ€œHeโ€™ll pass all the tests,โ€ said Sanders, like the weasel he is. โ€œIโ€™m not concerned.โ€

Sanders is not โ€œconcernedโ€ because he doesnโ€™t care whatsoever about Holyfieldโ€™s overall health.

For Sanders, Holyfield is an asset and a way for him to acquire wealth.

For Holyfield, boxing is now essentially a means to surviving financially and supporting his 11 children.

With Sandersโ€™ and Holyfieldโ€™s pathetic motives, โ€œThe Real Dealโ€ will โ€œkeep fighting until the fight is lost inโ€ him.

Sadly, Holyfield will inevitably be boxing's next tragic story.