He Still Doesn’t Look Like Real Deal

Evander Holyfield used Larry Holmes for target practice Friday night, but struck no fear into the rest of the heavyweight division.

In 24 rounds against 42-year-old challengers, the champion has been unable to knock down either Holmes or George Foreman.

Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Razor Ruddock and Michael Moorer must be wringing their gloves in anticipation of a title shot at Holyfield.

And imagine how Mike Tyson felt back home in Indiana when he got the news that the fight at Caesars Palace had gone the distance.

Holmes was just a kid when Tyson destroyed him in the fourth round at Atlantic City four years ago.

Friday night, Holyfield was the only fighter to hit the deck. He slipped in the ninth round after missing a punch.

Holyfield was also the only individual to be cut. Holmes caught him with an elbow above the right eye in the sixth round.

Make no mistake, Holyfield won the fight convincingly. The judges were a lot more generous to Holmes, but I gave him only the 11th round.

The younger, stronger, and more physically fit fighter was workmanlike, efficient, and aggressive.

But, like Ezzard Charles long before him, he will not get rave reviews for this kind of performance.

Heavyweight champions are supposed to be bombers or showmen, not craftsmen.

At 210 pounds, Holyfield is a blown-up cruiserweight. Nobody yells “Timber!” when he unloads.

He was able to put away Bert Cooper in a slugfest last November, but Cooper has neither the smarts of a Holmes nor the power of a Foreman.

In the third round, an overhand right sent a shower of spray from Holmes’ face.

Ever see the famous photo of Rocky Marciano unloading on Jersey Joe Walcott?

It looked something like that, but Holmes was able to shake it off.

Holyfield was at his best delivering a snappy jab and coming over the top with a right hand. In fact, he was able to outjab Holmes, something he couldn’t do to Foreman in April of 1991. However, Prof. Holmes was intent upon teaching a course in survival this night at the hotel where he had been unbeaten in 12 fights.

Well aware that his legs were not the ones that served him so well during 20 title defenses, he rarely ventured into the center of the ring and must have sustained some serious rope burns.

The second round could have been fought in a phone booth. Neither guy moved more than a foot, Holmes’ back to the ropes and Holyfield right on top of him.

Holmes found Holyfield’s jaw with some right uppercuts that had the crowd chanting, “Larry, Larry.”

By the 10th round, those who had paid anywhere from $100 to $700 for the privilege were booing.

After the bell ending the 12th round, Holmes was asked how he felt about his performance.

“I’m getting paid, aren’t I?” he replied.

During the weeks of prefight hype, Holmes insisted that he was a wealthy businessman who began a second comeback for reasons other than monetary.

However, his $7-million purse Friday night made him wealthier.

Holmes got $6,850,000 less for his first heavyweight title fight in 1978 when he won a decision over champion Ken Norton at the indoor Pavilion at Caesars.

“After the government got done, I wound up with about $65,000 out of the $150,000,” Holmes said.

Funny, but he thought it was big money at the time. Five years earlier, he began his pro career with a four-round decision win over Rodell Dupree in Scranton, Pa. Holmes’ purse was $63.

For his third defense, Holyfield was guaranteed $18 million.

The purses of the co-promoters, Dan Duva and Bob Arum, are yet to be determined.

They were hoping that pay-per-view television receipts would exceed $60 million. The record TV pot was $80 million for the Holyfield-Foreman fight.

The suggested retail price per customer was $35.95. Out of that, $18 went to the promotion. Perhaps the only underpaid person appearing on the show Friday night was referee Mills Lane. “The last time I worked a heavyweight title fight, I got $3,000,” said Lane, a Reno judge. “To be honest, I don’t even know what they’re paying me this time. I do it for fun. It’s my hobby.”