by Amy Green
Evander Holyfield kept middle age at bay with a sound beating of Lou Savarese, scored by the judges at ringside 99-87, 98-90 and 96-91. Holyfield increased his record to 42 wins and sent the former Sopranos player back to acting for good, as Savarese announced his retirement after the fight.
Round one Holyfield made a statement by cutting Savarese on the forehead and was in good command until the third, when Savarese landed a stunning uppercut that rattled the four time champion, who exhibited skill under pressure and maintained his composure.
Solid combinations that began with a hard right sent Savarese to the canvas in the fourth and Holyfield seemed content to slow his pace somewhat, with Savarese gaining a bit of momentum in the sixth, then laboring through the next rounds until Holyfield delivered a left hook that laid him out flat in the ninth. Savarese wobbled his way through the tenth round with Holyfield never ceasing his attack.
Post fight, Holyfield rated his performance a 70 out of possible 100, and will no doubt be back at work soon to continue his title conquest- the unprecedented fifth heavyweight title. For skeptics who believe Holyfield should not continue his campaign, that he’s not the Holyfield he was a decade or better ago, ago let’s examine this closely. Sure he’s not the same. Nor is his division.
Current heavyweight title contenders Brewster/Klitschko, Ibragimov/Chagaev, Maskaev/Peter and Valuev/Bergeron, would be the guys likely for Holyfield to battle for the title, but they’re all booked up. Not only are they committed to bouts with each other, they are hardly the competition of Holyfield’s day. So he has some time to work on his game. Admittedly Holyfield has made adjustments in training to allow for his age and capability. No longer does he train three times a day. But his once a day training would probably make some of your present day "in shape" fighters blush.
His work ethic, heart and determination have always combined with his athletic ability to give him the warrior’s edge. Has he "turned back time" and erased the Holyfield beaten by James Toney and suspended by Ron Scott Stevens? In El Paso it appeared so.
So what bouts could be entertaining for him in the interim, while the heavies slug it out for their next step up the ladder?
Chris Byrd…Calvin Brock….and even though it sounds scary, Joe Mesi. Another big Italian, who sports a perfect record, who still has some issues to prove to the boxing world perhaps even more than Holyfied does. So there are some prospects for Holyfield to ponder.
Evander Holyfield has had the dream and the goal to be heavyweight champion of the world since he was nine years old, and he saw the dream come true four times. Thirty five years later, he still has the dream, and it’s still his goal. The defeat of Lou Savarese make this a little more possible and hopefully, not so farfetched.
To decide for yourself, see the replay of the event shown exclusively on Saturday, July 8 on ESPN Classic Saturday at 8 PM.
Comments? agreen009@yahoo.com