HOLYFIELD VS. SAVARESE : EN ROUTE POUR UN CINQUIEME..?

Ou il est question de ce combat du 30 Juin, comme anti-chambre d'un championnat du monde contre l'actuel tenant du titre des poids lourds WBO, Sutlan Ibragimov (egalement classé numero2 par la WBA). On apprend egalement que Savarese a une carriere cinematographique en parallele de la boxe. Holyfield quant a lui semble serein et surtout mature dans ses declarations.

Allez savoir si ce match sera diffuse..? Pas sur et c'est dommage parce qu'on aurait bien voulu voir the Real Deal en action et en route peut-etre pour un 5eme titre!

Four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will fight boxing veteran Lou Savarese on June 30 at the Don Haskins Center. (Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times)

Holyfield has sights set on fifth championship. Evander Holyfield and Lou Savarese have their eyes on a special prize and, to pluck that prize, everything rides on their June 30 date in the Don Haskins Center.

Rumors already abound of Holyfield meeting Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO heavyweight title -- if Holyfield can take care of Savarese. From the other perspective, Savarese obviously believes that opportunity will be his if he can handle Holyfield.

We will find out on that final Saturday night in June.

Meanwhile, both men are training, getting ready for a tough night at the office. Sparring has begun.

Of course, neither Holyfield nor Savarese is a young guy. Holyfield, 44, has put together a 41-8-2 record with 27 knockouts. Savarese, 41, is 46-6 with 38 knockouts.

Savarese has been busy with a budding acting career, appearing as Max Baer in the ESPN documentary Cinderella Man and in several television shows -- The Sopranos, The Jury and Law & Order: SVU. Next week he will appear on the daytime drama Guiding Light. But he also is still a boxer at heart.

"I missed the sport when I left," Savarese said. "The division is wide open, and like my chances style-wise against Evander. I don't think this is a good fight for him. I'm bigger and stronger."

While he said he misses being a Little League coach for his two sons, Savarese said, "It's easier to train now than it was when I was young. There are fewer distractions. Marriage is conducive to training."

And there is that opportunity, that special prize out there.

"A world heavyweight shot looks attainable," Savarese said. "A win over Evander expedites the process."

Holyfield, of course, is a four-time world champion and a man on a mission for a fifth.

On May 31, Holyfield visited the Houston Texans mini-camp and gave the NFL players a little motivation, talking about what it takes to become a champion. The team gave Holyfield a jersey with "Real Deal" on the back and the number 5 on the front and back -- five for his mission, his chase for a fifth world title.

Holyfield's trainer Ronnie Shields said, "It doesn't take Evander long to get into boxing shape, because he arrives in camp well-conditioned. When some guys come to camp, I have to start them on the pads because they're not in good enough shape yet to go right into sparring. Evander's different."

Savarese's trainer, Bob Benton, said, "Lou believes that Evander is not as busy as he used to be and that he doesn't move as much. This is the best Lou has looked in a long time. He's still hungry. He's like a 20-year-old kid in camp. He works hard to the point of outworking the young guys, just like Evander does."

Time is ticking away, a countdown of 20 days, each day slipping quickly off the calendar as these two men work hard and point toward that moment when the bell clangs and they step under the glare of the bright lights in the Haskins Center -- a special prize dangling there, within reach of the winner.

Source _ El Paso Time, Bill Knight (bknight@elpasotimes.com)