This Saturday night, former heavyweight king Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield will climb back into the ring in an attempt to continue his climb back to another world championship. At Colonial Hall, the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Holyfield, 43-10-2 (28), will take on perennial opponent Sherman “The Tank” Williams, 34-11 (19), which will be broadcast on the Integrated Sports Network PPV for $29.95. The fight will be a defense of Holyfield’s World Boxing Federation heavyweight title which he won an 8th round TKO over former world title challenger Frans Botha.
This climb back into the ring has Holyfield continue to campaign for another shot for a legitimate title against one of the Klitschko’s or David Haye. The last time Holyfield was given a legitimate shot, Holyfield dropped a very controversial majority decision to then WBA heavyweight title holder Nicolay Valuev in December of 2008. That fight, although not one of the better heavyweight fights I have ever seen, was taken out of Holyfield’s deserving hands when Valuev was “gifted” with a victory. That fight took place in Switzerland and anyone who has followed my radio show knows what I think of decisions against American fighters in Europe and how poorly the American fighter is treated, especially if it goes to a decision. Since then, Holyfield has only fought once, the aforementioned TKO over Botha.
Now, in a step up in opponents, Holyfield will take on Sherman Williams. Wow, sorry, I couldn’t get through that last sentence without laughing. Williams is hardly a step up for anyone except a young heavyweight that is on his way up, certainly not a fading former world champion and certain hall of famer like Holyfield. At one point, rumor had Holyfield taking on a number of different fighters, including a very unbelievable fourth fight with another former champion Riddick Bowe.
In the other corner, Sherman Williams looks to stop any future plans Holyfield has for another title shot. Williams has advised Holyfield to “put on” his dancing shoes, stating this will be a long night for Holyfield. Williams has been in against some decent opponents during his career, including wins over former contender Samsom Po’uha, former cruiserweight champion Al Cole and a draw with former heavyweight contender Jameel McCline. Although those fights were big for him, he has built his career on defeating much lesser opponents and losing to future world title contenders like Taurus Sykes, and Tye Fields. He also took on Ruslan Chagaev, dropping a decision to the future WBA title holder in 2005. In his most recent fight, Williams dropped a decision to Manuel Charr last October.
In this fight, Williams will provide some opposition for Holyfield and the performance by the former champion against his opponent will gage just how much Holyfield has left in his tank. That being said, I give both Holyfield and Williams credit for taking this fight. Win or lose, Holyfield still has a March showdown against fringe contender Brian Nielsen, 64-2 (43). I’m sure I will have an opinion on that fight.
My prediction for this fight is that Williams will try to pressure Holyfield early, but the experience and conditioning that Holyfield has will wear down Williams early. Holyfield will control the fight past the third round and cruise to an easy UD win. Even with this win, people will ask if Holyfield deserves one more shot, or whether he has taken one shot too many.
Bob Carroll
www.convictedartist.com
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