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Evander Holyfield
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By SIDDHARTHA MISHRA
Attention, please: This is the born-again, post-Tyson bite right ear of four-time world heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield speaking...
Kin ya speak up, pleaze. I kin't hear ya." Life's never been the same 'gain since that 'Bite Fight' in Las Vegas on June 28, 1997. Mike Tyson chomped off a damn big chunk off me... fortunately, he had the good sense to spit it out. Of course, had it not been for that casino worker who found me, and a real qui-ckie by that plastic surgeon who stitched me back, my, my, I wuz history. "Maaan, I wuz really surprised... never saw it comin'. One minute it was punch-punch and then... maan, was it painful? How would ya like it if somebody bit off a piece of yer ear?" And chewed yer mind? A twitch. "Na, we're okay now. We've spoken since then... no talk about the ear bit, no bad blood or anything. No, I ain't being humble. It ain't like Mike looks up to me or somethin'... he does his own thing, I do mine."
Like hearin' 'em critics say I should retire, but I ain't payin' any attention here. "I've got a fight comin' up on October 8 in Italy... some guy called Woods, I don't even remember his name. Then I've got bouts in China, Africa...I'm goin' all over the world." Why do I keep comin' back? "'Coz my mom didn't bring up a quitter." My heart's been cleared by doctors, the New York Boxing Commission's lifted its medical suspension of me. Do I have it in me to be world champ again? Twitch. Twitch. "Maan, wait till 2006... I'm gonna be back where I belong." In one piece.
"Na, I don't feel bad 'bout beatin' up guys... it's just a sport. I don't need to psyche myself for a fight. Do ya guys need to psyche yourselves before filing a report? It comes naturally to ya, right?" Where does the aggro come from? "It comes from wantin' to be the best. I go into the ring thinkin': it's either the other guy or me... I want it to be me, so I beat him."
"I know it's kinda different for people to see me and not see me fight, but there ain't any contradiction here. Boxing's a contact sport but it ain't about violence. Violence is when you take advantage of someone, boxing is about rules and regulations, about free will, about choice -- you're in the ring 'coz you wanna fight."
"I'm a lovely person. There are times when I smile, there are times when I need to switch off and be serious. When I'm in training, I don't even meet my wife and kids. I'm kinda serious. Ya, I do things other than boxing. I used to play football once. I dance, I run a dance studio, I have 10 kids. Life's kinda busy, you know."
Er... what's the right ear of a four-time world heavyweight champ doin' listenin' and preachin' peace with evangelist KA Paul, who's brought him to India? What's this global peace rally thingy in Delhi he's gonna participate in on October 2? "What's a peace mission anyway? It's about fighting... fighting for what is right. When yer talkin' peace, you can't depend on one country to take the decision for everybody. In America, we're like Big Brother, we take things for granted. And then you see the sheer numbers of India and China: that's half the world, maan. Peace is about everyone bein' happy. It's about not doin' to others what ya don't want happenin' to ya. It's about listenin' to the other person. I'm listenin'." Hear! Hear! Stop twitching it. Lend a happy new ear.
Source- Times of India
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Special Report (Aug 24, 2005)
