Wayne McCullough suggests a 47-year-old Evander Holyfield is the right foe for Audley Harrison's next fight.
The Real Deal rolls back the years... almost!
Years ago a fight between Evander Holyfield and Frans Botha could have legitimately taken place but about 10 years too late they stepped in the ring together as a 47 and 41-year-old, respectively, to fight for Botha's WBF heavyweight title this past weekend in Las Vegas.
Holyfield hadn't fought in Vegas since October 2003 when he lost to James Toney. Botha hadn't fought in Vegas since 2001!
The weekend before Roy Jones Jnr had fought Bernard Hopkins in a mismatch. Jones was way past his prime but Hopkins was still a little bit competitive. But the fight between Holyfield and Botha made slightly more sense since both guys are past their prime and have slipped so it was more evenly matched. Understandably there was very poor attendance at this fight with just over 3,000 fans there to witness it.
Botha has been active lately after taking five years off following his draw with Clifford Etienne. He had three wins but in his most recent fight, last October, he got a draw against inexperienced Pedro Carrion in a fight that was more like a sparring session.
Holyfield had lost his last two fights. He fought Nikolai Valuev for the WBA belt in December 2008. The fight was very close and he could have been awarded the win - but wasn't.
Rhythm
Botha looked well overweight against Holyfield but was able to land big shots. He missed more than he landed but was still winning the first half of the fight because Holyfield couldn't get any real combinations going - something he was famous for in his heyday.
Holyfield started to get into a little rhythm after six rounds when Botha started to tire and he was able to catch him with some good shots. He showed a little of his glory days by moving in and out, giving some angles, although at this point Botha had become a target and he just began to block Holyfield's shots with no reply.
Holyfield finally landed an overhand right to his opponent's head which dropped him in the eighth round. Botha got up, but a few shots later the referee stopped the fight. Holyfield, who still believes he will become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world again, was down on two of the judge's scorecards going into the round so the stoppage couldn't have come at a better time.
The Real Deal is back on the winning track and is still in pursuit of the champions. But did a win against Botha prove anything to anyone? Maybe someone in the top 10 ratings should be next for Evander or a match against Britain's Audley Harrison, who talked about fighting the Klitschkos. But why not a fight with Holyfield? Then the winner of that fight can get the shot.
Holyfield has strong faith, desire and love for the sport of boxing and in this heavyweight division, anything is possible!
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