Holyfield vs Valuev

[West]

I have had a passion for the sport of boxing ever since I was a little kid. Evander Holyfield has always my favorite boxer. His technique, his power, and his spirit made him one of the most admirable champions of all time.

Holyfield, the former cruiserweight champion and only four time heavyweight champion in history, has been trying to make a comeback in recent years. The comeback began in 2006 when Evander TKO'd Jeremy Bates in the second round in a matchup at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. In November of the same year, Holyfield defeated Fres Oquendo by unanimous decision. Holyfield won a matchup against brawler Vinny Maddalone in 2007 after his corner threw in the towel. Later in 2007, Holyfield knocked out Lou Savarese in the ninth round to earn a shot at the WBO Heavyweight Championship against Sultan Ibragimov. Ibragimov won the fight by unanimous decision in October 07.

Several months ago the current WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev offered Holyfield a shot at the title. Holyfield,"the warrior spirit" accepted the offer. The fight will take place tomorrow (December 20th) at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland at 1:00 PM Central.

35 year old Valuev (49-1), the 7'0", 310lb Russian is expected by most critics to dominate the 46 year old, 6'2", 215lb Holyfield (42-9). A lot of people are comparing the fight to the Apollo Creed vs Ivan Drago fight from Rocky IV. For those of you heathens who haven't watched the Rocky series, the washed up old champion faces against a towering Russian to redeem glory once more. He ends up getting beaten so badly that he dies in the ring.

An interesting thing about this fight is the weight differences. There is a 96lb weight difference between the two fighters, making it the largest difference in heavyweight title fight history. I've watched Holyfield fight for my entire life though, and one thing I know is that he steps into the ring with more passion and heart than anyone in the game today. I'm not going to bet anyone any money that Holyfield wins the fight, but I think he's going to show more tomorrow than critics are expecting. If he does upset Valuev, it is going to be one of the most exciting title fights in heavyweight history.

Another thing that you may notice about Holyfield is that he's still in incredible shape. Unlike George Foreman when he made his comeback, Holyfield didn't get fat. Regardless, Big George still shocked critics when they saw he could still hit like a freight train after winning 24 consecutive fights, 23 by knockout. It was actually Holyfield, who was the undisputed and undefeated heavyweight champion at the time, who ended Foreman's winning streak in a 1991 title fight.

Anyway, I'm going to be rooting for Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield like I have for my whole life. I don't know if any of you follow or enjoy watching boxing, but if you are interested in watching the fight let me know. Just post on this thread and I will send you a free online stream to the fight several minutes before it begins.



-West

[Tornadom]

Holyfield lost.

[The Mad Wombat]

Not surprising! Holyfield's great but LOOK AT THAT BASTARD!!! If Tyson was that big he would have bitten his whole damned head off!