BOXING: Holyfield says ‘time is running out’

The end might actually be near for Evander Holyfield. It won’t arrive, however, without one more title shot.

Holyfield, who said he plans to retire by the end of 2009, will meet 7-foot Russian Nikolai Valuev for the WBA heavyweight title Dec. 20 in Zurich, Switzerland. Final contracts are expected to be signed before the end of the week.

“I knew I would get one more shot; I just had to be patient,” said Holyfield, who turned 46 last month. “But I realized my time is running out, and I’ve got to get this thing pretty soon. My whole thing, how old do you want to be when you pursue this?”

Holyfield, countering pleas from fans, media and the boxing community, has been putting off retirement until he reclaims the championship. He has not held a share of the title since losing the WBA belt to John Ruiz in March 2001. Holyfield now says he plans to retire before the end of next year, although he’s quick to add, “I’m not in control of my life. If the Lord says, ‘I made you heavyweight champion again, and I want you to keep fighting,’ I’ll stay as long as he wants me to stay.”

Holyfield (42-9-2) is expected to make only $600,000 for the bout. He has reunited with his first manager, Ken Sanders, but doesn’t currently have a trainer.

Valuev (49-1, 34 knockouts), who is likely to be a significant favorite, had put off committing to fighting Holyfield because of a lack of interest. But no other bouts materialized, and one potential opponent, Andrew Golota, lost Saturday in China.

Despite recent public financial issues with outstanding loans and child support, Holyfield strongly reiterated he is not fighting for the money but rather for a desire to reclaim the championship.

“People are always asking me, ‘Why are you keeping this going? Are you doing this for the money?’ ” he said. “It’s kind of odd. I had this as a goal even before I had any money problems and situations. You get tired of explaining to somebody that you’re not doing this for the money. It may look like it now, but it’s not the case.”

The Valuev bout is being held in Switzerland due to a general lack of interest by sites in the United States. Organizers hope the bout will be on pay-per-view, but Holyfield said, “I don’t think it will be. It’s sort of like this is going to happen in secret. That’s too bad because it’s going to be a great story. It’s going to be a shocker.”