Evander Holyfield, Man or Machine?

November 7th, 2007 by Jarryd | Posted in Boxing |

Evander Holyfield. ‘The Real Deal’. ‘The Warrior’.

If you know anything about boxing, no doubt you know this name.

A career spanning 23 yrs., 3 heavyweight titles, 1 cruiserweight title, and still going strong. His legacy includes victories over Mike Tyson, James ‘Buster’ Douglas, and John Ruiz. Not to mention his trilogy with Riddick Bowe.

He is the epitome of what a boxer should be. He’s brave, he’s relentless, and above all he refuses to give up.

Recently at 44 yrs. old, on a 3 win streak he finally got his chance to obtain his dream of a 5th world title, and closer to his ultimate goal, becoming the undisputed heavyweight champ one more time.

He was faced with WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov. A young, talented, heavy-hitting southpaw with no losses to his record. Holyfield would go the distance only to lose on points at the end of a 12 rounder.

Now after proving he can still compete, everyone around him is telling him to give up. “What’s left to prove?” they say. Even his own trainer is for the idea of retirement.

Well, I’m not.

Any boxer knows the only regret you can have is not trying hard enough. And the only thing to truly get mad at, other then bad judging, is never getting your shot. We all know he has to be trying hard. At 44 this sport is about the hardest thing you can do. And sure, you can say he just had his last shot, but if you call losing on points, never once being knocked down a career ending loss, I’d say you give up too easy.

I’m not saying he should be in there till he’s 50. But he stood in there as good or better than anyone else in the heavyweight division could.

Every fight I’ve ever seen Holyfield in has been a battle, that includes this one. He’s a warrior. Hell, one of his nicknames is ‘The Warrior’.

I understand people are worried that a 44 yr. old man as rich as he is, might not be able to enjoy his spoils with after taking to many more blows. I say which is better, walking away with money thinking about what could have been, or knowing the rest of your life that you gave it your all? As far as boxers go, they know the answer.

So what’s left to prove? To the public, nothing. The man’s done everything. To him though, there’s everything to prove. To at least have a definitive answer to the question, can I still be the heavyweight champion of the world? In my opinion, yes. Maybe not that day, against that guy, but there are 4 heavyweight belts.

I say, let him try again. If not at least one more title fight, we know he’s earned it. One more time to let a man know if he still has it in him. If he should fail in dramatic fashion, fine, even he should know he’s done. But until that happens, let him keep going.

He’s made a career of surprising us. Let’s see if he can do it again.

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