- Joined
- Mar 30, 2013
- Messages
- 5,794
- Reaction score
- 37
I sometimes hear accusations that Holyfield was a dirty fighter; intentional headbutt allegations, etc.. I was recently reading a Bobby Czyz article and was reminded of the way the fight with Evander ended. I always personally felt it was just sour grapes on Bobby's part. In the article he mentions another fighter accusing Evander of "suspicious" tactics. I know anything is possible in boxing, but who can say really what happened. I do find some of the things said here difficult to believe. Anyway, just thought some here would find this passage interesting reading. I may have to watch that Czyz fight again, because my recollection was that Holyfield was dominating. And Tabasco sauce would cause permanent eye damage?:
http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/08/my-life-inside-and-outside-the-ring-with-bobby-czyz/
It’s 1996 and Bobby has made the big move up to heavyweight. In May he got what would be his final big fight, it would be against heavyweight legend, Evander Holyfield. The fight was controversial as it appeared that Holyfield had a substance on his gloves that was causing Czyz problems with his sight. So, what actually happened? “I was told, believe it or not, nine months afterwards from State Police that his gloves were tested and there was Tabasco sauce on his gloves. They believed there was but couldn’t prove it definitively and that’s why it became inconclusive. I got a phone call from Bert Cooper who said after he knocked Holyfield down, in the very next round he was almost blinded and he couldn’t see anything and his eyes were burning. To this day he has sight problems. My vision before fighting was tested at 20/15, better than 20/20. Now it’s 20/35, 20/40. If you watch the fight, in between rounds, you’ll see Don Turner rubbing Evander’s gloves. Now, it’s very common to rub vaseline on the gloves in sparring so you don’t hurt or cut each other but you don’t do that in a fight, you wanna hurt people and cut them. There is no reason on the planet for him to be rubbing Evander Holyfield’s gloves. No reason, zero. Evander Holyfield said a year after the fight, he said ‘Bobby, after one more round, I was gonna quit.’ I knew he would underestimate my toughness. I was ready to go to the long, deep rounds because I didn’t think he was.”
http://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/08/my-life-inside-and-outside-the-ring-with-bobby-czyz/
It’s 1996 and Bobby has made the big move up to heavyweight. In May he got what would be his final big fight, it would be against heavyweight legend, Evander Holyfield. The fight was controversial as it appeared that Holyfield had a substance on his gloves that was causing Czyz problems with his sight. So, what actually happened? “I was told, believe it or not, nine months afterwards from State Police that his gloves were tested and there was Tabasco sauce on his gloves. They believed there was but couldn’t prove it definitively and that’s why it became inconclusive. I got a phone call from Bert Cooper who said after he knocked Holyfield down, in the very next round he was almost blinded and he couldn’t see anything and his eyes were burning. To this day he has sight problems. My vision before fighting was tested at 20/15, better than 20/20. Now it’s 20/35, 20/40. If you watch the fight, in between rounds, you’ll see Don Turner rubbing Evander’s gloves. Now, it’s very common to rub vaseline on the gloves in sparring so you don’t hurt or cut each other but you don’t do that in a fight, you wanna hurt people and cut them. There is no reason on the planet for him to be rubbing Evander Holyfield’s gloves. No reason, zero. Evander Holyfield said a year after the fight, he said ‘Bobby, after one more round, I was gonna quit.’ I knew he would underestimate my toughness. I was ready to go to the long, deep rounds because I didn’t think he was.”
