Columnist Dean Juipe: Holyfield fights Ruiz, Father Time

Dean Juipe

Friday, March 2, 2001 | 11:35 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

He has been in the ring for 307 rounds and more often than not the opponent was a big, strong man who hit him in the head a few dozen times.

Evander Holyfield knows he can't go on forever.

Doesn't he?

He's talking of at least three fights this year, the first of which will be Saturday at Mandalay Bay when he's thrust into a rematch with John Ruiz. The latter is nine years younger than Holyfield and brimming with confidence after coming within an eyelash of upsetting Holyfield in a fight last August.

Many fans -- although few in the media -- felt Ruiz won that earlier fight. If he had, he and not Holyfield would have a hold on the World Boxing Association heavyweight championship and Holyfield most likely would have retired.

At 38 years old, Holyfield is dangerously close to getting caught in one fight too many.

He sees a colleague from the prime of his career struggling to speak coherently and keep himself out of jail for hitting his wife and Holyfield grimaces at what has become of Riddick Bowe. He knows it's sad when fighters lose their faculties.

He doesn't want to become punch drunk, too.

But he places himself on a quest, a mission of sorts, and believes it's one he can yet accomplish. A former undisputed champion, Holyfield yearns for that distinction again even though it would likely require not only a win over Ruiz but one over World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation champ Lennox Lewis.

Holyfield is counting on winning this weekend, winning another proposed fight (against a "lesser" opponent) June 30 in China, and Lewis not getting a big-money fight with Mike Tyson. If those dominos fall in the proper order, he sees himself and Lewis fighting (for a third time) later this year, and, naturally, he sees himself winning that fight and reaching his goal.

It probably won't happen that way, of course.

Ruiz could upset the apple cart although he is suspiciously low on quality experience and Holyfield has a track record of doing well in rematches. Nonetheless, it figures to be a decent fight and one that arguably could go either way.

One thing about it, Holyfield is going to hit the wall at some point. Those who saw him struggling with Ruiz last summer at the Paris Las Vegas thought it was happening right then, with Holyfield unable to "get off" and Ruiz just aggressive enough to throw the outcome into doubt.

Holyfield now says a busted eardrum and not Ruiz's tenacity was his downfall in that fight, and he promises to make amends. He's predicting a knockout victory.

Actually, he's predicting knockout victories for each of his 2001 fights, assuming there will be more than one.

Given his credentials as a six-time world champion in three weight classes, he is not a man to be taken lightly.

He probably beats Ruiz but it's no sure thing simply because of Holyfield's age and the wear-and-tear factor, to say nothing of an unforgiving Father Time.

His dreams will only carry him so far and one day everyone will agree it's over. If it ends Saturday, maybe he'll take some comfort in going out with his boots on.