Old boxers never die

I heard with satirical dismay last week that Evander Holyfield, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, and Francois Botha, the South African journeyman, had postponed their scheduled fight in Uganda once more with a new date still up in the air.

Botha (41) would never have been fit to face Holyfield (47) even 10 years ago. I recall Botha facing Mike Tyson several years ago with Iron Mike putting the man referred to as ‘The White Buffalo’ to the sword, and onto the canvas. While there was excitement in South Africa due to a South African being involved, I recall at the time that the talking heads who have seen their fair share of local and international boxing, didn’t give Botha a chance, and they were proved right.

Botha, if you did’t know, is the current WBF (World Boxing Federation) champion having won the title via a 12-round majority decision over Pedro Carrion. Botha weighed in at 252 pounds, which equates to 110 kilos plus or minus a few (I stand to be corrected). The mark of a healthy fighter?

Certainly not, which raises further questions as to why he wants this fight to take place. Does he want an eventual shot at Englishman David Haye, who thankfully defeated the nearly 8-ft high Russian Nikolay in their WBA clash, or face either of of the Ukraine’s finest set of fighting tools since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Vitali and Vladimir Klitschko, both of whom have titles through the WBO and WBC respectively.

Still, I find it saddening that a former champion such as Holyfield, who I’ve been told was certainly one of the best boxers of the 1980s and 1990s, still sees fit to continue his fighting career when time is clearly against him. The heavyweight division has been in malaise for sometime, no longer being the headline act it once was even when Lennox Lewis was champions, the last unified-title holder to boot. UFC has taken a march on their older rival in the TV ratings, and with the lighter chaps of Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao assuming the contested title and media spotlight for the best ‘pound-for-pound’ fighter in the world, the future is looking bleak for the heavy weight division unless a new champion steps forth and grabs the public’s imagination.

Still, should boxers even be allowed to fight after a certain age? Research has been done evaluating the long term affects of the legacy boxing has upon it’s warriors, with Parkinson’s, slurred speech, and decreased cranial activity being some of the side affects. Mohammed Ali is the most obvious example of what happens when human beings fight beyond their expiry date, with the former champion and media icon finding it extremely difficult to move and speak due to his afflictions.

The fact that their isn’t a single unified boxing federation is part of the problem. With their being at least four different regulatory bodies, the scope of unified legislation curtailing the careers of boxers on medical grounds appears to be alarmingly lacking. On the other side of the coin, it could be argued that fighters know what risks they face when entering the ring. While it is understandable for the participants to be granted the autonomy to decide when they throw in the towel for the final time, some form of recourse should exist where the decision is taken out of the hands of boxers especially when a boxer enters the ring against medical advice. Holyfield, at 47, should not be in that ring.

However, I don’t see the situation changing anytime soon. And what of local boxing for that matter? If anyone has some insight or opinion into the state of boxing in this country, and internationally, I would be very interested to hear your views.