Boxing legend Evander Holyfield is back. While he’s not going to make another run at the heavyweight championship, the Atlanta native is returning to the ring next year for a charity event in Japan. The details of the match are still developing, but when talking to TMZ, Holyfield said he’s confident he can get the job done one more time.
“The big thing is to give people in Japan the opportunity to see the only 4-time heavyweight champion of the world,” he said to TMZ.
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Holyfield, 56, originally made the announcement when he was on Fox 5 New York last week. He said it will be a real fight, but it won’t be like his fights when he was younger.
“It is real. It’s not putting all your power into it. It’s combination, like that. I do a 36-minute workout. I’ve been doing it for 30 years,” said Holyfield.
Holyfield’s last match was in 2011 as he defeated Brian Neilsen via TKO in the 10th round. At that time, Holyfield felt like he can still fight, but he ultimately decided to retire in 2014.
“The game’s been good to me and I hope I’ve been good to the game. […] I’m 50 years old (on Friday) and I’ve pretty much did everything that I wanted to do in boxing,” Holyfield said to Sports Illustrated in 2012 (via Yahoo Sports).
Holyfield is one of the most decorated boxers in history. He’s the only boxer to be the undisputed champion in two weight classes and he’s the only four-time world heavyweight champion. Holyfield won his first title in 1986 as he became the WBA cruiserweight champion. He then won the IBF cruiserweight title in 1987 and he won the WBC cruiserweight title in 1988.
In 1989, Holyfield won his first heavyweight title and went on to be the undisputed champion in 1990. His first loss came in 1992 against Riddick Bowe and he lost all his heavyweight titles. He was able to beat Bowe in 1993 to win them back and he went to lose and win titles for the next decade.
One of Holyfield’s most notable bouts was against Mike Tyson. The four-time champ won both bouts against Tyson, but the most memorable one was the second bout in 1997. Holyfield won the match because Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ear.
