Because there are 250 million Americans who could care less about watching Evander Holyfield dragging his 39-year-old bones in for a third time against the mediocre John Ruiz, that fight will take place Aug. 4 in China.
Meanwhile, only in Don King’s America could he use Independence Day Eve to hype a bout staged in a Communist dictatorship, embellishing that theme by terming a federal judge’s firm stand on contractual law as an example of British “tyranny.”
Unfortunately, Judge Miriam Goldman Cederbaum was not empowered to order a rematch between King and federal prosecutors. But at least she could read the fine print guaranteeing Lennox Lewis, of London, a rematch in the event of his April 22 knockout loss to Hasim Rahman of East Baltimore.
Fightin’ Miriam told King and Cedric Kushner, Lewis’ manager, to re-negotiate in good faith the paltry $3.1 million to which the contract shackled Rahman for the rematch. Now he can’t fight Brian Neilson on King’s Beijing card for $4 million, then earn King’s promised $10 million in a unification bout against the Ruiz-Holyfield winner.
Pity. King yesterday took his eight count serving hot dogs and hamburgers, waving the red, white and blue and celebrating his inalienable right to turn a kidney punch to the wallet into a brushing jab.
“Like we beat them at Lexington and Concord, we will take them out again,” said King, failing to rise fully to the occasion by offering an even $76 million, holding it to a mere $12.5.
“If they give us [back] $12.5 million, it’s a fair exchange. You can’t treat [Rahman] like he lost. He knocked him out.
“Now they are asking for an interim match, the very thing they told the judge we couldn’t have. I think [the interim] would be [Mike] Tyson. I wonder how [Cederbaum] is going to react to that chicanery.
“[Of] course, I’m scared to say anything about any federal judge other than they are great.”
Rahman, out a guaranteed $14 million, puts his faith in jurisprudence and King, the historical imprudence of the latter arrangement notwithstanding.
“We’ll go by what the judge says,” said the champ. “I’ll make more money on this fight than I would have on the other two.”
The judge, who said she knew nothing about boxing, blissfully gave the public the most interesting fight of the many currently failing to fascinate them. Measured will be Lewis’ redemptive qualities, in addition to Rahman’s true title worthiness after shocking the WBC champ with a flash right hand.
“To me, a lucky punch is being dominated and just throwing one punch,” said Rahman. “It was two rounds apiece and I was winning the fifth round.”
That interpretation, arguable as it was, remained easier on the ears than Holyfield’s tired excuse for two weary performances against Ruiz.
“He put his head in my chest and the only thing I could do was push down and then I was hitting in the back of the head,” he said. “I couldn’t really fight my fight because I was trying not to get disqualified.
“My corner should have stood up. You have to just run over a guy like this, not take your time and set him up. I don’t care what happens. Like I did with Tyson, I have to just go in there not taking that crap.”
