At the age of 47, former world champion, Evander Holyfield, insists that he is in better physical shape than most men less than half his age in his profession.
"I wouldn't be back fighting if I couldn't do it," said Holyfield (pictured at right), who is tentatively scheduled to fight Francois Botha, and, Derric Rossy, respectively, in back-to-back bouts on March 6, and, April 24. "There are guys who are 22, 23 years old who can't do it anymore, because you know what? They've been hit too much."
Although he is 6-7-1 in his past 14 bouts, and is coming off of his second, consecutive loss, Holyfield (42-10-2, 27 knockouts) could be in line for a title shot at WBC champ, Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KOs) if he defeats Botha and Rossy.
Nicknamed, "The Real Deal," Holyfield's goal is to become only the sport's first, five-time heavyweight world champion -- he's already the first to four-timer -- but to become surpass George Foreman as the oldest man to win a crown in boxing's heaviest division.
George Foreman was 45 when his 10th-round knockout dethroned previously unbeaten Michael Moorer as WBA and IBF champion.
FanHouse caught up to Holyfield, who discussed his age, his opinion on whether or not boxing's drug-testing policy should be strengthened, and past steroid accusations.
FanHouse: When and where are you going to start working out and training for your fights?
Evander Holyfield: I'm feeling great. I'm already training. But I've got two places that I can go to start seriously training for the fights. I'm either going to go to Houston, Tex., or I'm going to work out in California.
FH: Who are you working with as a trainer?
Holyfield: I'm working with Tommy Brooks. I've been knowing Brooks, on-and-off, since 1984. He trained me for my last fight witn Nikolay Valuev. He's a guy that saw me when I was young, and, now, he's seeing me now that I'm older.
The most important thing is that he's a person who realizes what I can do.
FH: What are some of the subtle things or not so subtle things that you have to do, mentally, physically, as an older fighter to make up for any lost timing or other things?
Holyfield: I don't have to make up for timing. My timing is good. The difference is that I have to depend more on my knowledge moreso than on physical strength.
The only thing different between being young and old is that when you're young, you can do more repetitions than when you're older. I can go 12 rounds, but I can't do it as hard as I used to when I was younger on a day-to- basis. It tends to wear your body down, and it takes more time to recover. But your mind is stronger.
FH: How much does your Olympic and amateur background help you in terms of muscle-memory, knowledge and instinctual things that you first learned?
Holyfield: You go back to things that you know and that work. You've got a solid foundation, thanks to your amateur past.
I had 13 years of that, and that's 13 years that kind of have allowed me to be able to make the adjustments to be able to make the adjustments necessary to be a champion four different times.
Those same little things are what, even now, enable me to get the advantage on some of these younger guys who I'm fighting who didn't have the extensive amateur background.
FH: What are some of those things that enable you to beat the bigger, younger heavyweights?
Holyfield: Even now, it's just the fact that I'm able to, with certain guys, know what shots to hit them with and to hurt them with. I respect the fact that with every shot that I throw at a guy, I'm open to being hit by the other guy.
So the person who knows the counter-shot to all of the different shots has the advantage. Am I quicker? Not necessarily. My footwork is good enough to where I can always be in a position to at least hit back.
FH: You talked about how you position your head in a fighters' chest, but what is your answer to Hasim Rahman (pictured at far right, against Wladimir Klitschko) and Mike Tyson who claimed that you were a dirty fighter who head-butts?
Holyfield: Pretty much, if I'm in a certain position, then the person can't say that you're head-butting them because you beat them to a position first and you're the first one to get there.
That's the thing. A head-butt happens when you put your head out and you lead with your head. I don't lead with my head. Ever. These are people who lead with their heads.
People who head-butt are always complaining about people head-butting them because they lead with their heads.
FH: Can you explain why you have parted ways with camp members and/or trainers who have advised or expressed the opinion that maybe you should retire?
Holyfield: Well, it's really simple. You have to have standards. You know, if we're not all standing together, then we're in a disagreement and it's not going to work. That's just simple terminology.
You can't have somebody on the team who doesn't believe in you. They don't believe that I can win. As an adult, I don't want to work with nobody who don't believe in me, and then, when I win, you get paid too?
You don't deserve to get anything from me if you don't believe in me. I don't actually think that a person would give you their best if they don't believe in you or nothing. But then, all of a sudden, they're collecting a check.
FH: What is your take on the whole Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao situation, and whether or not boxing should implement more stringent policies for drug-testing, such as random blood-testing, or do you believe that boxing is fine the way that it is?
Holyfield: I don't think that the fighters should be the ones who tell people in the boxing commissions what to do. I don't think that the fighter should get to make the rules as to when somebody should check somebody and all of that.
You're just the fighter. You don't get to change the rules. The rules and regulations are the rules and regulations. You don't get to sit here and all of a sudden, you say that 'I don't want to fight a fight unless he takes this other test.'
The commission is supposed to jump in and say, 'Well, these are the rules for this fight.' As a fighter, you don't get to mess with the other person by saying, 'You need to take this steroid test,' and all of that.
If his drug test comes up positive after the fight, then he comes up positive. But you don't get the chance to change it before that. Whatever it [the result] is, that's what it is. It ain't never been any other way.
So how can somebody come in and all of a sudden say, 'Look, I want to check, this, this, this and this?' Then why do you fight if you feel that the guy is going to cheat.
If steroids don't come up in the system under the present way that they test, then you don't get to say, 'Well, they've got other tests,' and all of that.
The commission is the one that is supposed to make that decision. Either you are going to fight, or you're not going to fight. If you think the guy is on steroids, and you don't want to fight, then you don't fight.
But you shouldn't have the opportunity to tear down somebody's integrity just because of what you think.
FH: Do you believe that Manny Pacquiao is right in pursuing a lawsuit in order to defend his integrity?
Holyfield: Yes, because the big thing is that there's always somebody saying that somebody is taking steroids, and then, once it gets into the papers, then your name is already smut.
Ain't nobody ever caught me on steroids, and I've never been on steroids. But the argument is that, 'We're just reporting what we heard.' But that's just tearing down somebody's integrity.
The fact of the matter is that they made me take a steroid test before I fought Mike Tyson, but they didn't make Mike take the test. It's sad how some people have to take the test just to fight the person, and they, themselves, don't have to take it.
It's like when Mike Tyson fought Lennox Lewis. Tyson had to take some medication to fight Lewis. You're the champion, and you're going to make sure that somebody takes their medication.
Now, the man [Tyson], when he had been fighting before that, he don't take his medication. But since he bit Holyfield, then when he fights me [Lewis,] he needs to take his medication, because I don't want to be bit.
How can you say that the fight is an even fight when somebody is going to make you take some medication that's going to slow you down?
It's sad. But if you're the commission, then you're the commission. The commission itself is supposed to direct how things are supposed to be, not the fighters.
FH: Evander, if someone who cares about you comes up to you and says, 'Evander, how are you physically?,' and, 'Are you still physically capable to fight at your age?,' and, 'Should you still be fighting?,' What answers would you give them?
Holyfield: I would say, 'Yeah, or else, I wouldn't be back fighting if I couldn't do it.' You don't sit here and, because of a person's age and all of this, and you say that they can't fight.
Either you come up with a rule that says that, 'At a certain age, you're not going to fight,' or you leave them alone. If they don't come up with a certain age limit, then they shouldn't be hindering people about their age and all of that.
The rules are supposed to go for everybody. They should put down a rule that says, 'Well, we don't want nobody to fight no more than at a certain age.'
There are guys who are 22, 23 years old who can't do it, because you know what? They've been hit too much. I'll go pass every test that you put out there, and then, how are you going to hinder me?
If you can't put a test out there that I can't pass, then you shouldn't talk about it anymore. That's slander. Anytime you say something negative against anybody who could be successful, it's slander.
You're not doing anything but slandering a person. You're making people say, 'Oh, why would you all support this guy?' There's nobody out there who could do any more than what I can do.
Anybody can get knocked out on any given day. On a good day, you can get knocked out if you get hit with a good shot. We're in the hurt business.
On any given day, you can get hurt if you get hit with a certain shot. It all depends on where you get hit. That's a fact.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
***
No comments:
Post a Comment