I'll carry on fighting, insists former champ

Heavyweight legend Evander Holyfield declared his intention to box on in a strongly-worded announcement on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old former world champion was beaten about the ring and made to look a pale shadow of the fighter he once was during a gruelling fight with James Toney on October 4.

But Holyfield remains, just about, a marketable commodity, and a possible match-up with Mike Tyson may be on the cards.

However, in great heavyweight tradition, Holyfield claims he can still rule the boxing world, even though he has to his credit just two victories in his last eight fights.

“I am not in denial about what happened in my fight with James Toney. Immediately after the fight, I said that I had been beaten and had rarely been hit with so many punches. Since then, I have watched a tape of the fight very carefully, and I can see that I had a bad night,” said Holyfield.

“Although James Toney is not one of the biggest heavyweights I have ever fought, on that night he was one of the best.”

Holyfield’s corner threw in the towel in the eighth round of the Toney fight, and to hear him claiming the fight was far from over at that stage, despite his rapidly deteriorating physical state, is mildly tragic.

“We can all speculate about what would have happened if the fight had continued. Everyone has an opinion, but the fact is nobody can possibly know for sure. At that point in the fight, I felt that the best chance I had to win was if Toney thought he had me badly hurt and got reckless, allowing me to catch him with a knockout shot,” he added on his evanderholyfield.com website.

“I can see from the tape that I have some lingering bad habits. I need to spend more time in the gym getting rid of these bad habits.

“I am not unaware of the risks of continuing to fight. I understand the risks better than almost anyone. I have advisors who have fully explained all of the risks to me.

“I have undergone probably the most extensive medical testing of any boxer in history, and I will undergo more testing before I ever fight again.

“The tests do not indicate that I have suffered any damage or face any increased risk by fighting again. I am not reckless with my health. I am well-aware that I need to be available as my children grow up.

“The fact of the matter is that, as much as my fans, friends, and family care about me, nobody cares about me more than I do. Life is full of risks, there is no way to achieve great things without risk.

Those who think I will fight again only if I don’t fully appreciate the risks are wrong.”

“I have said many times that it is important to me how I go out of boxing. I still want to leave boxing as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. I believe that a setback is nothing but an opportunity for a comeback.”