Member-only story
Evander Holyfield’s Life Reflects an Ugly Side of Boxing
There were lots of bad choices.
I’m not a boxing fan. Evander Holyfield was a reflection of the problems of the sport. He took to the ring at 58 years old. Of course, having gotten to that point was the culmination of a lot of bad decisions om Holyfield’s part. Here’s a look back, with a bit of commentary.
As a society, we’re about one step away from watching a couple of old guys at a nursing home duke it out over a cup of pudding. Some of you might remember this is similar to the storyline of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky character in the movie, “Balboa”. I actually believe Rocky was 60 at the time his last bout was sanctioned in his fictional movie.
The amazing thing about Rocky Balboa was he actually seemed to get smarter as he absorbed blows to the head. I don’t belive the same can be said for Holyfield.
So, what’s makes an old guy like Holyfield want to get back in the ring? Predictably, money. Evander apparently wants this fight to springboard him into a rematch with Mike Tyson. Holyfield thinks that would result in a huge payday.
Estimates are that Holyfield has made a round 300 million during his boxing career. Why does the guy need money? Well, money management hasn’t been Evander’s strong suit. Management in other areas of his life hasn’t…
