HOLYFIELD: Too Proud, Or Too Broke?

Christmas will come early for Evander Holyfield this year and the song most befitting what’s on his wish list is “Blue Christmas,’’ because that’s what it’s going to be for him. A black-and-blue Christmas to be specific. If Holyfield goes through with his plans to challenge WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev Dec. 20 in Germany for what even Holyfield admits will be the least amount of money he’s ever earned for a title fight, it will be a reminder of the one sure bet in boxing - it always ends badly. Boxing is the cruelest sport. It elevates a few of its practitioners to absurd levels of fleeting fame and fortune early in life and later beats them down as another, younger man beats them up to win the same illusion. There are many admirable things about boxers and many wonderful things about the sport, including its... [read full story]