Evander Holyfield – Brian Nielsen May 7th
48-year-old former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield (43-10-2, 28 KOs) is in Copenhagen, Denmark for Saturday’s clash with 46-year-old Brian Nielsen (64-2, 43 KOs), who is returning to the ring after a nine year retirement. “I’m full of respect for Brian Nielsen. He looks strong-willed, and his form is quite obviously improved since I saw him in December for the first time,” Holyfield wrote in the Ekstra Bladet. “With that said, he’ll have problems when we first meet up between the ropes. It’s me who is ‘The Real Deal,’ and I’m here in this country with a mission to be completed Saturday night. The mission is very simple: I will defeat Nielsen fair and square.” As for hyping the fight during fight week, Holyfield penned, “I’ve been involved in some of the biggest fights in boxing history. Before every one I’ve repeatedly been asked questions to get me to say that I’ll destroy my opponent, that I’ll eat him alive, that sort of thing, but that’s not me at all. I have never spoken ill of a single opponent. I’m not a bad man and I will under no circumstances speak condescendingly about my opponent using that kind of language.”