Too Many Bites at the Ear?
| 3
|
(Cross-published at Pleats 'n Cleats)
At age 44, Evander Holyfield is trying to become the "undisputed" heavyweight boxing champion of the world. The only problem is that everyone is telling him that it's time to hang up the gloves.
This past Saturday, Holyfield lost a title bout in Moscow in a 12-round unanimous decision to Sultan Ibragimov. But that's not stopping him from trying to get back to his championship platform.
When I saw that he had even traveled to Moscow to box, my immediate thought was "Why is this man still fighting?" Holyfield was staying in the same Disney World hotel that I was in one time about 15 years ago. I remember thinking that he was really nice. He seemed OK then, but I've seen other retired boxers, and it's honestly sad to see the physical toll the boxing can take on a person.
From all indications, Holyfield appears to have money. He really doesn't have anything more to prove since he has won all the titles and received all the accolades -- unless he just wants to be the oldest heavyweight since George Foreman. If you are setting records for being the oldest "anything," I'm of the opinion that it should be because you never had the chance when you were young.
Thus, it seems the man is just lacking good sense. Perhaps it was spit out when Mike Tyson bit off that chunk of ear. Too many punches to the head late in his career? I know it's hard for people to call it quits when they are on top, because you never know when you've reached your peak. But I have a lot of respect for an athlete who can leave while they're on top. And if he refuses to leave, especially in a sport like boxing where one wrong misstep can result in death, then can't some doctor say he isn't cleared to fight?
Maybe he doesn't know what to do with himself if he's not fighting. If that's the case, we just need to find him a hobby. Surely someone has to be able to teach him basketweaving.
