Evander Holyfield to do Exhibition Bout in Japan
Well it appears that the Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield (44-10-2, 29 KO’s) is returning to the ring! Now before excitement, or outrage, swells, the Hall of Famer is merely returning for a small exhibition bout. The 3-round event will take place on New Year’s Eve in Japan with all the proceeds going to charity. The opponent is unknown at the moment. Although, Holyfield has said that he knows the person and the event will more or less be for fun.
Unlike the recently derailed comeback fight of Nigel Benn, Holyfield has no intention on taking a legitimate fight. Although, simply hearing that he was sliding back in the ring there is little doubt that many would believe he was coming back for real. It’s now been eight full years since the former multidivisional champion participated in a full-fledged bout. Even back then folks felt that he had fought well past his expiration date.
“The object is to help other people, but the fact of the matter is, you do three rounds, really ain’t much! So, but I’m going to do three rounds with somebody that I know and this is not war. It’s not a ‘I’m going to knock you out’ and all that. It’s to help the people. Anything that I can do to help other people that’s what I like doing because I wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for somebody who had more than enough that helped me.”
A NEW HOLYFIELD
Thankfully, Holyfield harbors no desire to return to genuine combat. He is more than happy to remain retired and let the young boys have their time in the sun. Now while Evander is not stepping back into the ring, this doesn’t mean that no Holyfield will. In fact, Evander was happy to endorse his very own son, Evan “Yung Holy” Holyfield. Yung Holy who will be making his professional debut on November 2. Not only is he making his debut, he is doing it on the lavish Kovalev v Alvarez undercard.
Generally speaking, many fighters do not want their children to fight. This stems from knowing the hardships, rigors and overt dangers of the sport. This was not the case with the Real Deal. Holyfield elected to simply tell his children to follow their hearts and do what they loved to do. Having grown up the son of two loving but illiterate parents, Holyfield felt his options in life were basically limited to pursuing some sort of athletic endeavor. This is why he was quick to tell his children that they could travel any avenue that they desired.
“It’s his day, you know, he wanted to turn pro and he’s getting an opportunity to do it […] I told my kids choose something that you love because the only way you going to be successful is if you love what you doing. And so, you know what, he been boxing ever since he was eight years old. And you know what, he don’t have to do it. I said, ‘man, you got a good voice, why don’t you go and speak somewhere, sing or do something’. This is what he wants to do.”
Given full reign to choose his path, Evan still chose to try his hand at boxing. Seeing that his decision was firm, the Real Deal was perfectly at peace watching his son follow in his professional footsteps. Holyfield has watched his son box since the tender age of eight and feels that his son has the goods to make a bit of noise in the pro ranks. For good or bad, we shall all see in the coming days.
By: Bakari Simpson
