30,000 Expected for Holyfield-Bean

Evander Holyfield, fighting in his hometown, is expected to draw a crowd of at least 30,000 when he takes on heavy underdog Vaughn Bean tonight in the Georgia Dome.

The fight will be televised on Showtime, delayed, at 10 p.m. and is available to all cable subscribers as part of a “free preview” Showtime weekend. There is one undercard fight.

This will be the second time in 15 fights, beginning with his third-round knockout to become heavyweight champion Oct. 25, 1990, that Holyfield has fought in Atlanta. The first time was when he stopped Bert Cooper in the seventh round Nov. 23, 1991.

Tonight’s fight isn’t pay-per-view quality or the kind for which casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., are willing to pay huge live-site fees. The bout is being held because Bean is the International Boxing Federation’s No. 1 contender and Holyfield would be stripped of that organization’s title if he didn’t take the fight.

Scheduled to watch the fight as guests of promoter Don King are the 12 jurors who recently acquitted King of insurance fraud. The jurors and their spouses also have been treated by King to a trip to the Bahamas.