The Sad, Strange Career of Evander Holyfield Takes Another Bizarre Turn

One of the most difficult decisions for any athlete is knowing when to walk away from the sport they love.  Some hang around too long (see Mays, Willie and Namath, Joe), while others leave too soon (see Brown, Jim and Koufax, Sandy).  And very few are able to hang them up at just the right time (see Elway, John).

And then there’s boxer Evander Holyfield.

It’s hard to believe there was a time when boxing was as big as the UFC is, when guys like Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. ruled Pay-Per-View, until corruption and a lack of charismatic superstars essentially ended boxing’s dominance.

Holyfield was one of boxing’s biggest stars back in the day.  Handsome, articulate, with a sculpted physique and amazing boxing technique, Holyfield was the antithesis of Tyson, the animalistic fighter who was almost as frightening outside of the ring as he was inside it.

But Holyfield, for all his charm, had his faults.  Like a number of professional athletes, Holyfield was careless with his money.  Despite earning over $120 million in his career, Holyfield’s opulent 109-room mansion has been under foreclosure twice, as well as the enormous support payments he has to make to his 11 children.  There’s also the pressing matter of a federal lawsuit that alleges Holyfield owes $500,000 in outstanding loans, money used to landscape his 235-acre estate.  But the worst monetary gaffe Holyfield ever made could be the $265,000 he paid to evangelist Benny Hinn after attending a Hinn crusade, where the slick preacher laid hands on Holyfield and “cured” the boxer of his heart ailment.  The ailment, according to Holyfield, was a misdiagnosis, due in part to the morphine that had been pumped into his body.

Which brings us to the present day.  Holyfield, despite protestations from many friends and followers, including two of his daughters, is still in the fighting game.  The once articulate and well spoken gentleman from Atlanta has become a shell of his former self.  He turns 47-years-old on October 19th.  He’s 6-7-2 in his last 15 fights.  He needs to hang them up.

But still Holyfield fights.  His latest bizarre career move involved a fight with Derric Rossy, a former Boston College defensive end, on November 8th, on the island of Jeju, just off the coast of South Korea.

For a mere $250,000.

The fight was cancelled by WBC president Jose Sulaiman, after he contacted Holyfield’s manager, Ken Sanders, to inform him that the purse could not be guaranteed.

Now here’s where it really gets weird.  According to Sanders, Sulaiman has approved a WBC title match, slated for next year, with current heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko.  The agreement is based on an oral agreement from Sulaiman, which, in the world of boxing anyway, means nothing.

But don’t tell that to Sanders.

“His word is pretty good,” Sanders said. “If he approves this fight with Klitschko, it don’t matter what anybody else thinks.”

But therein lies the problem with Holyfield, and to a lesser extent, boxing itself.  I’ve always liked Holyfield, but nobody with any common sense want’s to see a 47-year-old former champ step into the ring with a fighter like Klitschko.  Even a guy like Holyfield can only stand so many blows to the head, and sending him in to fight Klitschko is akin to feeding Christians to the lions.  Unfortunately there’s a large enough faction of people willing to shell out the cash for a pay-per-view to watch this event–my only hope is that Sulaiman’s word isn’t as binding as Sanders believes, and this fight never comes to fruition.

[AJC]