World Boxing News measured former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, on the Boxing Severity Index on the back of his return to action at 58.
Holyfield predictably looked pitiful but could not stop himself from fighting after fending off the itch to fight for an entire decade.
Nobody in his team supported that he was way past competing at any level and should never have been in the ring.
The Boxing Severity Index championed by the Association of Boxing Commissions put Holyfield in the High-Risk Category C.
Despite this fact, Holyfield got licensed to fight in Florida after being denied in California. Previously back in 2005, Holyfield got banned from fighting in New York.
BOXING SEVERITY INDEX (BSI)
1) ACTIVITY (fights in the last 2 years)
1 (or less) +1
HOLYFIELD – +1
2) RECENT RECORD
Lost five or more straight +2
Lost 3 of last 4 +1
Won 3 of last 4 -1
HOLYFIELD – 0
3) KO or TKO
More than 4 in last two years +3
Three or less in the previous two years +2
Last fight by KO +1
HOLYFIELD – 0
4) Age
Greater than 44 +2
Greater than 35 +1
HOLYFIELD – +2
5) RING AGE
Greater than 500 rounds +1
Amateur experience
Each fight = 1 pro round
Greater than five years +1
HOLYFIELD – +1
TOTAL SCORE:
+3 – +4 = High-Risk Category “C.”
+5 – +6 = High-Risk Category “B.”
+7 – +9 = High-Risk Category “A.”
Categories A, B, and C indicate the fighter needs further clinical evaluation by the commission and their medical advisory board before licensure.
This scale should not replace sound judgment but get utilized as one objective tool to determine suitability to compete.
EVANDER HOLYFIELD SUMMARY
You can see why there’s an argument to license Holyfield due as he wasn’t on a losing streak before he retired. However, “The Real Deal” was only slightly off on one of the scaling factors.
The total number of rounds boxed is surpassed. The losses in his last four bouts were marginally above. Holyfield would have fallen into Category “B” on five points, with the latter now in play.
Furthermore, as it turns out, it’s the result of the Vitor Belfort fight that has pushed Holyfield to the High-Risk Category B as hopes continue that he will retire.
If unfathomably contemplated by anyone on either side, a future Mike Tyson fight should get ruled out on this basis alone.
The information is out there. It’s now open to those who want to place Evander Holyfield in fights at his advanced age to access it.
