Fortysomethings believe they can recapture titles

(From the timesonline.co.uk)
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They shared 32 of the most exciting rounds in the history of the world heavyweight championship, two American legends whose three clashes are fondly remembered by fans around the world. They were multiple world champions who should be enjoying well-deserved retirements. But over the next nine days, Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield will lace up their gloves to return to the ring.

The millions they made have gone and what is left are the memories. Memories rarely pay the bills, so both, now in their forties, thousands of miles from home and more than 13 years on from their glory nights in Las Vegas, are back to fight. The fear is that if they box on too long, they might not have the memories, either.

Next week, in Zurich, Holyfield makes another seemingly doomed attempt to win back the world title when he challenges Nikolay Valuev, the 7ft giant from Russia, for the WBA belt. Tomorrow, in Mannheim, Germany, Bowe starts a comeback when he faces Gene Pukall in a low-grade eight-round bout.

There is no seniors tour in boxing and tales of old glory reclaimed are few and far between. But there is often a buck to be made off an old reputation somewhere. The inability of Holyfield, 46, to accept the decline in his talents has long been a concern in boxing circles and he was suspended in New York in 2004 - although the suspension was lifted. It was once claimed on Bowe's behalf in court that he was brain-damaged.

That they can still box fills many who love the sport with dread and those that condemn it with anger. The pair themselves believe that they are still chasing a dream and trying to earn a living. “Money makes the world go round,” Bowe said. “Why knock a man when he is trying to do something right? I'm from Brownsville [a rough suburb of New York], I could easily go and get a gun and do something bad. I'm just trying to earn an honest dollar.”

The pair met in three remarkable bouts in the early Nineties. Bowe won the first and third, but the second, in 1993, is the best remembered. Bowe was on course to repeat his earlier win when, in round seven, a man strapped to an enormous fan parachuted into the Caesars Palace ring. The bout was suspended for 21 minutes amid turmoil and when it restarted Holyfield sneaked a majority points decision.

Bowe, 40, has spent the past three months in Kaiserslautern, in southwest Germany, preparing for his return, his mind a mixture of excitement and anxiety. “I can't sleep,” Bowe said. “It's a good sign that I'm anxious, because it means I'm ready. I want to be a three-time champion like my idol Muhammad Ali.”

He won the heavyweight title from Holyfield in 1992, lost it in the infamous rematch but won the WBO title from Herbie Hide in 1995. Surprisingly, that Holyfield loss is still his only one in 44 bouts. The boxer known as “Big Daddy” vanished from the sport in 1996 after two brutal bouts with Andrew Golota, the Pole being disqualified in both for low punching.

His life then became a mess. He tried to join the Marines, but quit after only 11 days of basic training. In 2000 he was in court for kidnapping his wife and five children. His defence counsel appealed for a lenient sentence claiming that he had suffered brain damage in the ring. He was initially sentenced to 30 days and ordered to get treatment, although that was later raised and he served 17 months. He tried a comeback in 2004, which lasted two bouts. Now he misses the glory and needs the money.

“I'm just trying to get my swagger back,” Bowe said. “I missed it all, the people wanting to speak to you, the people wanting to shake your hand. It's the only thing I know, I'm not going to go out and be a construction worker. I guess money plays a part. I got married again. I live in the house I had with my first wife. I would like to buy a house so it can be the one I have with my new wife. I want to be able to leave something to my youngest daughter, who is 3.

“I've been training all the time. I was in California for a bit, I was in Kentucky. I think people in America were trying to freeze me out. I got a call one day and I was invited to Germany. Everything has been as they said so far.

“I truly believe I can be world champion again if these people give me the chance. If I pick my opponents right, when the time is right I'll be ready. I'm going to take my time. I think it will be at least ten fights over an 18-month period.”

Holyfield last boxed 14 months ago, when he won only three rounds in an unsuccessful attempt to take Sultan Ibragimov's WBO title in Moscow. That Ibragimov won only one round in a unification match against Wladimir Klitschko in February gives an indication of how far Holyfield is off the summit of the division. Against Valuev, as well as disadvantages in height, reach, weight and youth, he also has inactivity to overcome. Few have earned as much as the four-times heavyweight champion in the ring. His four bouts against Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson were among the richest in history. But the money has gone.

Last summer Holyfield was in court facing jail over missing support payments to one of his 11 children, although a payment deal was worked out. He was also faced with losing his sprawling 109-room mansion in Atlanta. “I'm not bankrupt, I'm just not liquid,” Holyfield said at the time.

He is believed to be earning $650,000 (about £432,000) for the dubious privilege of facing Valuev. However, Holyfield insists that even an unlikely win would not stop him. He says that he will keep going until he unifies all the titles. “I had this goal even before I had any money problems,” Holyfield said. “You get tired of telling people you're not doing it for the money. I might not have fought in over a year but all those who think that I am not able to compete for the world title will be more than surprised. I have been boxing for 38 years, so I know how to make the correct assessments.”

Even his old rival Bowe believes that it is time for Holyfield to finish. “Evander has a great legacy, I don't want to see that get messed up,” Bowe said. “But it's not up to me to tell him what to do.

“I don't think Evander can still win the title. The difference between me and Evander is Evander is 46 and I'm 40. I believe I can still win the title at 42. Once you are 43 or 44 it's time to chill out, time to be at home with the wife and kids. I want to be able to drop my daughter off at the school bus and be there when she comes home.”

Bowe's return comes on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko's defence of his WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles against Hasim Rahman, but he does not see this weekend being the end of the road. That will be when he gets to face Klitschko.

“I think a fight with Klitschko could be a barn-burner, but it takes two guys who are willing to give everything, two guys who are willing to die for what they do,” Bowe said. “Klitschko is a bit of a pretty boy, but I still think I'm pretty.”

Past their sell-by date

Heavyweights who went on too long:

Muhammad Ali Did not look the same after the Thrilla in Manila against Joe Frazier in 1975 and retired after regaining the title from Leon Spinks in 1978. There were two comebacks; the sad display against Larry Holmes in 1980 and a final beating at the hands of Trevor Berbick in 1981, a month short of his 40th birthday. Has suffered from Parkinson’s disease since the mid-Eighties.

Greg Page A short-lived WBA champion between 1984 and 1985, he was still boxing in 2001, aged 42, and was left confined to a wheelchair after being knocked out for the Kentucky title. His condition was said to have been made much worse because of inadequate medical facilities ringside.

Joe Louis Money troubles drove the “Brown Bomber” back to the ring in 1950, a year after his retirement, although he was a shadow of the man who had ruled the heavyweights for a decade. There were tears when Rocky Marciano brutally knocked him out the next year at the age of 37.

Floyd Patterson Lost the heavyweight title in a round to Sonny Liston in 1962, still boxing a decade later when Ali beat him up.

Larry Holmes Heavyweight champion in the Seventies and Eighties, he had his last bout in 2002 at the age of 52.