Evander Holyfield still going strong with WBF triumph
Maybe it’s just a vogue for nostalgia but right now boxing is littered with veteran fighters.
Two dinosaurs rolled back the years on Saturday when Evander Holyfield took Francois Botha’s WBF belt from him. “The Real Deal’s” triumph came hot-on-the-heels of the recent Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jnr fight and the day after 38-year-old Audley Harrison put himself back in world title contention. Meanwhile 41-year-old Glen Johnson won for the 50th time in his career about a month ago and 43-year-old Mike Tyson has talked of a comeback, as boxing goes O.A.P crazy.
That’s “Old Age Pugilist” and both Holyfield and Botha fall into this category seeing as they are light-years past their prime.
The Hopkins and Jones Jnr fight was a sad reminder of how two once great fighters have aged and surrendered their dignity for a big pay day. In comparison the Holyfield and Botha match was simply comical.
To be fair Holyfield looked ultra-lean, most 47 year olds would be delighted to be in that sort of shape, Botha would and he’s six years his junior. The South African waddled into the ring but the truth is he may as well have rolled, such was his rotund figure.
It’s fair to say that Botha has been around the block a bit and if there is one thing the veteran knows it’s how to lose to the best in the business. Over the years he’s lost to Lennox Lewis, he’s lost to Wladimir Klitschko and he’s lost to Mike Tyson. Unfortunately for “The White Buffalo” he’s just never had that extra five percent to be a contender. However after a 20-year professional career Botha finally smelt his chance to break his hoodoo over the big names once and for all.
A mere 3,127 packed the venue to see this clash of the titans, maybe it was one purely for the purists. As the competitors neared the ring you half expected them to have swapped the robes and gloves for cardigans and slippers. The two aged warriors managed to haul themselves through the ropes, pausing only to oil their joints and have a cup of hot cocoa.
Holyfield look reasonably sharp, like one of those hard looking granddad’s you see every now and then that could still give you a good kicking. While Botha is still sporting his trademark blond beard and looked absolutely ridiculous, like a cross between a washed-out wrestler working the leisure centre circuit and a malevolent Father Christmas.
As the first bell rang they set about like two old-timers trying to show the youngsters how it’s done, they circled one another offering only the occasional weary jab, the intensity may have gone but the spirit was there. Unfortunately the skill had also long since gone.
Botha was ahead on two of the three cards when “The Real Deal” landed a huge right in the eighth that sent big Botha crashing to the canvas. They must have specially reinforced that ring as the White buffalo didn’t go straight through; his flab took the full impact of the fall. He bounced back up again after an eight count, but the ref soon called it off and Holyfield had his first title since 2002.
After celebrating his KO punch, Holyfield announced "I'm going to be the undisputed world heavyweight champion".
This is a bold claim indeed from the former multi-weight champion who narrowly lost his WBA title challenge to Nicolay Valuev back in 2008. What are his motivations for this comeback? Maybe he wants to become the oldest-ever champion and leave a lasting legacy, or maybe it’s because he has crippling financial problems. Either way he must be nuts fighting at that age.
Well he’s the WBF title holder anyway, the championship that time forgot.
It might be worth casting an eye over the esteemed company who share the privilege of at one time holding that hallowed strap.
It is one of the so called ‘Alphabet soup’ titles, winning the WBF title is a gateway to other things. It would not be unfair to say it’s not that high-up on the list of priorities for the genuine contenders.
That’s how the likes of Lionel “The Train” Butler, Adilson Rodrigues dos Santos and Bert Cooper achieved their 15 minutes of fame. More notable boxers have taken the title as well. The superbly named Jimmy Thunder captured it in 1993; he of course won a proper championship as well, defeating Richard Mason to win the vacant IBO belt in 1994.
Who could forget “A-Force” Harrison’s reign as the WBF king? He had the privilege of calling that strap his own in 2004, when he defeated Dutchman Richel Hersisia. The start of many great things for Harrison.
Then there was Joe Bugner. A huge man, with a huge heart and a British legend. Bugner fought the best of all time and lost to the lot, like a Botha of his day. He fought Muhammad Ali twice and lost, Smokin’ Joe Frazier and lost, even good old Frank Bruno and lost.
Bugner held the belt at 48, Holyfield is 47, he needs to keep hold of it for one more year and he will set a new record.
For the former undisputed champion of the cruiserweight division and onetime heavyweight WBA, IBF, WBC, title holder, I’d say wining the WBF belt probably ranks up there with having his ear bitten off by Tyson.
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