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EVANDER HOLYFIELD: "EITHER WAY IT GOES, IT'S GOING TO BE A KNOCKOUT"

By Percy Crawford | October 09, 2008
EVANDER HOLYFIELD:

"You have to give credit to Samuel because he's been an active fighter and he's worked. After his first defeat, he didn't just crawl into a cave. He told everybody it was a difficult fight with Wladimir, but he fought. I would think maybe he is favored, but I always let everybody know that styles make fights. If he could catch up with Klitschko, he's definitely going to knock him out. He has to be in good enough shape to stay on him and not let the man grab him as much as his brother grabbed on him...he's a big puncher and every shot he throws is a big punch. That's the only way he knows how to do it," stated former undisputed heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield as he shared his thoughts on this weekend's heavyweight clash between WBC champion Samuel Peter and Vitali Klitsckho. Check out what else he had to say as he talks more about the fight, both fighters, Nikolai Valuev, his fights with Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe, David Haye's chances as a heavyweight, and much more.

PC: How have you been Champ?

EH: Everything is good.

PC: That's good to hear. Are you staying in the gym?

EH: Yeah, I've been working a little bit.

PC: At 45 years old Evander, you are still in great shape. Physically, you look a lot better than some of these younger guys. What keeps you motivated to stay in top shape?

EH: Well, you know, I guess it's one of them things to where as long as I am in the game...my goal is to be the heavyweight champion of the world again so I gotta be...it's a little different than what it used to be. Everything was up to me and what I was going to do. Now, I just have to be ready and keep myself ready for when the opportunity comes. I'm not really getting a fair shake. I know what it takes and how to train to accomplish what I want to do. People are telling other people I had my chance and why can't I go somewhere and sit down. I'm not getting the fair break and respect that they should give me. Some people think that I don't deserve a shot or I've been here too long. There are people telling me that I've done well, just move on and some say I'm not good for the game anymore; just a lot of people have their opinion about what they think. As far as this situation, I'm not the only person to ever do it this way. They always want to control somebody else and I do understand that, but I'm the kind of person to just keep myself ready in case the opportunity comes, I could step in there. I realize that I got a strong name and if it comes down to credibility, I still have a credible name. I'm just waiting on that opportunity to come where I can do what George Foreman did!

PC: You were one of the first fighters to implement flexibility, a strength coach, as well as weights in your training camps. Now it seems like everyone is doing that. Did you think it would eventually be like this?

EH: Not so much that it really mattered. We all do something that somebody used to do at some point in time. We just tried to do it better. People fall behind when they don't learn what works. What works is the weights and the flexibility. I was fortunate enough to have a trainer who went to college for that stuff and because it was a new thing of what I was doingm they criticized me. "Oh, he looks like a football player, he's this, he's going to be slow, he's going to be stiff and he's going to be this." At one point in timem lifting weights was a taboo. You were supposed to have long, slinky arms with now cuts and that meant you were fluid. If you had any ripples in your body, whether it looked good or not, they felt it wasn't going to do nothing but slow you up. People, of course when I did, they complained and then I became the heavyweight champion of the world (laughing).

PC: Now everybody is doing it.

EH: Yeah, everybody else is doing it now, shoot (laughing).

PC: We have a big heavyweight fight this weekend between Vitali Klitschko and Samuel Peter. How do you see that fight playing out?

EH: It's really hard to say where Klitschko is after 4 years. You don't get better if you're not doing anything and that's all there is to it. I think that you could come back and be 70-80% of yourself, but that's it. It's not like you're going to be better because you haven't done nothing in that time. He may have let his body rest up or heal, whatever the situation may be, but you don't get no better. You can't expect him to be no better than where he was. You have to give credit to Samuel because he's been an active fighter and he's worked. After his first defeat, he didn't just crawl into a cave. He told everybody it was a difficult fight with Wladimir, but he fought. I would think maybe he is favored, but I always let everybody know that styles make fights. If he could catch up with Klitschko, he's definitely going to knock him out. He has to be in good enough shape to stay on him and not let the man grab him as much as his brother grabbed on him. That's going to be Klitschko's defense. If they get in close, he's not going to fight with him on the inside; he's just going to grab him until the referee pushes him back on the outside and then he's just going to use his jab. That can be enough, but you know, he's a big puncher and every shot he throws is a big punch. That's the only way he knows how to do it. Either he's going to get Klitschko or Klitschko is going to get him, but either way it goes, it's going to be a knockout (laughing).

PC: You were the most successful cruiserweight to move to the heavyweight division and still have great success. David Haye is now attempting it as well. How do you see him fairing there?

EH: Personally, at this point in time, going by who the champions are right now, and that's what I have to base it on, you have the big giant (Valuev), Klitschko and Peter...right now, I don't think he has the ability to go head up with Sam Peter. Peter is a bigger fighter that is very aggressive and I don't think he boxes good enough to stay away from Sam Peter. Of course, the giant has that long reach and I don't know if he could bring down the big giant if he had to. Is he smart enough to know what to do? I don't know. I don't think he would know how to box and get away from the Klitschko's either. If you're moving up to a division, you really have to have boxing skills to out-finesse the bigger guys because they have bigger punches.

PC: That's how you got through it. You were real fluent.

EH: Yep, because you can't go blow to blow. You could stay there for a little while (laughing), but you gotta be able to match them on the boxing skills. You have to frustrate them. It's something that you've got to bring to offset their ability of them being bigger than you. If it's going to be power to power, they just have too much weight and distance. Your boxing has to be so superior to where it makes a big guy that just throws a few punches get hurt with your combinations. That's what I was able to do with those guys. I had quick hands and I got my hands off to where they may hit harder, but a few of my shots let them know they weren't just going to walk through them. There never was a guy that was so big to where they just figured they were going to walk through my stuff and just chase me down. You know, like, "I'm going to walk through your stuff and take it." I had enough respect to where they weren't going to take it and come running through there like that. His last fight at cruiserweight that I attended, he looked great, but the thing now is he's been off about a year. I don't know, personally, does he have...he's a young guy; he could learn if there is a trainer out there that is good enough to take him to that next level. I think he's capable of doing it, but the fact of the matter is he's going to have to get shaper on his boxing skills because the punching skills, you either got that thump or you don't. The two skills are different though; boxing skills and punching skills.

PC: Something you had Evander, that I think he lacks moving up, is a great chin. Can you develop a great chin or you either have it or you don't?

EH: (Laughing) I don't think no one could build a great chin. I don't think it's so much that anyone's chin is greater than the other. I think it's what does a person think when they get hit? Every time that I ever got knocked down, it was when I didn't see the shot. If I saw that shot, I wasn't going down. BAM...and you may hurt me, but I wasn't going down. I think one of the shots that didn't even hurt me, but it was a shot that put me down, was one that John Ruiz swung and he caught me in the top of the head and I didn't see the shot. As a matter of fact, I was getting ready to hit him and I got hit and all I know is I tried to grab him before I fell, but it was too late. I had fell already. The first time that Riddick Bowe hit me, he hit me right behind the ear and I didn't see that shot and BAM...it dropped me. But people that have really put a big punch on me...like George Foreman one time hit me with a real good one and Lennox Lewis caught me with a good one as well, but I seen those shots. I was able to keep my footing and keep coming. Even when Riddick Bowe caught me with that uppercut, I looked and saw the shot coming, but I couldn't get out of there. He caught me dead and almost dropped me, but I was able to maintain.

PC: I don't know how you stood up to that punch?

EH: Honestly, that really don't have nothing to do with my chin though because the whole thing is that it's what your mind do. Do you try to panic and get your balance and say, "I'm hurt!" I try to stay up and when people try to stay up, they have that desire. That desire puts you back there because you go back to that first instinct. I done got hit in the stomach to where it hurt so bad I was gagging for air, but it wasn't for me to fold over and say, "Oh, he hit me too hard." It's how people think.

PC: So, you're saying it's more your mentality than it is you having a great chin?

EH: Yeah, it's a mentality. When you get hit, do it make you want to say, "Oh, I don't want to get hit no more" or is it going to make you say, "Bring it!" As a matter of fact, if you hit me hard, it's going to make me want to hit you harder. It's a whole nother mentality to who you are as a fighter because anybody can fight when it don't hurt, but who can fight when it do hurt? I'm telling you Percy, everybody runs into somebody at some point in time that hits hard. And you tell yourself it's hard. "Ah, God, geesh!" You tell yourself, "I gotta move. I can't let this guy set up and hit me." You have to move a little bit and run in when he ain't ready. It's just like Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson was one of those types of guys when he dipped and bent his legs, he's getting ready to try and knock you out of there. You had to be able to pick up when he's getting ready to dip so that you could dart in there on him or get out of range where he can't hit you; you gotta judge. Boxing has a lot to do with being able to judge the distance. You have to know how close to get where they can't hit you too hard and how far back to get to where you are out of their punching range. A smart fighter learns their opponents punching range because they don't want to get right there because that's when they are at their max. You're going to get grazed and all of that, but you just don't want to get hit with that flush shot.

PC: As a fan, I think you have accomplished a ton in this sport, but when it's all said and done, in your mind, what would you like to be remembered for?

EH: I'm just one of them guys, you know, I'm a God fighter. I always pray and tell the Lord to let me be the best that he wants me to be. Wherever that is, I could accept that. I want to get to the place where I'm supposed to be and I believe that is retiring as the heavyweight champion of the world. I want to reach every goal that I ever set. And I will let people know I made some mistakes too, but that don't mean I didn't reach my goal. That's the inspiration that inspires other people when they realize that when you shoot for something so big, you're going to make mistakes, but did you quit or did you reach your goal? If you reached it, that's it. What can a person say when you've reached the goal that you set?

PC: It's always an honor to speak with you. I appreciate your time and good luck with reaching all of your goals. Is there anything you would like to say in closing?

EH: I want to thank God. God almighty! I want to thank Him for His inspiration.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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