For Holyfield, Part of Battle Was Won Before Fight

It was the last way most boxing experts expected to see Evander Holyfield leaving the ring Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena--arms raised and a smile on his face.

Most feared his exit would be a much more ominous one--arms limp and a blank look on his face.

Few doubted that he would plant his feet, ignore the trademark look of intimidation on Tyson’s face and fight until his strength gave out.

But there were serious questions about how much he had left in his arms and legs at 34. He had lost three of his previous seven fights. He had been forced to quit boxing for a year because of heart problems. And he had not looked sharp in his last outing, a victory over Bobby Czyz, a blown-up cruiserweight.

In a poll of boxing writers from around the nation, only Ron Borges of the Boston Globe dared to pick Holyfield.

So how did Holyfield pull off one of boxing’s great upsets, winning despite odds of 25-1 when the fight was first set?

With psychology as much as talent.

Tyson had won many of his previous fights on the basis of sheer intimidation.

With his sculpted body, menacing stare and a killer look in his eyes, he seemed to convince several of his recent opponents that the less resistance they offered, the less painful the outcome would be.

Take the money and run, Tyson seemed to say with his eyes.

But Saturday night, the psychological edge was Holyfield’s. It had begun at Friday’s weigh-in when Holyfield answered Tyson’s snarling look with a big smile.

It continued Saturday when Holyfield entered the ring amid huge cheers. The crowd, chanting “Hoooolyfield! Hoooolyfield! Hoooolyfield!,” sounded much like the crowds who used to chant “Ali! Ali! Ali!”

To his psychological game, Holyfield added solid strategy, using his reach advantage to score shots from the outside and tie Tyson up inside.

“I did what it took to win,” Holyfield said. “Tyson fights good inside. My advantage is outside. He throws good, short punches. My advantage was from the outside. I threw a right hand and caught him with good clean shots.

“I give the glory to God. He gets the credit. Whenever the spirit is with you, whatever the spirit led me to do, I do.”

The strategy and the psychology worked. After so many pushover opponents, after fighting a total of only eight rounds since his release from prison in 1995, Tyson didn’t seem to know how to react to a real challenge.

Afterward, he still didn’t seem to know.

“I really don’t know what happened,” he said. “He head-butted me, but I probably did the same too. . . . I am not going to make any excuses.”

Does he want a rematch?

“I look forward to a rematch with anybody,” Tyson said.

That will have to wait for another day.

Saturday night belonged to Holyfield.

The man some feared would leave the MGM Grand in an ambulance, was instead worthy of a limousine and a parade.