Holyfield, Breland, Taylor, Whitaker, Biggs
PANCAKES WERE THE ON THE MENU
San Francisco, CA– The first time I met Evander Holyfield, it was in the dining hall at the US Olympic training center Colorado Springs, CO. Soft spoken, even more so then, “V” as I would come to call him, was as lean and mean as they come. After an unwarranted disqualification in the 1984 Olympics, Bronze medallist Evander Holyfield started his professional career in November 1984 on top of a card with fellow medal winners Mark Breland, Meldrick Taylor, Virgil Hill, Tyrell Biggs and Pernell Whitaker.
EVANDER WAS “BUZZ” OF BOXING WORLD
Even though “V” only got the Bronze, Holyfield dominated the boxing talk after the 1984 games. After leaving the amateurs at 178 lbs., Evander scaled 177 3/4 for his six round shutout of Lionel Bararm. With solid stepping stones like Tyrone Booze, Eric Winbush and Anthony Davis, “V” had only 11 fights (8 KOs) as he went after the former Dwight Braxton, now Dwight Muhammad Qawi, World cruiserweight (190) champ, was coming off a KO 4 of ex-heavyweight champ “Neon Leon” Spinks. After 15 frames in the Omni Arena in Atlanta, with ABC TV televising, hometown hero Holyfield won a SD 15 with scores of 147-138, 144-140, & 143-141 Qawi.
FIGHTS WITH THE BIGGER & STRONGER!
There would be the move to heavyweight and fights with Riddick Bowe, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Buster Douglas, and of course Mike Tyson. But the point and time I will concentrate on today are the three fights with John Ruiz, the first two of which I shared the television duties with Colonel Bob Sheridan. It was at this juncture in his boxing life that I felt the so-called boxing establishment hinted to Evander that he should go away. After stopping Ruiz with a legal body shot, Johnny saves his own bacon by convincing referee Joe Cortez that he was hit low!
NO RUIZ CIRCUS COMPLETE SANS STONEY!
If that wasn’t enough, Evander let Ruiz’s trainer, one Norman Stone, takeover the post fight press conference.
Johnny Louise and Norman Stone
Although Don King had brought in Evander as suspected fodder for Mike Tyson, Holyfield was making Don money in the late 1990’s, but NOT the kind he could have if he controlled the WBA belt itself. Plus with Stone signing for Ruiz, Don could have thrown down a grocery bill and Norman, a Boston based trainer, would’ve signed it sans any blinking. Petitioning the WBA, Don gets Ruiz a rematch at the Mandalay Bay, as their first venue, the recently opened Paris Hotel, passed on act two.
UNMOTIVATED HOLY CAN’T CLOSE SHOW!
After posting a UD 12 initially, Evander would again take John Ruiz the distance. But this time, Ruiz gets a rather wide call and the UD 12 win. This set up a third fight between Ruiz and Evander. There was no closeness, the fight was not competitive, Ruiz, being the bitch that only he knew how to be, had again conned two judges who ruled the fight a Majority Draw after 12 frames. Don O’Neill, his card was most suspect to me as he had Ruiz up by three! Julie Lederman, had it right and tabbed Holyfield the winner. The man that botched history was Tom Kaczmarek and his 114-114 card!
HOLYFIELD DENIED PERCEIVED PLACE IN HISTORY
You keep hearing Evander mention retirement only upon his again becoming World heavyweight champion again. With that having about as much of a chance of happening as fat folks realizing they have a “pre-existing” medical condition and couldn’t get insurance if they set down the remote control and went looking, there doesn’t seem to be a happy ending waiting for Evander Holyfield. If O’Neill and Kazcmarek had done their jobs in the third Ruiz fight, had Evander not irked the boxing establishment, had they not stolen the title, do you still think he’d be fighting at the age of 48?
WHEN AMERICAN AMATEURS COULD FIGHT A LITTLE!
Before I go, here’s a breakdown of the 1984 US Olympic boxing team.
106: Paul Gonzales, Los Angeles, Calif. (Gold)
112: Steve McCrory, Detroit, Mich. (Gold)
119: Robert Shannon, Edmonds, Wash.
125: Meldrick Taylor, Philadelphia, Pa. (Gold)
132: Pernell Whitaker, Norfolk, Va. (Gold)
139: Jerry Page, Columbus, Ohio (Gold)
147: Mark Breland, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Gold)
156: Frank Tate, Detroit, Mich. (Gold)
165: Virgil Hill, Williston, N.D. (Silver)
178: Evander Holyfield, Atlanta, Ga. (Bronze)
201: Henry Tillman, Los Angeles, Calif. (Gold)
+201: Tyrell Biggs, Philadelphia, Pa. (Gold)
Pedro Fernandez