Evander Holyfield ended his 21 month absence from the ring in style Friday night, as he destroyed opponent Jeremy Bates en route to a second round TKO.
Holyfield withstood a few hard shots to his face early in the second round, then cornered Bates late in the second round before the fight was called off with four seconds left in the round.
The victory ended a three bout skid and was Holyfield’s first victory since 2002 when he beat heavyweight Hasim Rahman. The fight was Holyfield’s first since launching a promotion entitled “Holyfield V, The Final Chapter,” in which Holyfield hopes to win his fifth heavyweight title.
The crowd of about 8,000 in Dallas started chanting “Ho-ly-field” as the fight began and started roaring even more when Holyfield started throwing a flurry of punches with about 30 seconds left in the first round. Only the bell that ended the first round saved Bates from further damage.
Holyfield already has his next fight lined up be against Sinan Samil Sam of Turkey, who is fifth in the latest WBC ratings. This fight will likely show if Holyfield’s comeback is worthy of a world title bout later next year. While a formal announcement isn’t expected until next week, one of Holyfield’s handlers said it will likely be in November and likely in an international city.
Holyfield is determined to show his critics that age hasn’t caught up to him and that he’s serious about contending for the world title again. New York officials even revoked his boxing license after a November 2004 loss to Larry Donald, citing “diminished skills and poor performance.” However, Holyfield is out to prove otherwise.
"I wanted the people to see the real Evander is back," he said.
Source: www.scaffers.com
I think that´s surprising how well he´s done
Turkey´s Samil Sam is above average boxer, so that can be exciting match.
Holyfield withstood a few hard shots to his face early in the second round, then cornered Bates late in the second round before the fight was called off with four seconds left in the round.
The victory ended a three bout skid and was Holyfield’s first victory since 2002 when he beat heavyweight Hasim Rahman. The fight was Holyfield’s first since launching a promotion entitled “Holyfield V, The Final Chapter,” in which Holyfield hopes to win his fifth heavyweight title.
The crowd of about 8,000 in Dallas started chanting “Ho-ly-field” as the fight began and started roaring even more when Holyfield started throwing a flurry of punches with about 30 seconds left in the first round. Only the bell that ended the first round saved Bates from further damage.
Holyfield already has his next fight lined up be against Sinan Samil Sam of Turkey, who is fifth in the latest WBC ratings. This fight will likely show if Holyfield’s comeback is worthy of a world title bout later next year. While a formal announcement isn’t expected until next week, one of Holyfield’s handlers said it will likely be in November and likely in an international city.
Holyfield is determined to show his critics that age hasn’t caught up to him and that he’s serious about contending for the world title again. New York officials even revoked his boxing license after a November 2004 loss to Larry Donald, citing “diminished skills and poor performance.” However, Holyfield is out to prove otherwise.
"I wanted the people to see the real Evander is back," he said.
Source: www.scaffers.com
I think that´s surprising how well he´s done
Turkey´s Samil Sam is above average boxer, so that can be exciting match.
