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EVANDER HOLYFIELD PLANS A ‘DON’T HIT ME HARD’ BOUT WITH MIKE TYSON

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The champion with the altered ear isn’t listening. To those who feel Evander Holyfield should find safer pursuits at the age of 57,  he has a straightforward answer. According to the Daily Mail in UK,

Evander Holyfield has remarked: ‘They have their opinion and I have mine,’ ‘I prefer to follow mine.’

And so the man they called the Real Deal is looking to strike another. If he has his way, you suspect that will be with Mike Tyson, who has evidently lost none of his sense of timing.

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Holyfield evades Tyson’s swinging left hook during their heavyweight world title clash in 1997

That relates as much to Tyson’s ability to hit pads cleanly at 53 as it does his decision to release workout videos in close proximity to those uploaded by Holyfield. Purely a coincidence, says Holyfield, and yet it is a fact that a third meeting between two old greats is being discussed by both sides.

Terming it a fight might be a stretch, given Holyfield claims he is only after a three-round exhibition in which there will be ‘no winners or losers or going for knockouts’ – conditions the four-time heavyweight champion of the world says must be upheld as he enters a 10th year since his last bout.

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Whether Tyson, even the mellowed version of today, is capable of keeping to such an agreement might be another matter. But at the very least there are negotiations for a third contest between two men whose younger rivalry was in equal parts remarkable and appalling.

Holyfield won their two fights in 1996 and 1997 and lost part of his right ear in his opponent’s mouth; Tyson was twice outclassed and landed a $3million fine. According to another heavyweight of yesteryear, Shannon Briggs, Tyson is spoken for and a fight agreed, but Holyfield gives the impression a deal can be done.

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Tyson infamously bit Holyfield on the ear, leading to disqualification in their 1997 rematch

Holyfield says: ‘Mike and I talked once about this (the exhibition) and from that point on his people have spoken to my people. We are not at a point where we are at an agreement but there have been conversations.

‘There are some big people from different countries who would like for us to do it. My whole thing is, “Yes, if there is a way we can do it, then do it”. Me being me and Mike being who Mike is, I know it could be something big.

‘If it could be worked out then there has to be an understanding that there can be none of this other stuff that happens (with Tyson). Ain’t nobody getting a decision or win or lose or going for knockouts. Exhibition.

‘I didn’t really want to get back in the ring because I always said when I stop I will stop. But an exhibition, that is different. I am not killing myself for nobody. I ain’t looking for knockouts and I ain’t going more than three, three-minute rounds. We do it in an appropriate way. But I am going to be in great shape. And if someone thinks they going to hit me, I don’t want them to think I ain’t going to hit them back. I don’t know if it will be Mike. If it don’t work then it weren’t meant to be.’

Holyfield and Tyson have long since reached a friendly place, to the extent that in 2013 they filmed a Foot Locker advert in which the latter rocked up on the former’s doorstep and reunited him with his missing chunk of ear.

‘People talk about the ear but people don’t know the relationship,’ Holyfield says. 

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‘It is long. We came through from amateurs (together).’ 

For all the water under the bridge, there is still a competitive feeling towards a man with whom, along with Lennox Lewis, Holyfield shared a brilliant heavyweight era. 

Referring to Tyson’s recent videos, showing impressive movement 15 years since his own retirement, Holyfield says: ‘Mike was skilful, right back to when we first met. He can jump rope, hit speed bags, pads – but these things don’t hit him back. I have never been very good at hand pads and bags and tricks. But as my coach always said, “When people start getting hit they don’t know if they want to be there”. That is what boxing is really about.’

It remains to be seen what kind of fight Holyfield engages in. And time will tell if Tyson is involved. There is also an invitation to Lewis, against whom he drew once and then lost the rematch for the undisputed heavyweight title. ‘If Lennox and I can come together and do something, why not?’ Holyfield says.

In any configuration, amid any outcry that follows owing to Holyfield’s age, an exhibition against a top name from history would make significant money. But Holyfield, whose 57th and final fight was in 2011, is claiming this is not about finances.

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It is no secret that Holyfield, who amassed a $300m fortune and once owned a 109-room mansion, lost the lot. A father of 11, including an unbeaten novice professional in Evan Holyfield, he has rebuilt to some extent and is reported to make personal appearances worth $100,000-a-month these days. He says his driving force for this comeback is inspiring children.

‘It’s really for my foundation, working with under-privileged kids,’ he says. ‘I want the young people to know that at 57 I can do this because I didn’t make the mistakes others made. My momma always told me, “If you don’t pick up bad habits you don’t have to put them down”.’

Holyfield is unequivocal that this venture will not lead to a competitive return. ‘This is not me going against some 24-year-old,’ he says. ‘I don’t need that. But this is different. It will be fun. If it is against Mike, it definitely will be.’

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Trump’s US arrests Mexican boxer, Julio Cesar Chavez, seeks to deport him

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Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. enters the ring before his fight against Jake Paul at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, U.S. June 28, 2025. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images via REUTERS 

U.S. immigration authorities have arrested Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Los Angeles and plan to deport him, they said on Thursday, just days after he lost a high-profile bout to American rival Jake Paul.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Chavez was determined to be in the country illegally last week after he made fraudulent statements on a 2024 application for permanent residence. He is married to a U.S. citizen, it said.

Michael Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, said more than two dozen immigration agents arrested the boxer at his home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community,” Goldstein said.

Homeland Security said that the 39-year-old boxer, son of Mexican world champion fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, is suspected of ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington has designated a foreign terrorist organization.

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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. speaks at press conference in anticipation of his fight against Jake Paul at Avalon Hollywood Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images/File Photo

His wife, Frida Munoz Chavez, was previously married to the son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. The son, Edgar, was assassinated in 2008.

Chavez is the target of a Mexican arrest warrant on allegations of involvement in organized crime and firearms trafficking, DHS said.

In Mexico, Chavez’ family said in a statement they “fully trust in his innocence.”

Chavez lost to influencer-turned-boxer Paul, 28, last weekend before a sold-out crowd in Anaheim, California, in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.

He was allowed to enter the United States temporarily in early January under former President Joe Biden, DHS said. He had previously overstayed a tourist visa, it said.

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The agency said Chavez was convicted in Los Angeles in 2024 on weapons charges. Goldstein denied he was convicted, saying he pleaded not guilty and was granted mental health diversion which will result in dismissal of the charges.

Chavez won the WBC middleweight championship in 2011, but lost the title the next year.

His career has been overshadowed by controversies including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009 and a fine and suspension after testing positive for marijuana in 2013.

His record stands at 54 wins, six losses and one draw, with 34 knockouts.

Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Bhargav Acharya, Lizbeth Diaz, Angelica Medina, Diego Ore and Kylie Madry in Mexico City, Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot

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-Reuters

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Pacquiao coming out of retirement to face Barrios in title fight

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 Antony Joshua v Francis Ngannou - Weigh-in - BLVD World, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - March 7, 2024 Manny Pacquiao poses ahead of the weigh-in Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo 

 Manny Pacquiao will come out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship on July 19 in Las Vegas, the 46-year-old Filipino boxer said on Wednesday.

Pacquiao is the only boxer to win world championships in a record eight weight divisions while he was also the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 in 2019.

A Filipino senator from 2016 to 2022, Pacquiao had retired from boxing in 2021 while he also ran for president in 2022.

“I’m back. On July 19, I return to the ring to face WBC Welterweight Champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Let’s make history,” Pacquiao wrote on Instagram.

The southpaw, who has 62 wins, eight losses and two draws in a 72-fight career, was also elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.

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Barrios, a Mexican-American boxer, has 29 wins in 32 bouts, winning 18 by knockout and losing twice.

-Reuters

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Autopsy on dead Nigerian boxer to be conducted on Wednesday

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The body of Segun Olanrewaju, the Nigerian boxer who slumped and died in the ring in Ghana on Saturday is still in a mortuary in Ghana. The President of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), Dr Rafiu Oladipo, informed Sports Village Square that an autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday.

He said that the NBB of C is closely monitoring the events in Ghana, even as the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade has asked for updates on the sad incident.

On Monday, a delegation of the NBB of C visited the family of the late boxer in Sango Otta in Ogun State. Oladipo said he was still in shock at the death of the boxer who he considered fit having fought last December 29.

He revealed that one of the members of the Nigerian delegation to Ghana stayed behind to follow up on the autopsy.

He narrated that the late boxer took part on Thursday in the mandatory weigh-in which is normally conducted 24 hours before a fight. Additionally, a medical check-up is also to be conducted.

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“But in this instance, there was no medical check. On this ground, Oladipo blamed the Ghana Boxing Authority.

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