Holyfield wants to be heavyweight champion again Friday, January 9 2004 11:59 Hrs (IST) Mumbai:
The "humble warrior" and four times World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Evander Holyfield wants to win the coveted title for the fifth time irrespective of being in his late thirties.
"I am making preparations to win the heavyweight boxing title for the fifth time even before thinking of retiring from the sport," Holyfield, who had a stopover in the city before proceeding to Hyderabad to visit the Paul's Charity City, told reporters today (Jan 9, 2004).
"People say that I am getting old but I want to prove them wrong by winning the title for the fifth time. However, nobody wants to fight me and I don't know who my next opponent would be," he said.
Claiming that his first-ever visit to India was purely for charity purposes and not to promote himself or the sport, Holyfield said, "I was a street kid before I became something through boxing. I also had just one parent (mother), who brought me up and I have seen lots of hardship, including poverty, during my childhood."
"Boxing helped me to achieve something in my life and I feel it is my duty to give back something to the crores of poor children all over the world," the boxer, who got a record $ 100 million to fight another former world champion Mike Tyson in 1997, added.
PTI
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