The Mark Martin of heavyweights? Heeere's Evander!

  Some people are larger than life....like Evander Holyfield (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   BROOKLYN, Mich.
   Jimmie Johnson may be Mr. Four-Time...but meet Mr. Five-Time: Evander Holyfield.
   Holyfield, no stranger to NASCAR, and even a part-time investor in stock car teams, dropped by Michigan International Speedway Sunday to check out the action, to promote his upcoming fight – yes, he is soon to be 48 – and maybe back up Kyle Busch or another of these racers if they happen to get in a little jam?
   "I back a lot of people if they call on me....but I don't fight for free," Holyfield said with a laugh.
   Holyfield could be the Mark Martin of boxing. Martin, last year at 51, came within a nose of winning the NASCAR championship.

   Holyfield is to fight Sherman "The Tank" Williams in November at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. "I've fought in a lot of places...but to bring it back to a fight town...Detroit is a fight town," Holyfield says. "It's a good feeling: for people here who know the sport and love the sport 'to see the person we've been rooting for all these year....not in his prime but still at his best.' And I can still do it better than anyone who ever did it in their 40s.
    "And on November 5th you're going to see something great."
   Holyfield (43-10-2) hopes a win over Williams will lead to a matchup with Vitali Klitschko, the present World Boxing Council champion. Holyfield first won the heavyweight title in 1990, and he beat Mike Tyson twice in his prime (including the famous ear-biting fight in 1997).
   "People ask me about my age – But I will win, and I will be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world...before I quit," Holyfield insists.
   "I have taken care of myself; I do the things I think it takes to be the very best. I believe I will be the champ of the world...if not this year, then next year. I think I can get it before I turned 50.
   "It's easier to maintain than to rebuild," Holyfield said of his fitness. "My momma told me that a long time ago.
   "I love working out. But when you get older you have to listen to your body more than your ego. You have to make adjustments.
   "I had an ego – I'd run more than anybody. When they were sleeping, I'd be running.
   "But when you get older, you find you do that and you don't have nothing for the fight. So overtraining cost me a lot of fights. Your body doesn't recover as fast.
   "And you have to listen to your doctors. When I had to have that shoulder surgery, the doctor said it was going to take two years (to recover). I said 'Is that for the average person?' He said yes. And I said 'Okay, I can do it in six months.'
   "But I lost three matches in a row...because I didn't listen.
   "You have to listen to your body.
   "As soon as I got to 34, 35, my body wasn't recovering the same. But now I realize that's just like everybody else.
   "But at 48 I can still do it. I've got more knowledge. And I can fight the fight that it takes to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world again."

   Holyfield has been a frequent visitor to NASCAR events the past few years:  "What I like about NASCAR – everybody on the team has to contribute...and it's just the driver taking it across the line. I think that's what made this sport as big as it is – it's like a family."
   And his racing deals? "I would never have gotten the opportunity to be who I am if nobody had helped me," he says. "So any way I can help somebody to reach their goals....I think that's the whole purpose of life.
   "I came from a structured family: we listened real well, we follow directions...and we don't quit.
   "I try to pass that on.
   "All the great fighters – Ali, Joe Louis – I've had more setbacks than them...but I've got more titles than them. My whole career has been based on faith. Every time someone said I couldn't do it, I proved them wrong.
    "In 1992, I lost to Riddick Bowe. But I came back to beat him in 1993.
    "In 1999 I fought Lennox Lewis in Vegas, I thought I had achieved it, but they gave it to him. And I told them I'd just get back in line; and I did."
    And when he beat John Ruiz he became the first four-time heavyweight champion of the world.
    The most difficult fighter he's had to face?
    "As a heavyweight, I'd say Lennox Lewis,' Holyfield says. "For one thing, he's a big guy. And very intelligent, very smart.
    "He doesn't care if he fights boring. I'm a very energetic person; I like to fight fast. I like to have the crowd screaming, excited. He could care less. He likes winning....and I like winning too, but in fashion.
    "And he has these long-range arms; he could punch and hold....and he wouldn't mix it up much. That made it difficult for me.
   "But the point of life is being able to make the adjustments.
   "Everyone I ever fought in life, I had to make adjustments.
   "I remember that first fight (with Lewis, in 1999) – they called it a draw....but they said he really won and they made a big stink about it. The second fight, I felt I won that, but they gave it to him.  But I don't give up, and that allowed me to rise back to the top."
   And in August 2000 Holyfield beat Ruiz to regain the title.
   Holyfield did offer a little bit of wisdom for drivers here perhaps: pointing to some fellow boxers who sometimes get carried away with histrionics, he says "When you have that bad attitude, you don't get that many chances. And the reason I've been able to get all these opportunities is because I've learned to shut my mouth.
   "I bite my tongue...and don't say everything I feel."

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Evander Holyfield: prepping for Nov. 5th fight (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)