LAS VEGAS – The hulking figure in white shirt still looked as intimidating as when he terrorized the heavyweight ranks in his prime.
Of all the guests that showed up during Friday’s weigh-in ceremonies for the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez showdown, Evander Holyfield stood out the most, exchanging handshakes and giving out interviews at the floor of the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena.
“I’ve always been a fan of Manny Pacquiao,” Holyfield told former PBA courtside reporter Jannelle So, who currently hosts Kababayan LA television show in Los Angeles, during a brief interview after the weigh-in.
Holyfield did not give a full analysis of the fight, but told So that all Pacquiao needed to do to win would be to “be himself.”
A HEAVYWEIGHT DROPS BY. Former world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield talks to former PBA courtside reporter and current Los Angeles TV host Jannelle So during the weigh-in of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez Friday night, Nov. 11, 2011 for their fight on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 (Sunday in Manila). FRANCIS T.J. OCHOA/Inquirer
As for Marquez?
“He has to keep the faith,” said the 49-year-old Holyfield, who is also remembered as the boxer whose ear Mike Tyson bit off during their heavyweight match on June 29, 1997, a date remembered as one of the most bizarre bouts in boxing history.
Holyfield has piled a record of 44-10-2 with 29 knockouts. He last fought on July 5 this year, scoring a technical knockout of Danish Brian Nielsen.
Holyfield said he believed the fight between Pacquiao and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. would happen, even if negotiations kept collapsing due to several demands from the American superstar’s camp.
Aside from the blood testing protocols Mayweather wants to dictate for the predicted mega-fight, the split of boxing revenues and guaranteed purse has started to become a problem.
“It will happen because both fighter deserve that kind of a payday,” he told So.
Kababayan LA is a talk show that caters to the Filipino community and airs on Southern California’s channel 18. It has been running for six years with So as its host from the start.