I’m in Nigeria to raise boxing champs — Holyfield

Four-time world heavyweight boxing champion, Evander ‘Real Deal’ Holyfield, was in Nigeria on the invitation of Lagos State government through Bishop Entertainment Consult. The boxing great opens up in an exclusive interview with Extra Time duo of OLISA EGBUNIKE and ANDREW EKEJIUBA on his mission to the country, career rise and plans to raise champions in Africa’s most populous black nation through a reality TV show in conjunction with his Real Deal Promotions. Excerpts:

This is about your second time of visiting Nigeria, what’s your mission here?
I’m here on the invitation of Bishop Entertainment Consult for a TV reality show partnership, probably to also help unearth future boxing champions from Nigeria who have the ambition to actualize the dream of ruling the world in boxing.

My target is to catch these future champions young and train them to stardom through Real Deal Promotions.

You know, when I was eight years old I never knew I will one day be a heavyweight boxing champion of the world just like Mohammed Ali.

And also I remember being in a Boy’s Club where I had to undergo youth programmes to actualize my dream. I had to fight all my fights and win!

However, boxing from the age of eight, then to twelve years, I had to endure a lot in life. Boxing has actually been all I have done all my life and am here to lend my support to the upcoming boxers here in Nigeria.

As a renowned international heavyweight boxing champion, how are you doing now?
Am doing great!

With your experience, how would you assess the state of boxing globally? Are we moving forward or retarding and is there room for improvement?
I believe that every generation of boxers have to be at the fore front to teach upcoming boxers how to do it.

You know, I have been a four-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world and Ali was a three-time heavyweight boxing champion, which simply means that future boxers need to work hard to get to the top.

I came back four times to rule the world of boxing. It wasn’t an easy achievement!

The present generation of boxers must be ready to set targets and achieve good results in order to improve the lots of the game.

Relying only on rankings is not enough, you must have the strong mind to fight and beat the best in your weight category. As a young man I was tough and went through tough times.

Aside that, my mum always tells me to avoid mistakes in life and I had to go to school in order to boost my career. My mum also taught me to be disciplined!

I have eleven kids but they have to learn just like me. If you don’t face challenges in life, what are you going to tell your kids? Nothing!

Over time, boxing has provided the youths the opportunity to channel their energy towards positive ventures and also lure them away from crime, do you believe in this analogy?
I am whom I am because I took to boxing and I was good in the sport during my active days in the rings. The pugilist trade teaches one to learn how to overcome obstacles or challenges in life.

In boxing, you must avoid being hit with a blow, because if you carelessly allow yourself to be hit, you have to go down!

I remember my coach once told me to learn to move my head while boxing to avoid being hit. He told me to avoid blows, the way and manner Mohammed Ali does. You know Ali has a pretty face, so I had to try to always move my head to avoid being hit.

However, when you are hit by a blow, it toughens you and you don’t get scared of being hit any longer.

All boxing champions learn the art of releasing good blows and absorbing them if they are hit with a blow.

In all, you know what, a sucker punch is enough to send your opponent to the canvas and that’s why good boxers crave for it in order to win. All these are what the art of boxing teaches.

In the past 35 years, boxing as sport is associated with a lot of glamour, but suddenly all those glamour has diminished, what is responsible for this?
You are right because nowadays we don’t have such great boxers any longer. You know what, there is this inner hunger from boxers who came from poor backgrounds to excel and achieve what analysts might see as an impossible act.

Also, there are lots of bad guys who want to make good money from boxing without much sweat and they are killing the game.

I give an example, good boxers are often forced to take bigger pay by fighting easier opponents they can easily crush than fighting tougher opponents to increase the glamour associated with boxing.

Like in my case, I preferred to fight a tougher opponent like Mike Tyson and you could see the interest and glamour my fights with Tyson generated.

I did it and at the end I emerged heavyweight champion of the world. You see, I challenged Tyson and succeeded rather than fighting a less difficult opponent.

Also, I remember telling my manager then that I wanted to fight Tyson, and my fans and Team Holyfield were agitated. But I love boxing and did well in it!

Coming back home here in Africa, what is responsible for pro-boxing not attaining the height it has achieved in America?
It all bows down to the efforts of the stakeholders of the sport in the continent and the boxers themselves.

You know, as a pro-boxer a lot is required of you in order to hit stardom. You have to deny yourself pleasure just to achieve greatness.

First, you must be disciplined in such a way that you get yourself extricated away from those things that can distract your career like women and drugs. Boxing is big business, thus it cannot be mingled with worldly pleasures.

My mummy use to advise me to stay focused in my boxing career which helped me to excel my career and I expect same for any upcoming boxer in the continent of Africa.

Aside what you said now, what do you further advice the youths to do especially those of them who may wish to take to pro-boxing as a career and your candid advice to corporate bodies who do business in Africa so as to resuscitate the pugilist trade?
Like we do in America, I was in a Boy’s Club where I was discovered as having potentials of a boxer.

It was from there that I was transferred to undergo some youth educational programmes that are related to boxing in order to polish up my boxing skills. I think this can be done in Africa!

We had educational programmes in America tied down to boxing which helped to expose us to our chosen career.

We did boxing with good education complimenting it which brought out the best in me in particular, so we can replicate it in Nigeria and Africa at large.

When you have to do things over and over like in a programme, you get toughened and you try to be the best in that field.

Why is it that retired boxers find it extremely difficult to take to coaching, unlike in football where retired soccer greats take to football coaching? Why is this not applicable to boxing; what is the problem?
You know, in every profession, there are good and bad people. I prefer to take to promoting boxing than coaching because I do not want much enemies.

As a coach in boxing, your actions ordinarily attract enemies because of the interests and nature of the sport.

Currently I’m going round the world and assembling some good guys who will work with my team to promote boxing.

We need great fights worldwide and this can be actualized with good guys who are ready to give boxing the desired attention through credible promotions.

There are a lot of greedy people in boxing who want to make money from the sport in an unwholesome manner and this actually can make a retired boxer not to venture into coaching.

So, I had to wait patiently and gather a whole lot of good people around me who will help me turn boxing around for the good of stakeholders and boxers themselves.

I had to go out there, get good boxers on board worldwide who are ready to fight and make good money from the sport.

I will also want to see a situation whereby boxers take to quality education because it will be terrible if a boxer makes such huge sums of money in one night and denies himself quality education.

Education is the key to further progress for a boxer who wants to be the best in the world.

How far have you and other retired boxers gone globally towards contributing to solid policy formulation and regulation in boxing?
Thank you for that question and I want to say that this is why I’m bringing in Real Deal Promotions on board of world boxing.

Like I said earlier, I am coming into the mainstream of world boxing promotions with a team of good guys who will reshape boxing globally and give it a new lease of life. We need to bring up ideas on how to make things work and help provide pension plans for retiring boxers and trainers.

We need to do a whole lot of work to make the sport more attractive and have the ability to sustain the actors of the pugilist trade on retirement.

You see, I cannot be able to do all these if I’m a coach because I will have a lot of enemies chasing me around if my boxer defeats an opponent.

Talk to us about this your team, where are they from or are they just isolated only in United States?
No! We have some members coming from South America, Cuba and Singapore to mention but a few.

I want to also say that African boxers need to step up in their career because I believe that before you are known worldwide as a good boxer, you must have become a household name in your country.

Frankly, it is not wise seeing an unknown boxer coming out of the blues and challenging for world title without making effort to conquer his counterparts at home.

As one of the world’s greats and 4-time world heavyweight champion, there is this notion that you are planning another “Rumble in the Jungle” as it were in Nigeria. Can you provide us an insight?
Nothing is impossible! (He laughs). I feel charity must begin at home, I feel we need more fights to bring out the best boxers in the different weight categories in Nigeria. Therefore “Rumble in the Jungle” is possible in Nigeria.

You know, we did same in America whereby we fought the best in the various weight categories. Remember, I fought Tyson which earned me more followers worldwide as I pulled fans to the boxing arena with my God-given talent.

So, any promotion that has to see top boxers in a country squaring up against each other attracts great followership to the actors, thereby developing the game.

I remember vividly, the day I defeated Mike Tyson, the commentators were all saying Mike had a bad day. They forgot I worked hard to achieve that victory.

Therefore, I want to see such promotions happen in Nigeria.
Another example, is Anthony Joshua’s recent stunning 11th-round knockout win against Wladimir Klitschko; with such fights staged in Nigeria, boxing will surely be revived in the country and the African continent at large.

What were the reasons that enabled Anthony Joshua to defeat Wladimir Klitschko?
The reasons are many! I was analyzing for a German television on the night of the fight and I predicted a win for Joshua with reasons.

Joshua was younger and started slowly; he had better strength or conditioning above an older Wladimir Klitschko who had experience on his side too.

In boxing, I made it clear on that night of the fight that there is a limit to which your experience can take you, before your strength or conditioning takes over.

Your strength and good conditioning can make you win a tough fight against an experienced war horse.

You know what; Wladimir Klitschko chose to fight Anthony Joshua because he felt that he could overcome him. But in this case it all bowed down to who had better conditioning between the two boxers which Joshua proved with that great win.

Remember Joshua was earlier in the fight knocked down by Klitschko, but he got up and continued the fight since he had better conditioning, but when the reversed situation happened to Klitschko in the 11th round he never survived it.

Recently, you donated medical facilities worth $3million to the Lagos State government, what was the motive behind this kind gesture?
It’s my way of giving back to the society and appreciating them. As a visitor, that’s a gift I provided because Nigeria is a great country with great people who directly or indirectly appreciated my boxing career.

With the level of decay in Nigerian boxing, are we expecting any further support from you to the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control? Will your foundation provide needed succor in this regard, as you are in Nigeria?
I will want to see Nigeria Boxing Board of Control, try what we did in America by going back to the grassroots and catching these future champs young; then they can help put them in Boys Clubs.

From the Boys Clubs, they can be nurtured to stardom through dedicated educational programmes that will help them become champions.

Frankly, I’m interested in getting these future boxing champions at their tender ages, so that Nigerians will benefit from their exploits through my Read Deal Promotions.

Finally champ, from all what you said in this interview, most of your responses had been punctuated with some verses from the Bible, why?
I derive my strength and courage from the word of God because Bible makes me to understand that I can do all things through Christ Jesus!

I faced challenges in life, but I overcame them because I knew that with Jesus in my life I’m a born winner. I remain grateful to my mum who helped to direct my foot path properly when I needed guidance.

I fought too hard to remain at the top of my career and I thank God for granting all my prayers.

QUOTE: “I will want to see Nigeria Boxing Board of Control, try what we did in America by going back to the grassroots and catching these future champs young; then they can help put them in Boys Clubs. From the Boys Clubs, they can be nurtured to stardom through dedicated educational programmes that will help them become champions. Frankly, I’m interested in getting these future boxing champions at their tender ages, so that Nigerians will benefit from their exploits through my Read Deal Promotions.”

QUOTE 2: “I am coming into the mainstream of world boxing promotions with a team of good guys who will reshape boxing globally and give it a new lease of life. We need to bring up ideas on how to make things work and help provide pension plans for retiring boxers and trainers. We need to do a whole lot of work to make the sport more attractive and have the ability to sustain the actors of the pugilist trade on retirement. You see, I cannot be able to do all these if I’m a coach because I will have a lot of enemies chasing me around if my boxer defeats an opponent.”