Evander Holyfield's Injury Will Not Allow Him To Fight Come March

Former four-time heavyweight champion Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield was forced to postpone his March 5th bout with Denmark’s Brian Nielsen due to a cut he recently suffered above his left eye.

Holyfield (43-10-2, 28 KO's) is now scheduled to battle Nielsen (64-2, 43 KO's) on May 7th at a concert hall in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"The Real Deal" was injured during his January 22nd three-round, no-contest prizefight against the iconic Sherman Williams at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Holyfield (43-10-2, 28 KO's) was sliced above his brow by Williams (34-11-2, 19 KO's), after an accidental clash of heads in the second round.

"[Williams] fought the way he should have," said Holyfield, 48, also a past cruiserweight titlist who captured a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. "I understood what he was doing. He was trying to get his head low to stand me up and open me up."

Holyfield said Williams received several warnings about leading with his head throughout their brief contest.

"He was warned several times in that short amount of time. He didn't have to [use his head]."

Holyfield continues to adamantly declare that he will again become the undisputed king of the heavyweight division before he retires.

"I want to show people I'm just as good as I was at 38 or 28," said Holyfield, who obviously doesn't remember how good he once was at age 28 when he defeated James "Buster" Douglas by a third-round knockout to capture the IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight crowns in October 1990.

"Once they see me fight a good fight, people will start talking about me and get past this thing that he's old."

"The Real Deal" is a warrior, and he deserves to be remembered as the legendary pugilist that he was in his heyday.

Unfortunately, Holyfield is now more decrepit than the entire cast of The Golden Girls, and he should immediately relent and hang up his gloves.

"Holyfield is a classic case of not letting go," said Ed LaVache, the owner of the Boston Boxing Club in Allston. "For a lot of these guys, boxing is all they know, and it’s the only way for them to make money. So, they keep fighting until the fight is lost in them."

Holyfield, who has long been a rumored abuser of performance-enhancing drugs, was banned in August 2005 by the New York State Athletic Commission due to his "diminishing skills."

Pathetically, boxing is a rogue business, and money is an even more sinister element in pugilism than it is in other sports.

Hence, Holyfield is still enabled to enter the ring.

A loss to Nielsen will sadly only further tarnish Holyfield’s once glittering resume.

"The Real Deal" badly needs to "get past this thing that he's old."