Sports

Evander back in ring to fight for WBF title

Boxing continues its Senior Tour tonight when Evander Holyfield returns to the ring to take on journeyman Sherman Williams for something called the World Boxing Federation Championship. The pay-per-view event will be held at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, which is a long way from the bright lights of Las Vegas where Holyfield earned his reputation as a give-all-you-got warrior.

How much Holyfield has left to give has been a point of debate over the last several years.

“I’m just as good as if I was 38 or 28,” the 48-year-old said.

But just about everybody else wondering why he doesn’t retire.

The four-time heavyweight champion continues to say he wants to become the undisputed heavyweight champion again before hanging up his gloves. But at this point he likely would settle for regaining one of the major belts shared by the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali.

“I just know there should be one champ,” Holyfield said. “There’s no sense in four or five people walking around saying they’re the champ at the same time.”

Holyfield (43-10-2, 28 KOs) nearly regained the WBA title in 2008 when he lost a majority decision to Russian giant Nikolay Valuev in a fight held in Switzerland. But he has fought just once since then, stopping Francois Botha in eight rounds last April in Las Vegas.

Admitting the idle time doesn’t help his old bones, Holyfield already has a March 5 fight scheduled against Brian Nielsen.

“I don’t spar as much as I used to because I don’t want to leave it all in the gym,” Holyfield said. “But you have to fight. You can’t fight just once a year. I really need to fight twice a year to make sure everything is sharp.”

Holyfield said he is not staying in the game because he needs the money. His primary goal, he said, is to become the champ again. He hopes winning both his scheduled bouts will earn him another title shot. Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins, who turned 49 this month, are trying to replace George Foreman as the oldest boxers to capture a major title.

“My plan is to get all [the belts],” Holyfield said. “Whichever person gives me the opportunity, that’s the person I’ll take. But I don’t have all day. I’m already 48 and I’ll be 49 this year. I’m hoping I can get out of here at least before 50.”

Something tells me we still will see Holyfield fighting at age 50.

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Good to see Bob Arum and Don King working together again promoting the March 12 super welterweight championship fight between Miguel Cotto and Ricardo Mayorga in Las Vegas.

King, who promotes Mayorga, was in rare form during a press conference Wednesday in Manhattan, sipping Cognac in one hand and in the other waving miniature flags representing every fighter on the boxing card. King and Arum were once fierce enemies in the 1970s and ’80s, but now enjoy their rare co-promotions.

“We’re both 79,” King said. “How much more time do we have? Make peace now. It’s a thrill to be working with a real professional and real promoter. The rest are contenders and pretenders.”

Former junior middleweight champ Yuri Foreman is on the undercard and said his surgically repaired knee is “making noises, but it’s working.”

Former female champ Christy Martin also is on the card, fighting for the first time since allegedly being stabbed, shot and pistol-whipped by her 66-year-old husband and former trainer James Martin during a domestic dispute at their Florida home on Nov. 23.

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John Duddy, a native of Ireland who made a home-base in New York, announced his retirement this week.

“I no longer have the enthusiasm and willingness to make the sacrifices that are necessary to honor the craft of prizefighting,” said the 31-year-old middleweight, who was 29-2 with 18 knockouts.