Evander Holyfield v Chris Byrd
December 14th Bally's Atlantic City, NJ

The facts are simple, IBF Title at stake, Bally's in Atlantic City is the site and the combatants are two of the more respected Heavyweights in the current picture. But the Holyfield - Byrd bout is more than simple facts. It's a REAL fight for once.

Ruiz is associated with Roy Jones in a public catch weight dream pipeline fight, Lewis v Klitschko is a fight too mouth-watering to be a case of a straight forward scheduling job ... and McCline v Klitschko is a BIG man match up that may end up a don't blink affair ... amidst all of these ifs, buts and maybes, the much avoided and rarely sought after Mr. Awkward heavyweight contender Chris Byrd is about to take his first baby steps into the elite leaguers in a baptism of fire with the Ultimate Warrior of the last decade, Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield, who once again is out to prove his rebirth into the Champions league title mixer.

If the same Evander Holyfield that performed forehead sculpture of Elephantine proportions on Hasim Rahman shows up, against the Chris Byrd that made the often awesome David Tua and Vitali Klitschko look out of sorts this could prove quite intriguing viewing, something not generally associated with Mr. Byrd's boxing expos....Byrd I always compare with Jimmy Young, a 70s heavyweight that was renowned for being the best underdog in the game.. but like Young when he is good he is very, very good but when he is bad he is Horrible.. and warrants a gas mask to watch.. (Remember his classic against Eliecer Castillo a few years ago?? Enough said!)

Chris has however began to take his boxing very seriously; a relocation to Las Vegas and a no nonsense approach makes Chris a valuable commodity in the present title picture. We all run around these days screaming about how good Ike Ibeabuchi was before his demons put him in a straight jacket and whisked him off to a better place... and we are beginning to whisper good things about Vlad Klitschko as a heavyweight threat. Well, let me remind you that Byrd has only ever fallen short in matches with these two terrors, that gives us a more clear visual on how tough a cookie Chris can be ... Losses to two of the best we have seen pass through our recent eye line is the hard truth about the man we love to hate to watch. Dull he may appear at times but a winner he is. Chris Byrd has arrived and like him or loathe him he is on top of his game and ready to take that step into the lions den on Dec 14th... and if he plays it like we know he can, he may make it damn hard work for Commander 'Vander to look good against.

Lennox may not be afraid of anyone, but given a choice Team Lewis knows it's not a great move to sign to box Byrd, especially when this one can just be bloody awful to perform to your fullest against. It takes two to tango, and when you can tango your ass off with the best of 'em you can't get going when your dance partner is doing a waltz...  It may become just heartbreaking for Evander when his best tango leaves him dancing to a different tune.

Byrd is an intelligent man and I know what he can do. Evander was a great fighter and I know what he was capable of in the past, unless he can roll back a few years and reinvent his powers for the zillionth time. The one time Holy Warrior may be found wanting, with holes in his arsenal that will be leaking so heavily that he may finally sink.