"My goal is to be the undisputed world champion one more time before I let it go. Once I do that, I sit down," said Holyfied. "And until I do that, I continue to fight."
Holyfield currently has a record of 43-10-2. This would be a nice career for most fighters, but unfortunately, it appears that Holyfield isn't ready to put away the gloves. One great concern are the long-term health issues that can come from being nearly 50 years old and getting pounded in the head for a living. I personally don't want to watch Holyfield decline in the same way as Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes.
Sadly enough, Evander Holyfield is enduring the fate of quite a few black athletes before him. With most of his money squandered and no other marketable skills, fighting is all that Evander can do. So, rather than watching him walk off into the sunset, his fans get the "pleasure" of seeing him decay right before their very eyes. It's sad to see, but oh so familiar.
Holyfield's financial problems are well-publicized. Over the past two years, his $10 million dollar estate has gone into foreclosure, and one of the mothers of his 11 children sued him for back child support. Overspending, a lack of education and fathering too many children with too many women are recipes for disaster for nearly every black athlete (or white athlete for that matter).
I am not one to condemn Evander Holyfield or anyone else, since everyone makes mistakes. But there has to be a point where black athletes learn from one another and stop making the same mistakes as their predecessors. Rather than fighting or playing basketball until we become tired old men, it might be more productive for us to retire into other careers that don't involve sports. Black men can be so much more than athletes.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.