Holyfield's Feb. bout in Uganda canceled

By Jeff Schultz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It’s the new Evander Holyfield story: “Around the World in Zero fights.”

After having previous fights canceled in South Korea and Ethiopia due to lack of financing, Holyfield’s proposed fight/sideshow against Frans Botha in Uganda Feb. 20 is off for the same reason. How much rejection will one man take before he finally decides to retire?

Ken Sanders, Holyfield’s manager, confirmed Thursday that Ugandan officials, “never came with the money. They were supposed to send us $500,000 for two months and they never did. We’re still trying to get it [in the U.S.] for March 6 but we haven’t got it done yet.”

Holyfield, 47, does have an April 24 fight scheduled against Derric Rossy in Las Vegas. He originally was supposed to meet Rossy in Jeju Island, South Korea, in November. Previously, he was supposed to meet Sammy Retta in Ethiopia in July as part of a fundraising even for AIDS charities. Both fell apart.

Sanders: “I spent a whole year between Ethiopia, Korea and Uganda, people supposedly sending money, and with no deal. I’m about through with this out-of-the-country deal.”

Holyfield has had financial problems over the last couple of years, related to his Fayette County home and child support. He currently is seeking to renegotiate child support payments to his second wife, Janice Itson Holyfield.