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Barry McGuigan writes:
The boxing ring really is no country for old men.
There are no Oscars awaiting Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield should they continue with their mad idea to fight a third time. Just a grim ending; two shot fighters making fools of themselves and the sport.
It is a sad reflection on the heavyweight division that a match of this sort is even considered.
This is the market we are in. Last week Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov anaesthetised the Madison Square Garden crowd over 12 uneventful rounds.
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You can't sell that. Next week Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter battle for world heavyweight supremacy. I bet the tickets are flying out.
Regrettably, there would be huge interest in Tyson-Holyfield III. Until the bell rings. After that it would be an embarrassment. Who suffers? Boxing.
That is the real disaster.
Tyson was Hollywood, the box office machine that kept the heavyweight flame alive after Muhammad Ali.
You couldn't take your eyes off him 20 years ago. Now you have to look away.
The same applies to Holyfield for different reasons. Holyfield thinks he is a young guy. He has forgotten that he is, in boxing terms, an old man.
He is deluding himself, but at least he will be in shape.
Tyson admitted his heart had gone out of the fight game long ago. He can't even get into shape.
For his last appearance against Kevin McBride in June 2005 his old friend and trainer Jeff Fenech had to start by doing 30-second rounds in the gym.
That's how poor a condition Tyson was in. Tyson lost in the sixth to an opponent who would not have got near him in his pomp. His pomp was 20 years ago. Frightening. He is as big as a house, old and fat.
I know that he has a thing about Holyfield. He resents those defeats in 1996 and 97. He hates the fact he quit by biting Holyfield's ear.
But that is not sufficient motivation to get Tyson into shape. Holyfield, we know, is different. He will still look great when he is 60 years old. He is not, however, fit to box. He should have quit a decade ago.
In an interview in GQ magazine this month, Lennox Lewis speaks about the offers he has had to make a comeback.
Lewis says he might consider taking off his pyjamas were the numbers to hit Û50million. In other words there is no chance of him fighting again. You have to applaud that.
This week our youngsters have been out in Pescara on Italy's Adriatic Coast seeking qualification for the Beijing Olympics.
That is the future, young men doing themselves and their sport proud.
Britain already has four boxers through to China, led by Frankie Gavin, who won gold at lightweight in the World Amateur Championships in Chicago last October.
Maybe Tyson and Holyfield should tune in to watch the finals today. It might serve as a reminder of what they used to be.
Holyfield took light-heavyweight bronze at Los Angeles in 1984. A proud moment. Not a word you would associate with this latest venture.
Checkout My Website.. www.barrymcguigan.com
There are no Oscars awaiting Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield should they continue with their mad idea to fight a third time. Just a grim ending; two shot fighters making fools of themselves and the sport.
It is a sad reflection on the heavyweight division that a match of this sort is even considered.
This is the market we are in. Last week Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov anaesthetised the Madison Square Garden crowd over 12 uneventful rounds.
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You can't sell that. Next week Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter battle for world heavyweight supremacy. I bet the tickets are flying out.
Regrettably, there would be huge interest in Tyson-Holyfield III. Until the bell rings. After that it would be an embarrassment. Who suffers? Boxing.
That is the real disaster.
Tyson was Hollywood, the box office machine that kept the heavyweight flame alive after Muhammad Ali.
You couldn't take your eyes off him 20 years ago. Now you have to look away.
The same applies to Holyfield for different reasons. Holyfield thinks he is a young guy. He has forgotten that he is, in boxing terms, an old man.
He is deluding himself, but at least he will be in shape.
Tyson admitted his heart had gone out of the fight game long ago. He can't even get into shape.
For his last appearance against Kevin McBride in June 2005 his old friend and trainer Jeff Fenech had to start by doing 30-second rounds in the gym.
That's how poor a condition Tyson was in. Tyson lost in the sixth to an opponent who would not have got near him in his pomp. His pomp was 20 years ago. Frightening. He is as big as a house, old and fat.
I know that he has a thing about Holyfield. He resents those defeats in 1996 and 97. He hates the fact he quit by biting Holyfield's ear.
But that is not sufficient motivation to get Tyson into shape. Holyfield, we know, is different. He will still look great when he is 60 years old. He is not, however, fit to box. He should have quit a decade ago.
In an interview in GQ magazine this month, Lennox Lewis speaks about the offers he has had to make a comeback.
Lewis says he might consider taking off his pyjamas were the numbers to hit Û50million. In other words there is no chance of him fighting again. You have to applaud that.
This week our youngsters have been out in Pescara on Italy's Adriatic Coast seeking qualification for the Beijing Olympics.
That is the future, young men doing themselves and their sport proud.
Britain already has four boxers through to China, led by Frankie Gavin, who won gold at lightweight in the World Amateur Championships in Chicago last October.
Maybe Tyson and Holyfield should tune in to watch the finals today. It might serve as a reminder of what they used to be.
Holyfield took light-heavyweight bronze at Los Angeles in 1984. A proud moment. Not a word you would associate with this latest venture.
Checkout My Website.. www.barrymcguigan.com
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