Holyfield To Fight at Historic West By Gawd Locale
The Fame. The Fortune. The Lights. The Routine. Whatever the reason, pro athletes can't seem to ever really walk away. It's like the incarcerated prisoner. They get released, and then find themselves wanting to go back. They can't function in society with that familiar structure they once had. In a perverse kind of way, they want to be in prison. it's what they know. It's where they are comfortable. I truly believe that many pro athletes are of this same mentality. Jordan came back for more. Farve has come back twice. Ali stayed too long. Heck, Jim Palmer was already in the Hall of Fame and decided to attempt a comeback. Foreman, Deion Sanders, Jerry Rice, and so on. All either came back to their sport way past their prime, or over-stayed their welcome.
As a society, we never want to see our heroes leave. We want them to be a part of our lives forever. Problem is, we want the 26 year old versions of them to stick around. What we end up with is a bunch of near 40 somethings who have given all they could and shouldn't be making the attempt anymore. Our visions of them are tarnished. We grow tired of the demi-gods when they have reached the point where we no longer see them being useful. We are part of the reason they hang on for so long. We discard them. How quickly we replace them. How quickly also though, we go to battle with future generations over who had the better heroes. It's a very hypocritical nature, fandom.
One man who has followed the road too often traveled is Evander Holyfield. The former Champion of the World. Five times World Champion, mind you. The man who destroyed what was left of the aura of Iron Mike.(Mike's mental state had a hand in that too) The man who once sold us video games with his likeness. The man who sold us on clean and spiritual living in the corrupt world of Boxing. The man who remained soft- spoken and completely opposite of the over-the-top, look at me characteristics of other icons of the day. The Real Deal.
Now, Holyfield is the man who was banned by the New York State Athletic Commission from boxing in their state due to diminishing skills. He is the man who hawks Zaxby's eatery's on TV ads. He is the man who pays $3000 a month in child support. Now, he is known as the guy who had his Atlanta estate auctioned off. He also the man who decided he wanted his own grilling kitchen appliance on the shelves, too. He is not only known as a 5 time champ, he is known as 5th Runner-up on Dancing with the Stars.This is also the man who may or may not be Evan Fields, who shares a similar home address as Holyfield, and when you call his home phone, Holyfield answers. Mr. Fields is the subject of an investigation over the illegal prescribing and use of Steroids and HGH. Yes, this is Evander Holyfield. It, however, wasn't Evander Holyfield.
The Real Deal is now 48 years old. He is also well into his 'comeback' which started in 2006.
More of a get a paycheck than it is prove I can still be a champion deal now, Holyfield has taken fights against sub-par journeymen hacks. Considering how his career had went before the 2006 comeback, He had lost 3 fights in a row, that is probably not a bad business decision to abide by. Let's face it, if the man is going to tarnish his legacy, he might as well be getting wins.
Now, it is no secret that the Heavyweight division in boxing is not even a shadow of it's former self. I can't tell you the last time a Heavyweight bout in Boxing actually caught my eye and made me want to purchase a PPV with this division as the headliner. So, with the lack of Great Heavys, It is not unrealistic that Holyfield would be able to re-claim his status as undisputed champion, which he claims is the real goal. Not to sacrifice his brain and body for much needed financial income. But, you can't blame him. It's not like he was going to be able to re-enter the work force at Wal-mart if he needed some monetary injections. To barrow from Rocky IV, "I'm a Fighter, Adrian!"
So, that brings us to 2011. That brings us to another Holyfield bout. His record since the 2006 return is 5-2. He has dominated the likes of Jeremy Bates and Vinny Maddalone, who are more likely to win a Toughman Contest than a major boxing championship. He dropped a very controversial fight to Nikolai Valuev in a bout that was for the WBA Heavyweight championship, in which he took home a payday of $600,000. The amount shows how much the Heavywieght division has fallen. Holyfield also won a fight at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas against another former top-ranked fighter, Francois Botha. The fight actually saw Botha leading on the majority of the scorecards, but Holyfield was able to beat the South African heavy when the bout was halted by the ref in favor of Holyfield. The bout was originally slated to take place in Uganda, at the Nelson Mandela Memorial Stadium. That fell through, and at the risk of the bout it's self being called off, the promoters managed to get both parties to agree to meet in Vegas. The bout was only attended by 3,127 spectators, with no telling how many of those tickets were comped.
Holyfield won the WBF Title as a result of this win.
Holyfield wanted to fight either of the Klitschko brothers. A bout with Vitali would be a WBC title bout. However, those plans have yet to materialize as it was soon announced that Holyfield would meet another veteran journeyman in Sherman Williams. The bout was slated for the historic Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, but once again, Holyfield would see his fight postponed then cancelled. Holyfield found another opponent, and signed to fight Brian Nielsen in Denmark. The fight with Williams would be announced as being on once more, this time however, the location was announced as being the Greenbriar Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The bout will also be for Holyfield's WBF Championship.
The Greenbriar has made a push since it's recent revival with the PGA event there, to attract more headlining sporting events and entertainment acts to the former Nuclear Winter re-location of the United States Governement. The bout was recently confirmed by the Holyfield camp, and reported on local news outlet WSAZ, that this bout would in fact be a PPV event. Holyfield's connection to the WSAZ area is that a previous opponent, Jeremy Bates, is a native of the Huntington Metro area. That bout took place from Dallas, TX and was shown live on Fox Sports. Another West Virginia tie to heavyweight boxers making a comeback, is that Tommy Morrison was granted license to fight in the state amid controversy over HIV testing, and his positive results. Not getting into that here, but research that mess, it is a interesting read. Morrison won in the 2nd round over John Castle. The fight took place in Chester, West Virginia at the Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino, located a few miles from Pittsburgh,PA.
Of course the MMA followers have began to crusade for the legalization of MMA in West Virginia, and are using the big PPV at The Greenbriar as thier soapbox.
Why is MMA not legal in West Virginia?
Simple. Because Pro Wrestling is. Seriously, you try to tell those people that it ain't real.
No comments:
Post a Comment