DALLAS (AP) -- Evander Holyfield is heading back into the ring Friday night, ready to start yet another comeback.
Driven by two powerful memories and a clean bill of health, Holyfield is confident it will end with the only four-time heavyweight champion becoming the first five-timer -- and the undisputed champ, to boot.
He's even set a target date for his final triumph: the Beijing Olympics, which begin in August 2008.
"I realize I am supposed to retire on top and I know that I can," Holyfield said. "Everything they told me I couldn't do previously, I did it."
The list of doubts that Holyfield has overcome in his career are impressive. But save those for a career retrospective. Up first is his fight against Jeremy Bates, an insurance salesman in Parkersburg, W. Va., who'd retired with a 21-11-2 record until Holyfield called.
Holyfield is 43 and has won only one of his last six fights. He hasn't fought in 21 months, partly because his last loss was so bad that New York officials revoke his license, citing "diminished skills and poor performance."
Holyfield had no problem getting a license in Texas. He looks to be in tremendous shape, weighing in Thursday at 220 pounds.
Bates -- who is about five inches shorter than Holyfield and looks like advertising icon Mr. Clean with a goatee -- came in at 225 1/2 pounds.
The fight, which will be shown live on cable's Fox Sports, is the first in what's being billed as "Holyfield V, The Final Chapter." Holyfield is so sure this isn't a one-shot deal that he's already lined up the next bout, against a ranked foe. He declined to name the opponent out of respect to Bates.
"This is just to let people know that I can fight," Holyfield said. "All the other fights are going to lead me to a title fight."
He plans to have a title fight in 2007 and to have all the belts around his waist, "by the time that Olympics comes."
"When they put out the flame, I'll be retired," he said. "Maybe right there in Beijing."
It could happen sooner, he figures, if some of the other heavyweights can scoop up multiple belts; the four significant belts are currently held by different boxers. Holyfield believes he'll vault past other contenders because of his marketability.
"People are going to say, `Can he do it?' That's going to bring interest," he said. "If I just beat one of them guys, everybody will go crazy."
Jeremy Bates listens to a question after his weigh-in in Dallas, Texas, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006. Evander Holyfield begins his comeback against the unknown Bates on Friday night.
He knows that from experience.
Holyfield was 29 and in his prime when he fought 42-year-old George Foreman. Although Holyfield won every scorecard, Foreman won everyone's heart. He also ended up becoming a heavyweight champ again when he was 45.
That memory inspires Holyfield, but the one that pushes him more is a vow he made to himself to again become the undisputed heavyweight champion, a label he held from 1990-92.
"I want people to say, `He didn't quit,"' Holyfield said. "That will motivate all these young kids who think they can't do it because they lost. I can say, `You know how many times I lost? I just didn't quit."'
Holyfield needs this final chapter is to clean up the mess he made while trying to box through shoulder injuries and other ailments. He blames those problems -- not advancing age -- for the slow reactions that led to his three-fight losing streak, the longest of his life.
"I thought I could beat them guys hurt. I was wrong," he said. "If you look at that last fight, I was getting hit in the face with a jab. People didn't have the courtesy to say let's see what's wrong with him. They just said he's getting old. Nobody is going to wake up one day and forget how to do what they used to do."
The long layoff has helped the shoulder and relieved whatever was the source of cramps that also slowed him, said Tim Hallmark, Holyfield's longtime strength coach.
"He's probably as healthy as he's been in 10 or 15 years," Hallmark said.
Regardless of how much resistance Bates puts up, he's already proven to be an interesting foe.
Inspired to become a boxer after watching Holyfield in the 1984 Olympics, he planned to quit after a loss in December. He came back in April for a bout he viewed only as a payday; he admits never going to the gym to train.
But Bates asked to be considered for this fight, even volunteering to take half the money being offered because he considered this the shot at the big time he'd never gotten.
At a news conference Tuesday, Bates referred to Holyfield as "my hero," then later turned to his foe, called him "Champ" and extended his hand for a shake. His boss and others in his traveling party waited for Holyfield to finish hours of media obligations to greet him themselves.
Still, Bates is serious about wanting to win. He took eight weeks off work to train, even switching to a trainer who shared his positive attitude, and says he's in the best shape of his life.
"I really believe with everything in me I'm going to win. When I was up puking every morning at 6, I made myself believe," Bates said. "I did everything I was supposed to do. Win, lose or draw, I didn't want to say I did anything less than give it my all."
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Holyfield Fights again tonight
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Originally Posted by bigboydan
