Athletic Commission grants Evander Holyfield one-fight license

By Brett Okamoto

Monday, March 1, 2010 | 10:10 p.m.

In 2003, Evander Holyfield lost a lopsided fight to James Toney at Mandalay Bay that ended with his corner throwing in the towel in the ninth round.

More than six years later, that devastating loss nearly cost the 47-year-old boxer the opportunity to fight in Las Vegas again.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission granted Holyfield's request for a fighter's license Monday, despite the concerns of one of its board members.

Raymond Avansino Jr. was in attendance during Holyfield's last Las Vegas fight and left that night thinking the fighter's career needed to be over.

The fact that Holyfield (42-10-2, 27 KO) is now six years older did nothing to calm Avansino's concerns.

"I will not support this on the basis of my particular view of the encounter back in 2003," said Avansino, who could not attend Monday's meeting but spoke via a conference call. "I can't imagine his condition has gotten any better than it was then."

"At the very least, I would want a medical advisory board as well as a neurologist to find his full capabilities. I may be the lone one, but that's my feeling on this."

Sure enough, Avansino was the only board member to vote against Holyfield's request.

The one-fight license was granted on the condition Holyfield would consult a retinal inspection before any future fights in Las Vegas, as it was found he had retinal scarring.

Commission executive director Keith Kizer acknowledged it didn't seem likely the commission would have to consider granting Holyfield a license again after he dropped three straight fights from 2002 to 2004. But following that stretch, Holyfield took a two-year break and came back to the sport with four straight wins.

"To his credit, he took some time off, as you can tell from his record," Kizer said. "It's kind of strange, sitting here at the end of 2004 or 2005, we were pretty much saying this guy is done — it's silly to even talk about getting him a license again. But then he came back and proved himself."

Holyfield, who also contributed to the meeting via conference call, said the poor stretch could be attributed to nagging shoulder injuries he suffered from during that time period.

"What happened at that point in time was I had three operations on my shoulders due to torn rotator cuff," Holyfield said. "My doctor told me to take two years off and I asked him if that was for the average person. He said, 'Well, yeah.' I told him, 'I'm not average.'

"When I got in a fight, even though my shoulders weren't hurt, my balance was very off. I didn't realize that injury affects your whole body. When I got my license back, everybody could see that I could throw punches again."

Holyfield has lost his two most recent fights, but he's been competitive in both.

After a disappointing performance in October 2007, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Sultan Ibragimov in Moscow, Holyfield fought nearly even with WBA World heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, finishing on the short end of a majority decision.

"One of the judges scored it 114-114, the other judges scored it different in the guy's backyard," said Crown Boxing promoter Frank Luca, who attended on Holyfield's behalf. "If that fight was here in Las Vegas we'd be talking about the WBA heavyweight champion of the world. He is in good physical condition, and there is no reason he shouldn't be fighting."

Holyfield's one fight likely will occur April 17 at the Orleans against 41-year-old Frans Botha (47-4-3, 28 KO). His license would be up for renewal depending on how well he performs.

Botha must also be approved for his fighter's license before the bout can become official. The NSAC is expecting that request as early as next week.

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected]. Also follow him on twitter: LVSunFighting.