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00:00Evander Holyfield has lived in Atlanta since he was three and he's happily looking forward to the Olympics
00:06Like a true Atlanta, and he says I'm with coca-cola
00:09So I'll be at every event and like a true Olympian
00:13His real dream is to be the person chosen to light the Olympic flame
00:18He told us yesterday if it was just going on popularity. I'd have it already
00:24Unfortunately for Evander these things are not always chosen on such a simple basis
00:29In Barcelona, for example, they picked a disabled archer to light the flame by shooting an arrow
00:35What works against Holyfield more than anything else is his sport boxing the violence of boxing and the fact that it has such little
00:43Appeal to women makes it the bad seed of Olympic sports
00:48NBC will show not a single minute of primetime boxing from Atlanta
00:52Even though he's the hometown favorite because he is a boxer
00:57Evander Holyfield would be a long shot to win the honor to light the Olympic flame in Atlanta
01:04Jim
01:06Still it's a dream for him Larry Merchant Evander Holyfield has been a man with a lot of dreams
01:11They've carried him to heights that even he himself may never have anticipated
01:16But I think most boxing fans wanted a one thing why is Evander Holyfield with his reported 80 million dollars in the bank still fighting?
01:25Why is Bobby Chez with his reported genius level IQ going in against him as a heavyweight?
01:31Well, I'll answer those questions with a question. Why is everybody so excited to see these two guys fight?
01:38Let me take a crack at it. I think it's something has something to do with a kind of promotional alchemy
01:45That turns an event that has three
01:49Fights that don't amount to a big deal
01:51And puts them all together and it does amount to a big deal because New York somehow wanted this
01:57Heavyweight party as I've said before New York is saying to these heavyweights. I love you big men
02:03Evander Holyfield is fighting because like a lot of ex-champions he has a hard time getting the gloves off when you get down to that point
02:10We have to make a decision
02:12You find that the gloves are gripping you
02:14You're not gripping the gloves and that's for Bobby chezz
02:18He may not want to carry the Olympic torch
02:21All he wants to do is carry a check with a lot of zeroes to the bank
02:26And this is his last chance to do so and for more on Evander Holyfield's extended heavyweight career
02:34let's turn to the ranking expert on
02:37Overextended careers in the heavyweight division our George Foreman George
02:41Most people wonder what Evander is doing with his life at this moment
02:45You know better than anyone how hard it is to leave the big stage for reasons of your own
02:50Without even getting into precisely what his reasons might be. Why is it so hard for him to leave the stage?
02:55I want another one of those things. We should blame Hollywood for you got to hear stories from rag to riches Horatio Alger
03:01One more for the Gipper, but there's never been an Academy Award about how do I get out of this mess?
03:07Once we get a good Academy Award winning movie like that De Niro's does something like that
03:11I'll find my way out also. So everyone will learn how to stop
03:16All right, thanks very much George
03:19Evander Holyfield like you George is a very spiritual man recently
03:23He experienced a challenge to his spirituality one of the toughest moments of his adult life
03:28There are three words that best to stride the life of my mother and a Laura Holyfield. They are love
03:44commitment and unique
03:47Words appropriate for a woman who brought nine children into this world Evander the youngest of them
03:54But on April 19 the mother of the former heavyweight champion died of head injuries and complications
04:00Sustained in an automobile accident near Evander's home ten weeks ago
04:05Annie Holyfield was 68 years old
04:08No one know when their time's come but my mother always told us that you know, I'm not gonna be on always with you
04:14You know, you need to learn you need to listen and learn as much as you can and you know, I realized that you know
04:20You know for me, you know the person that I am is what my mother instead of me
04:25You know, I I did all that I could while my mother lived
04:29One of only a few material things she wanted in life was her own home and Evander fulfilled that dream for her
04:36Just after the Olympics in 1984
04:39Annie had waited 56 years
04:41I always told my mother when I was a kid that I was gonna get a house
04:44But you know life was good and I bought me a bigger house later on in the distance between me and my mother's house
04:51And far and my mother told me I didn't come to see her or nothing
04:55She said son, do you love me?
04:57I said yeah
04:58She said why you don't come to see me that much
05:00I said well mama you know I you know I travel this this this this
05:04She said I don't think you love me anymore
05:06She said that and I went around the neighborhood looking for a house and I bought a house across the street
05:11And I bought one of my house across the street. I said I'll buy you this house
05:14So when you miss me, you can walk over and see me. I miss you. I can walk and see you
05:19I said it's both of them. She said well, okay, and so that's really not about the house across the street
05:23And you know she never did tell me that no more either
05:27A sharp contrast from the days when Evander or chubby as his mom always called him was raised in an atlanta housing project
05:35And annie walked to work at 9 30 each morning returning home at 10 30 each night
05:40For weekly earnings of 31 dollars
05:45I get up in the morning and do the heavy work before I went to work
05:51I didn't know what a sick day was
05:55Well, who gave me the strength to do it god would give me the strength
05:59Give me the strength. He know I had to work
06:02I worked hard and everybody said well, you know you got a lot of heart
06:05But all that came from my mom, you know the way that I treat people is came from my mom
06:09I didn't teach myself these good value, you know
06:12I learned these value through my mother, you know
06:14So you know when people see how I react to things and how I do things and stuff
06:20These are the things that my mother instilled in me. These are the things that I'm instilled in my children
06:26As wisdom is passed down from one generation to the next
06:29Her memory is kept alive in the one home that was always hers the church
06:33Ever since her death april 19 a black cloth has taken the seat she occupied each week
06:40It's a way to remember and honor her as one who did great work in her church
06:46We had a lot of love between each other and how I feel is that you know
06:49I gave my all and I was able to give because she gave to me first
06:54You have your ups and downs in life, but you never start you never finish
06:58My mother you know had a hard life
07:01But she made the best of it and she gave she gave all
07:05She never did quit and you know what god said well done
07:09You know now she at home now she rests
07:12Life's race well run life's work well done
07:17life's crown well won
07:20And now she rests
07:22Mom when my time come and I join you with the lord jesus christ
07:29I hope you still call me chubby your son evander
07:35Powerful as this bond was holyfield trained on the day of his mother's funeral
07:41Co-trainers tommy brooks and don turner told us that evander was quite at peace with his mother's death
07:47Believing she had lived a long and satisfying and fulfilling life
07:51And that it did not disrupt his training for this bout
07:55Tale of the tape now for evander holyfield
07:58Against newly arrived heavyweight bobby chez and for once in his life holyfield experiences big physical advantage
08:06A four inch height edge and a reach edge of nine inches against chez their weights almost identical 211 and 210
08:14A four inch height in punch that numbers larry
08:18Well you can see for yourself chez is an active fighter he's going to have to stay in holyfield's chest
08:23The numbers themselves don't mean a whole lot because chez has fought a completely different class of competition in holyfield
08:34And when I and when I said that chez has to be in his chest you can see why he doesn't throw many jabs
08:39Rules with about one more time with harold letterman the evander holofield bobby chez fight is scheduled for 10 rounds
08:48The standing eight count is in effect the three knockdown rule is in effect
08:53The referee or the doctor can stop the fight and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round including the tenth and final round jim
09:01All right harold well ironically it was evander holyfield whose status as a real heavyweight was once questioned
09:07Now bobby chez faces all the same questions as he comes in here tonight looking to
09:12Catch heavyweight gold in april of 1980 when he became a pro he was fighting at 161 pounds
09:20It was four years later. He finally moved up to super middleweight 168 pounds
09:26october of 1984 he became a light heavyweight fighting at 174 pounds
09:31March 1991 186 pounds as bobby became a cruiserweight march 1995 206 pounds as he began his journey toward heavyweight status
09:48This will be chezz's first appearance in madison square garden despite the fact
09:54That he was raised across the river in new jersey part of many of his fights there
10:00And because this is his first appearance on hbo as well
10:04We must tell in capsule form a story that has
10:08Captured the hearts of many boxing fans. He was raised by a very abusive
10:15Father who beat him up a lot made him do his studies and made him into a fighter
10:19When bobby chez finally indicated to his father that he no no longer could stand him and didn't love him
10:27His father committed suicide
10:30Bobby chez has had three heavyweight fights and won them all against nameless opposition
10:37overall 44 wins six losses 28 ko's
10:41And george foreman he's a professional fighter who knows how to fight regardless of weight class
10:45He's learned his craft well. He started early in life knows everything about boxing what you should do
10:50He had enough amateur and professional experience to do well tonight
10:56Evander holyfield as you saw on the graphic has lost three of his last six fights
11:00Those of course are the only three losses of his professional career two of them to riddick bow one to michael moore
11:15And then holyfield fought his first professional fight in the garden some 11 years ago
11:30And the overall record for holyfield as a light heavyweight as a cruiserweight as a heavyweight 31 wins three losses 22 ko's
11:46It is reported and argued that this man has earned more money in the ring than any fighter in the history of the sport
11:53And let's go up to michael bumper now for the brief fight introduction
12:00Ladies and gentlemen main events monitor in association with your undisputed undefeated king of beers
12:07budweiser this bugs for you present
12:10The final bout of the evening here in the heavyweight division once again
12:14This bout is sanctioned by the new york state athletic commission
12:18All officials will remain the same at ringside your three judges scoring the belt when a 10 point must system will be
12:26melvina lathan
12:27louis rivera
12:29And eva shane and when the bell rings the man in charge of the action veteran referee ron lipton
12:38And now ladies and gentlemen
12:40For the third time out of three tonight from the mecca of boxing new york city's madison square garden
12:48Let's get ready to rumble
12:5710 rounds of boxing in the heavyweight division
13:01Introducing first fighting out of the red corner coming in wearing white trim with gold and weighing 210 pounds
13:09He brings an outstanding professional record of 44 victories against six to these 28 ko's
13:16He comes to us tonight from raritan new jersey
13:21ladies and gentlemen
13:22He is the former light heavyweight champion of the world the former cruiserweight champion of the world
13:29world two-time world champion Bobby
13:31champion Bobby
13:43And his opponent across the ring fighting out of the blue corner wearing white trim with purple and weighing 211 pounds
13:51His professional record also an outstanding 131 victories with three defeats
13:5722 ko's to his credit fighting out of atlanta georgia
14:02in 1984 he captured bronze but deserved gold
14:06he went on to become the undisputed
14:08cruiserweight world champion and he won two
14:11world heavyweight titles
14:14ladies and gentlemen he is boxing's true warrior
14:18ladies and gentlemen he is the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world
14:25world heavyweight champion of the world
14:27Amanda real deal
14:30holy
14:31holy
14:33holy
14:34holy
14:34holy
14:36holy
14:36holy
14:38holy
14:40holy
14:42holy
14:44holy
14:46holy
14:48holy
14:50holy
14:51holy
14:52holy
14:53holy
15:20holy
15:22oh
15:29okay
15:30shaz you agree george yeah there's no such thing as an easy fight
15:32you're a professional you find that out early in life
15:34every fight is going to be tough
15:37shaz likes so many other heavyweights looking for a spot on the tyson dance guard
15:39you said to us yesterday
15:40i've never had one of those seven figure paychecks
15:43that's why i'm still around
15:44The event is going to find out early on
15:47that Chaz may not be the hardest puncher,
15:49but he can box.
15:52Got a good...
15:54good gravity, knows how to execute,
15:56throw a bunch of punches, keep your balance,
15:59and cover up afterwards.
16:00Well, and he's got great technique,
16:02gets as much out of his body as anybody in the sport,
16:06certainly knows how to punch,
16:07but he's in against a bigger, stronger man in there tonight,
16:10and already you can see the difference.
16:12And Vander has so seldom met a smaller man than him
16:18as a heavyweight that he seems to want to push Chaz
16:21around the way other fighters have tried to push him around.
16:25That's right.
16:26Like the other fighters have made mistakes
16:28trying to push him around, he may be making a mistake.
16:32The referee warned him about an elbow,
16:34and he has the habit of throwing elbows
16:36when he can't find you.
16:37Left hook to the body by Holyfield,
16:39who seems a little overexcited early on in the bout.
16:42Were you able to push Evander around, George?
16:45Well, it's not a hard thing to push Evander around.
16:47He's not a big guy.
16:48No matter how strong you are,
16:50you need some weight in those legs.
16:51He doesn't have all the weight in his legs
16:53that he needs to be able to push himself big guys.
16:56Holyfield, whose punch output against Bowe
17:00was woefully low last fall,
17:03saying to us yesterday that he trained to throw
17:05many more punches per round here.
17:10What has happened, everyone's told Holyfield,
17:12hey, you got to knock this guy out,
17:14otherwise you're not going to look good.
17:15And he shouldn't think like that at all.
17:18A W is a W.
17:24Chaz has already taken some heavy shots
17:27and has not yet been wobbled.
17:29Good. Nice and clean.
17:38It's just so unusual to look at Evander in there
17:40against a man who presents so much smaller a picture.
17:44You got to get used to it.
17:46Early on, I noticed a little gray hair
17:48in Evander Holyfield's mustache.
17:50You should never let those guys see that gray hair.
17:53I shave it quick.
17:56Yeah, but Chaz is older than he is, George.
17:59Yeah, but he's got Miss Clairol going for him.
18:05They trade left hooks inside.
18:07Chaz is backing up most of the way here.
18:09And he backs up into the ropes again
18:11as the first round comes to an end.
18:13And Evander Holyfield lands a series of power shots
18:18down the stretch of round one.
18:20Chaz takes them reasonably well.
18:23Real, talk about that.
18:26Somebody put them to a height there.
18:27You gotta have your hands up a little higher.
18:30Pop, Cross, relax a little more.
18:31You're a little excited, right?
18:32Pick a block a little more, relax.
18:35Relax, I'm all for you now.
18:36Just relax a little more.
18:37Hold the hands up.
18:38You ain't got much more, Bobby.
18:40Keep moving your head.
18:41Have your hands up, okay?
18:42And stick, you ain't got much more.
18:44Don't hang in these ropes.
18:46Step out of there, okay?
18:47Step out.
18:49Hey, wet this.
18:50I need some I need that blistering combination of big punches at the end of the round a left followed with a full-on right
18:58Too high punches left and right a little bit of an uppercut followed by another uppercut
19:06George
19:07You've been in there when Evander has landed
19:10Volleys of punches like that. What's it like?
19:12Well, he's not an effect really hard puncher when he's coming power. He catches you off balance with a counter shot. He'll drop you, but
19:19He's not he hasn't done in the damage. Just standing there like that
19:25Because his emphasis is on speed rather than power
19:30Bobby Chaz makes it through his first round against a former heavyweight champion
19:36The one-time middleweight now campaigning in the heavyweight division because this is where the money is
19:43Holyfield seeming to lose shots in the second round and now he's got kids going
19:49Trying to mug Bobby and get him drunk
19:55Bobby is throwing body punches he comes back throw it to the body
20:01And every time he weathers the storm as the fight gets longer and longer his chances grow bigger and bigger
20:07The only quick knockout Evander Holyfield has scored in the last six years
20:13Was against buster douglas
20:17Every other fight that was the third round ko every other fight has been seven ten twelve rounds a
20:23Lot of long wars holyfield through eighty seven punches in the first round
20:29I don't know wins the last time Evander had a punch output like eighty seven in around
20:35That's about double his normal output
20:38In his most recent fight
20:40Chaz is able to do what he needs to do in that fight
20:46He just doesn't have a big heavyweight punch
20:48His power was greater believe me. He could turn the tables on Holyfield at night
20:54Well, I get I just got a piece of the information I was looking for
20:57And the answer is the last time Evander threw that many punches. It was against white mohammed kawi
21:02In a cruiserweight fight. He has never thrown eighty seven punches in a round as a heavyweight before in his career
21:11And that's because he's not worried about the incoming
21:17Might have broken chaz's nose with that left-hand shot. I think a little bit of a butt there
21:25Bobby might have thought he got thumbed a little bit too way. He was looking at it
21:28Keep him up
21:30chaz may not have loved his hair, but let me tell you his dad gave him some toughness
21:35No one can take that from him
21:37He is tough as nails
21:39Oh, he's a blow
21:48Round two coming to a close a lot of people expected bobby Kez to be gone by now. Step back clean
21:54Hold it down and very effective when he can catch you
21:57throw a right hand he'll beat
21:59you to the part work your way
22:08up.
22:08The way we worked in the gym you
22:34gotta give me one round like that.
22:36Get right in your rhythm and go to
22:37work on this guy. Stop loading up.
22:39What are you loading up for?
22:41You're right.
22:42You don't have to load up man.
22:43You're right.
22:45You're loading up he's gonna be
22:47right there bing bing bing BAM!
22:49Okay.
22:50A little water.
22:54One more?
22:55No take one deep on that I'll slow.
22:57There you go.
22:58Off the jab. Show him the jab first
23:00mate.
23:01Hey when you throwing it?
23:02Keep the lid off the bottle.
23:03Okay.
23:04Well I need you to do the jab more
23:05and box more.
23:06Nothing.
23:07I got it.
23:07Okay.
23:08Right here.
23:09You don't have to muscle spell.
23:10You don't have to jam now Jim.
23:11Seconds out!
23:12Look at the body when you can.
23:13Seconds out!
23:14Let's go!
23:15Hands on the smash.
23:16Who can blame Avanda Holyfield for
23:18loading up?
23:19How many chances has he had to do that
23:21against the big guys he's been
23:23fighting?
23:24Zero.
23:25He's loading up.
23:27He's loading up because he like
23:28everyone else believes that he
23:29ought to be able to knock Chaz out.
23:31Now he's trying to set him up with
23:32the jab.
23:33Goes in with the left hook.
23:35Bobby countering off the ropes.
23:38Remember he hasn't followed with Coleman's
23:42direction.
23:44Holyfield believes he's got Chaz going here.
23:50Ron Lipton is going to give him a standing eight.
23:54Standing eight.
23:55Four.
23:56Four.
23:57Four.
23:58Five.
23:59Six.
24:00I don't know if the standing eight is going to help Chaz
24:01at all because all it means is he's going to have to
24:03take more punishment.
24:08Well, it gave Bobby a good chance to argue with
24:12referee Ron Lipton about the standing eight.
24:15And you might have heard Chaz saying there to
24:28Lipton, remember what I told you in the dressing room.
24:32I have to assume that he probably told Lipton that he
24:35would be absorbing some punishment and trying to allow
24:38Evander to tire.
24:40Now Evander corner told him he must load up.
24:44That's all he's doing is loading up on every shot.
24:47And when they told him, he was saying,
24:49you're right, you're right, but he's come back out and
24:50done the same thing, hadn't he?
24:51And this could really work to Bobby Chaz's advantage.
24:56How, George, because Evander has got to recuperate
24:59after every big slug like that.
25:04In his career, he's had to wait till the other big
25:06guys get tired and come on.
25:08Now, he's the big guy.
25:09He may get tired and Bobby Chaz start to come on.
25:11Well, for the moment, you could see a scenario by which
25:13Chaz could last a while.
25:15What's harder to figure out is how he could win.
25:17Exactly.
25:20Loading shots again and landing them.
25:34Hard right hand right on the button.
25:36And Chaz said after he took that shot, good shot.
25:42So he is announcing the fight as he fights it.
25:44Can't resist doing the commentary.
25:46Stop punching, step back.
25:47And the thing about throwing a lot of heavy shots like that,
26:05when you're the bigger guy, you got to look for the oxygen
26:08a lot quicker than the smaller guy.
26:10The crowd is kind of listless and wrung out.
26:14There was so much enthusiasm in the closing rounds of
26:17Lewis Mercer, and they haven't really risen back to that level
26:21of enthusiasm in the first few rounds of this one.
26:28Bobby, your jab is too good, you're not using that.
26:30Don't blow that nose.
26:31You're not using the jab on that, okay?
26:33Yeah, something might as well as make my face hot.
26:37I guess something's burning my eyes.
26:39All right, all right, put something, all right, get something
26:41on his eyes.
26:43Put something on his eyes.
26:45Check the gloves.
26:47Let me work.
26:49Let me work for the five seconds.
26:52Hey, ref.
26:53Hey, ref.
26:54Check his gloves.
26:54Something's burning his eyes.
26:56Okay, check his gloves.
26:59You got to complain something's burning.
27:00Now, here's the flurry that led up to the standing eight count.
27:04Frankly, I don't think there should have been a standing eight count.
27:10Holyfield is hurting his man like that and has the advantage
27:13and is setting up a possible knockout.
27:15You've got to give him an opportunity to do it, I think.
27:19What's the matter?
27:24Let's go, man.
27:27I think Evander thought fan man was landing in the ring again.
27:34Harold.
27:35Jim, 30 to 26, three rounds to nothing, a vein to Holyfield.
27:40In the scoring, a standing eight count counts the same as a knockdown.
27:43In other words, it would be a 10-8 round in round three for Vanda Holyfield.
27:47But I want to talk about the standing eight count for a second.
27:49It's a tool for the referee to assess how badly a fighter is hurt.
27:53It's not really for the fighter's benefit.
27:55If Lipton thought that Bobby Ches was seriously hurt,
27:57but he wanted to see before he stopped the fight,
27:59he calls the standing eight count.
28:01It's for the referee's benefit primarily.
28:03Yeah, but we're not here for the referee's benefit.
28:06But you see, this is what prevents a fighter from getting hurt, Larry.
28:09In other words, he called the standing eight count
28:11so he could see if he should stop the fight.
28:13That's why he calls it.
28:14But you gave him a two-point round.
28:15In this scoring, a standing eight count is the same as a knockdown.
28:18Three standing eight counts in a round in this state,
28:20the fight's over.
28:21Keep him up.
28:22I agree that it was a ten-eight count,
28:25but we will have to agree to disagree about whether it should have been imposed.
28:33George, you see Evander running out of steam a little bit here in round four?
28:36No doubt about it.
28:37He's sitting there throwing a lot of hard shots.
28:40The greater thing for Holyfield is that Bobby Ches is not a big, real big heavyweight.
28:47Well, of course, Holyfield wouldn't have come out and done what he's done against a big heavyweight,
28:50but he is definitely having a slower round four
28:53than giving chance to Ches to get a little confidence here.
28:58Ches has got everything to gain and nothing to lose
29:01just by standing up for the next two rounds.
29:03Holyfield, to me, he's looking like...
29:07I'm scared to say it's an old fighter.
29:10Come on, come on.
29:12Let's go.
29:14You know, fighter's age at different ages, George, as you know,
29:18and Holyfield has had such hard fights
29:20and has trained so hard for so many years
29:23that it stands to reason that he would be older at 33
29:27than, say, Tim Wittespoon might be at 38.
29:31Or then George Foreman at 47, maybe?
29:33That's what George is thinking.
29:35Who's 47?
29:37How did that get in there?
29:41George, I'm 47.
29:43And that tells me that you're 47, too.
29:49Here comes Holyfield again,
29:51but this time Bobby Chez is landing right back with him.
29:56I think Chez felt that Holyfield was getting a little weaker
30:00and he's tried to rally,
30:02but he just doesn't have enough power
30:04to exploit this weakness in Holyfield at the moment.
30:09As they break, Holyfield casts his gaze
30:12over here toward George Foreman
30:14and looks a little bit puzzled.
30:17Holyfield should be standing back using his jam.
30:19That's all there is to it.
30:23Looking ahead on HBO,
30:26we ask you to join us for a special documentary
30:28that will take you back to a time when the Olympics
30:31were a purer, simpler gathering
30:33of the world's amateur athletes
30:36as HBO Sports presents Spirit of the Games
30:39in the Olympics, premiering Tuesday, June 4
30:41at 10-15 Eastern and Pacific.
30:44You're knocking my balance.
30:45You're knocking right into something.
30:47Okay?
30:48Hey, look.
30:49Step it up.
30:50Get off the gear.
30:51Get this guy out of here.
30:52All right.
30:53Step to pace with me.
30:55Step to pace with me.
30:56Step to pace with me.
30:57Step to pace with me.
30:58Step to pace with me.
30:59Drop your arm.
31:00Drop your arm.
31:01Come on.
31:02Hey, get this guy out of here, man.
31:04Bobby, I want you to jam more.
31:06Move me around a little bit.
31:08You see, you're challenging him.
31:09That's okay, but you don't have to.
31:12Y'all box him.
31:13You're too good to bust him.
31:14The question here is why is Holyfield
31:16standing up between rounds?
31:18I don't recall seeing that before.
31:20Is he too tired to sit down and then get back up?
31:23What's going on?
31:25And the fact that he's going to get him out of there
31:30suggests that they think he's tired.
31:32Right hand uppercut, too,
31:34both on the point of the chin.
31:36Evander's landing some hard shots now
31:38as he tries to respond to Tommy Brooks' request
31:42that he go ahead and get him out of there.
31:51Chaz isn't going anywhere for the moment.
31:53No, Chaz is fighting back,
31:55but it's merely fighting back.
31:57There's no way that he can
31:58launch the offensive right now.
31:59He's basically fighting back.
32:04He's fighting back.
32:05Great!
32:06Full step.
32:10Evander came out, flurried here in the fifth round,
32:13landed a series of hard shots,
32:15and there's Chaz right in front of him.
32:18And now the crowd begins to warm to the occasion,
32:21and we get the chant of Bobby, Bobby, Bobby.
32:26Holyfield should use the advantage of the left jab,
32:29Bobby, Bobby.
32:31Stop trying to play the big puncher.
32:32That's never paid off for him.
32:36He did it with Burt Cooper.
32:38He was on the canvas almost.
32:39Yep.
32:40He was in trouble.
32:40Box.
32:41Made you a hero.
32:43Keep boxing.
32:45When he got the early knockout against Buster Douglas,
32:49it was an opportunity counter shot.
32:52He was boxing Douglas to that point.
32:54That's right.
32:55So you got to keep your jab going and box.
32:57And Holyfield has never been in a fight that wasn't exciting.
33:02Watch your heads.
33:03And this one is starting to get a little bit more exciting
33:06than Evander would like it to be.
33:08He backs Chaz up into the ropes again.
33:10Evander's been very effective when Bobby Chaz
33:13has been pinned against the ropes.
33:20Bobby's fought a great fight,
33:22but with the true difference in the weight,
33:25this is truly not a heavyweight.
33:27You can't expect that much from him.
33:29But you heard Larry Merchant asking,
33:30why was Evander Holyfield standing between rounds?
33:33Let's go to Larry as he tries to get an answer to that question.
33:36Hey, honey, what's up?
33:39All right, Tommy, Tommy Parks.
33:42Tommy Parks on the other side.
33:44I'm sorry.
33:45Tommy Brooks.
33:46Donald, would you tell us what's going on with Evander?
33:50Why did he stand up between rounds?
33:52Is he getting tired?
33:53No, he just wants to stand up and say they want to sit down.
33:56You rid him! You rid him!
33:57Do you think he is okay now?
33:59Yeah, he's okay.
34:00Why is he having a hard time getting rid of Chaz?
34:06I don't know. Chaz is a very smart fighter.
34:08He had him out in the first round.
34:10He had him. He got him out now.
34:18Holyfield could just step back and be a little more accurate.
34:22He can get a knockout.
34:24Go.
34:26Go.
34:27Go.
34:28Go.
34:29Go!
34:30Go.
34:31Go.
34:32Go.
34:33Go.
34:34Go.
34:35Go.
34:36Go.
34:37Go.
34:38Go.
34:39Go, go.
34:40All right.
34:41I got it.
34:41I got it.
34:42It's all right.
34:43Okay?
34:44Oh, hold it.
34:45Go, hold it.
34:46Go, hold it.
34:47Go, hold it.
34:49Hold it up.
34:50Hold it up.
34:51What you do when you get the guy on the roof is broken,
34:53He can't see anymore.
34:54Just stop the fight.
34:55He can't see anymore.
34:56Come on.
34:57I don't want him hurt.
34:58Stop the fight.
34:59Come on.
35:00Come on.
35:01Come on.
35:02Come on.
35:03Come on.
35:04Come on.
35:05Come on.
35:06I said your eyes.
35:07Let me do it.
35:08Let me do it.
35:09Let me do it.
35:10Let me do it.
35:11I said your eyes.
35:12That's what it is.
35:13You ain't fighting no more.
35:15I ain't coming out.
35:16I'm looking out.
35:18Todd!
35:19Todd!
35:20Todd!
35:21Todd!
35:22That Bobby Chez has agreed with his trainer not to go on.
35:26No!
35:27Shut up!
35:28Come on.
35:29I know.
35:30We want to see what's wrong with his eyes.
35:31We're gonna examine those gloves.
35:32We ain't gonna fight.
35:33We're gonna examine those gloves.
35:34He has something in his eye.
35:35He's saying, you know, just literally.
35:37He's burning like crazy.
35:39He's burning like crazy.
35:40He's burning like crazy, man.
35:42Let the man look.
35:43Let the man look.
35:44Let the man look.
35:45Sometimes you gotta listen to your chief corner man.
35:48Yeah.
35:49The judge is complaining that he has a burning sensation.
35:51He has a burning sensation in his eyes.
35:54All right.
35:55He can't stop.
35:56Shades of Cassius Clay versus Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.
35:58Chaz.
35:59Chaz really want to go on for this trainer that he wants to fight to go for him.
36:03I can't imagine what that could possibly be, whether it's some ointment.
36:10Is there some liniment that could have come down in his eyes?
36:14His trainer wanted the fight to stop.
36:16Yeah, but...
36:17He looked for any excuse and he got it.
36:19But Chaz said very clearly, George, my eyes are burning.
36:25Harold, could it be a liniment that slipped, that trickled down into his eyes?
36:29Larry, the rules of boxing are very clear.
36:32You can't use liniment.
36:33The only thing you can use on the body of a fighter is the small amount of Vaseline and
36:39water.
36:40That's it.
36:41Liniment is absolutely not allowed.
36:43Evander Holofield had liniment on his body and he was rubbing it on his gloves and it
36:47went in Bobby Chaz's eye.
36:49The State Athletic Commission definitely has grounds, you know, to overturn this decision.
36:54But I'll tell you the honest truth, I mean, I don't think that he was doing such a thing
36:58because he knows enough not to use liniment in all the years he's been fighting.
37:01But it's strictly prohibited.
37:04Well, for the moment, you've got a technical knockout for Holyfield, a stoppage after the
37:11fifth round.
37:18And Tommy Parks, Bobby Chaz's trainer, is surely going to lodge a protest claiming that
37:24Chaz was illegally fouled by a substance on Holyfield's gloves which got into Chaz's
37:31eyes and caused them to sting, ultimately to close.
37:36And you know that Ron Lipton, the referee, at one point went to Holyfield's corner and
37:41checked the gloves, checked Holyfield's body, apparently has not found any substance that
37:46he could cite as the culprit so far.
37:50And that's going to be the end of what was a spirited effort by Holyfield to knock Chaz out,
37:55a spirited effort that was keeping Chaz on his feet and in the bout.
37:58And I think Evander had probably won all five rounds up to that point, including one of them
38:03as a two point round.
38:05And let's go up to Michael Buffer for the official and to the crowd.
38:09No doubt, disappointing particulars on this.
38:12Referee Ron Lipton after being informed by Bobby Chaz that he is unable to continue at the
38:18end of round five, cause a halt to the bout.
38:21The winner by technical knockout, he is boxing's true warrior, the former undisputed world heavyweight
38:28champion Evander real deal.
38:40I've got the judges scorecards here in my hand and in a round of applause.
38:45One judge Lathan had given Bobby Chaz the fourth round and another judge Eva Shane gave Bobby Chaz the second round.
38:54But by and large, Holyfield won every other round.
38:57And as you could see, was leading on all three judges' cards by a relatively comfortable margin to this point.
39:05On all three cards, he won the third round 10-8.
39:08No, check it.
39:09Judge Eva Shane called that a one point round 10-9.
39:13Not moved by the standing eight count, Harold, to make it a two point round.
39:19And let's go to Larry Merchant in the ring with referee Ron Lipton first.
39:23Ron, would you explain to us what happened at the end of the fight?
39:27And what did you do to determine whether, in fact, some foreign substance got into Bobby Chaz's eyes?
39:34Well, both Bobby Chaz and his very experienced corner, Tommy Parks, have been in boxing a long time.
39:39And they claimed that there was a foreign substance in both his eyes and he could not see.
39:45And I know Vander Holyfield's corner is very experienced and they're clean fighters.
39:50I went over to the corner and I rubbed my hand on his chest and on the gloves and I rubbed it in my own eye.
39:56I couldn't detect any odor, but I didn't stop at that.
39:59I rubbed it in both my eyes and see on the film that I checked it because, you know, I respect their corner and I respect both fighters.
40:06So I checked it out and I could not find any substance that would reveal that.
40:10I also asked the inspector to check it and there was nothing that we could detect as far as an odor or a burning.
40:17But I followed the wishes of the fighter and the corner man and they wanted to stop.
40:21All right, Bobby, what were you experiencing and when did it start?
40:24Well, Vander was naturally strong. I expected that.
40:26I expected to have to weather the storm for four or five rounds and then come out and do what I could.
40:30Maybe it would make him overwork.
40:31But starting the third round, my eyes started to burn.
40:33And I didn't think of anything other.
40:34I thought I just got caught one or two good for raising shots.
40:36But then my nose and my lips started to burn.
40:38And my eyes are killing me right now.
40:39And I went back and told Tommy, he said, maybe he got something in it, but he got a little worse as the rounds went on.
40:44And I don't know what it is.
40:46I mean, the bander in my eyes is beyond reproach.
40:49But there are other people involved.
40:50I'd just like to lay up to test it and I have no problem with it.
40:52He's a great fighter.
40:53I know he's a big underdog.
40:54I was taking my shot.
40:55But I mean, I have to fight him and his skill and his power and having my eyes burn like there's no tomorrow.
41:01I feel like I've got a match on my face.
41:02Could it possibly have simply been salt from sweat getting into your eyes?
41:06For 24 years, I know the difference between a little bit of salt in your eye, a little mini sting and a serious burn.
41:11My eyes are burned.
41:12I can't stop blinking.
41:13And you never had experienced anything like that before?
41:15Yeah, once before.
41:16And somebody did gouge me with something.
41:18That's why I know the feeling.
41:19All right.
41:20Thank you for a brave fight, Bobby.
41:21I tip my hat to advantage.
41:22He's a great fighter.
41:23That's why I wanted to fight him.
41:24I'm one of his biggest fans.
41:26And I was doing my best.
41:27I didn't come here to take a payday.
41:28I came here to win.
41:29And of course, the things didn't work out.
41:30All right.
41:31Evander, what is your response to all of this hullabaloo at the end of the fight?
41:37Well, you know, my whole thing is that, you know, I can't say his eyes ain't burning, but I know I don't have anything to burn his eyes.
41:44Somebody told me in your corner that all they used on you was Vaseline.
41:47Is that what your experience was?
41:49Yes, sir.
41:50And where did the Vaseline were?
41:52Around your eyes?
41:53The face and my chest.
41:54Well, you've been around boxing for a very long time.
41:57Do you have any theory?
41:58I love you, man.
41:59Do you have any theory on what it possibly could be?
42:02Well, you know, I understand that sometimes your corner gets something in your eye, too.
42:08My whole thing is that my eyes have burned before because my corner man put grease in my eye, my corner man fixing the cut and some got in my eyes.
42:15And things like that could happen.
42:17All right.
42:18Tell us about the fight.
42:19Was he a little tougher than you thought because you landed some of your best shots on him?
42:23Well, you know, the thing is, is that I got over excited.
42:26I found myself trying to knock him out because he was smaller.
42:30Finally seeing a guy opposite you who was smaller instead of bigger.
42:34Well, yes.
42:35You know, he was getting on and I was just too anxious.
42:37I was trying to load up and hit him with the big shot, you know.
42:41And as I came to the corner, Don and Tommy was telling me, you need to just take your time.
42:46You too excited.
42:47Why were you standing before the last two rounds?
42:51Were you tired?
42:52Did you feel any fatigue coming on?
42:53No.
42:54The only thing I felt that what was happening is that I'm used to working harder than when I was in the ring.
43:02And sitting down, I was just getting too much rest.
43:05And I realized that I need to try to keep the upbeat so I can get my rhythm together.
43:09All right.
43:10Just quickly, Evander, what do you see for your future now?
43:12Well, you know, I'm hoping for a title fight.
43:15You know, you know, the long breaks and things like that kind of make you anticipate you come out here and they put you against a guy like Bobby Chaz.
43:25And you come out and you want to blast him out early.
43:27And he do the little simple things getting on you, make you miss shots.
43:30And, you know, his punch of power wasn't much, and I stood there.
43:33And all I wanted one clear shot still is just doing what I was told to do and what I trained for to throw a volume of punches.
43:40All right. Thank you very much, Evander.
43:42I'm sure we'll see you again.
43:43Back to you at Pringside.
43:45Final punch stat numbers in five rounds of Holyfield Chaz.
43:50And you can see that Evander landed 53% of his punches.
43:52But, hey, what about Chaz?
43:54Threw 317, landed 112.
43:57He was ridiculed by a lot of people, George, for seeking and getting this shot.
44:01And I thought he gave a pretty creditable account of himself in there.
44:04I thought he did a lot better than everybody said he would do.
44:07As a matter of fact, his trainer, it was his desire to stop that fight, and he just chose that excuse.
44:12But Chaz was getting hit a lot of punches that he shouldn't have been getting hit with.
44:16But he did a lot better than I would have thought he would have done.
44:18What do you see in Evander's future off of what he did here tonight?
44:21Well, like I say, it's all up to Hollywood.
44:23Let's write scripts for fighters to get out of this stuff.
44:26And you would like to see Evander Holyfield choose to short circuit his career?
44:30No, really, I want to see a Hollywood script.
44:32How's that?
44:33I'll come up with the script, and you keep thinking about this one.
44:36Okay.
44:37Thanks a lot, George.
44:38Larry Merchant, your final comments on the third fight in our heavyweight triple header, Evander Holyfield versus Bobby Chaz.
44:45Well, I thought that this being the 21st, 5th anniversary year of Ali and Fraser in this very building,
44:55that it seemed a little bit weird that we would come up with this kind of controversial close to really what was a great celebratory night.
45:06Of everybody just coming here celebrating New York, coming out to watch the big guys pound on each other.
45:13I think the fighter who came out best of tonight was Tim Witherspoon.
45:19Everybody likes Tim Witherspoon in the boxing community, and they wish him well and hope that he can get a big money fight down the road.
45:26I think that Lennox Lewis didn't advance his cause very much.
45:32I don't think he was hurt very much.
45:34I do think that his fight with Tyson will happen before the end of the year.
45:38And apparently Evander Holyfield will go on, but I think we have to question, after not being able to put more hurt on a Bobby Chaz,
45:48what he's going to do with the big guys in the division now.
45:51But all told, just a terrific night in Madison Square Garden.
45:56The sum of the various parts of the various parts was greater than any of the individual fights.
46:03Well, I'll certainly agree with you on one point. What Ray Mercer was able to accomplish against Lennox Lewis in losing a close majority decision
46:11ought to make it more attractive to Mike Tyson and his supporters to go ahead and take a big money fight against Lewis.
46:18I think that's true, but I think that if he, I mean, what's happening here is business.
46:23If he can make a lot of money for not fighting a guy who can hit as hard as Lennox Lewis, why would you want to jeopardize everything by doing that?
46:31But if he has to do it, I think he will. And I think that maybe Lennox Lewis will have learned enough out of this fight to make it a better fight.
46:41A contest.
46:42All right. Well, we'll have a final word on boxing in a moment. First, a look at some upcoming programming on HBO.
46:48Return to a time of true Olympic gold.
46:52I didn't even think about making the main sport. I can tell you.
46:55You did it for the love of sports.
46:57Strip away the years. Rediscover the summer games. Unadorned, pure and simple. Never before seen home movies.
47:05With Olympic athletes telling their own stories in their own words.
47:09This is what you've trained 10,000 hours for.
47:12Return to the spirit of the games. Premieres Tuesday, June 4th on HBO.
47:18Two rising stars portraying two sides of the same person, Marilyn Monroe.
47:28Ashley Judd. And Academy Award winner, Mira Sorvino.
47:32And it seems to me you lived your life like a candle and the wind.
47:40You never know who to be.
47:42HBO Pictures is proud to present Norma Jean and Marilyn. Premieres Saturday, May 18th on HBO.
47:49Late on a Saturday night, the action gets hot.
47:53You try to make a name for yourself and there's no holding back.
47:57The hot new boxing series, HBO Boxing After Dark.
48:01Undefeated Enrique Sanchez versus Ricardo Vargas.
48:04World Super Featherweight Champion Azuma Nelson versus Jesse James Leha in their third decisive battle.
48:10Live Saturday, June 1st. HBO Boxing After Dark.
48:16Some of the best in the business work the night shift.
48:21Heavyweight triple header in Madison Square Garden tonight.
48:24First terrible Tim Witherspoon, 38 years old, continued his quest for another heavyweight title shot
48:30with a fifth round technical knockout of Jorge Luis Gonzalez.
48:34Easily done. Witherspoon looked quite collected and in command of his arsenal.
48:39Then, in a stirring close ten round battle, Ray Mercer came up with one of the better efforts in his entire career
48:47and forced Lennox Lewis all the way to the limit.
48:50Lewis winning two of three judges' tenth rounds on the scorecards to close out a razor-thin majority decision over Mercer.
49:01It kept Lewis in line for a possible title shot against Mike Tyson.
49:06And then finally Evander Holyfield emerges with a fifth round TKO over Bobby Chez.
49:12When referee Ron Lipton is forced to stop the fight after the fifth round.
49:16When Chez's corner complains that he can't go forward, unable to see, because of a foreign agent in his eyes.
49:23Coming up immediately following tonight's world championship boxing.
49:28Stay tuned for Dennis Miller live with guest Christopher Darden on the East Coast and Major League Two on the West Coast.
49:34And join us May 20 for the premiere of this edition of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
49:40Featured the first one-on-one interview with controversial former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips.
49:44A look back at last year's tragic ring death of boxer Jimmy Garcia.
49:48And report on the auto racing war between the Indianapolis 500 and its rivals in championship auto racing teams.
49:54Real sports, the only show of its kind, and it's only on HBO.
49:59So now for Frank the Ford, George Foreman, Harold Letterman, and Larry Merchant.
50:03I'm Jim Lampley saying so long from Madison Square Garden in New York.
50:08The executive producer of HBO sports is Ross Greenberg.
50:20Tonight's telecast of world championship boxing was produced by Rick Bernstein and directed by Mark Payton.
50:26The feature producers were Adam Berger, Brian McDonald, and Kendall Bridges-Reeves.
50:30Associate producers, Kirby Bradley and David Leapson.
50:33Assistants to the producers, Lisa Bennett and Thomas Erdelfelt.
50:38And the production manager was John McCalley.
50:40And the technical supervisor was Bob Hunter.
50:43Thank you, sir.
50:44Thank you, sir.
51:13The Forrest
51:31This has been a presentation of HBO Sports.
51:39The Forrest
51:40This has been a presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.