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By Cliff Rold - Just a week ago, Christmas only days away, it was a gift he watched someone else unwrap. At the end of twelve rounds, Evander Holyfield was in the eyes of many denied a victory against current WBA titlist Nicolay Valuev. The performance was unexpected. For much of this decade, rightly so, fans and pundits alike have wondered when the old man would finally call it a day. With a record of 5-6-1 from 2001 forward, Holyfield has been a shell of the fighter he once was.
He’s still only a shell. Valuev, slow, ponderous and probably under-motivated for a fight he originally expressed no interest in, provided a canvas for Holyfield to paint another great underdog story on in a career full of them. It was not a great fight. There was a mirage quality to it all; a shadow against the flickering light of yesterday dancing much larger than its true size for a single Swedish night.
But it did dance.
After so many years of asking when he’d stop it was a night to celebrate what Holyfield once was one more time. It was good enough to end for a moment the question of when he’ll leave and just appreciate what he’s meant to the sport of Boxing. Nearly twenty-five years since emerging at the famed Los Angeles Olympiad, the question is asked: [details]
He’s still only a shell. Valuev, slow, ponderous and probably under-motivated for a fight he originally expressed no interest in, provided a canvas for Holyfield to paint another great underdog story on in a career full of them. It was not a great fight. There was a mirage quality to it all; a shadow against the flickering light of yesterday dancing much larger than its true size for a single Swedish night.
But it did dance.
After so many years of asking when he’d stop it was a night to celebrate what Holyfield once was one more time. It was good enough to end for a moment the question of when he’ll leave and just appreciate what he’s meant to the sport of Boxing. Nearly twenty-five years since emerging at the famed Los Angeles Olympiad, the question is asked: [details]
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