Now, do you remember when...Evander Holyfield Lost to John Ruiz, Chris Byrd, Larry Donald, Sultan Ibragimov, and Nikolai Valuev? Or when James Toney knocked him out in the 2000's?
Evander Holyfield always fought like a true warrior (as his trunks often read) in the ring and was a great champion. But his out of the ring activities, said to have at least 11 children with multiple women, and his lavish living style have caught up with him. In June 2008 a legal notice was placed by Washington Mutual Bank stating that Holyfield's $10 million, 54,000 square foot, 109 room, 17 bathroom suburban Atlanta home would be auctioned off due to foreclosure. Toi Irvin, mother of his 10 year old son, filed a lawsuit for skipping two months of child support (he coughs up $3,000 per month for this little mistake). Also a landscaping company also has gone to court seeking $550,000 in unpaid debt for services.
When you owe that kind of cabbage to people you're going to have to pay for it somehow, and the days of retired Boxers greeting people at casinos in Vegas are long gone. What else does Evander Holyfield know how to do other then fight? Well, he did try to take on Big George in the grill market, with the "Real Deal Grill" if anyone remembers that bust. Some, myself included, would agree that Big George won that rematch with a big KO. Seriously though, Holyfield is a warrior, its what he does. We all go to work and do our jobs, some maybe lawyers, writers, accountants, engineers, waiters or waitresses but what does Holyfield do? He punches people in the face, and at one time was really damn good at it.
Do I feel bad for Evander? I'd say I'am at about 80% No and 20% Yes. Here's why....
80%- All of his debts are his own fault. All of his out of the ring choices and decisions were made by him and executed by him. No one held a gun to his head and told him to have 11 children with different women. No one told him to have a $10,000,000 home and not pay the bills either. People need to be held accountable for their actions and its good that he is.
20%-I only feel bad because Evander never took the time to think past Boxing. With the seven figure pay days coming in left and right for his fights, why would he ever need anything else? Because he didnt know how to spend within his means and save. Believe it or not, it is possible for Boxers to retire and not go broke. Take Geroge Foreman for example. Big George has the infamous grill and also a clothing line for the bigger fellas.(and let me tell you that George makes a comfortable pair of slacks) Larry Holmes also invested his money, buying commercial real estate in his adopted hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania.
With all that being said, "The Real Deal" will once again lace up the mitts and do battle in the squared circle. This time he will be facing, the also aging(42), Francois Botha (The White Buffalo) of South Africa in Uganda Feb 20th. Botha is best known to the American public for being iced by Mike Tyson back in '99. Holyfield should not take Botha lightly, he has been in there (most of the time on the wrong end) with some of the recent Princes of Pugilism. Being KO'd by Tyson, Lewis, Moorer, and Klitschko is nothing to be too ashamed of. Botha's last win of any sort of significance was against journeyman Timo Hoffman back in May of 2009.
No self respecting Boxing organization on the planet should give a 48 year old man a license to compete. But the lightly regarded alphabet organization known as the WBF, has decided to be "that guy" and grant Holyfield clearance to fight. One of the mainstays of Holyfield's career has been the fact that he always shows up to fight in superb physical condition so it will be interesting as to how he will look come fight night and pushing 50 years old.
Both of these fighters are grasping at straws in either the twilight or apocalypse of their careers. Botha still trying to find his youth again and Holyfield trying to pay off the mistakes he made during his.
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