Evander Holyfield outworked and thoroughly outclassed Lou Savarese on Saturday, winning a 10-round unanimous decision to stay undefeated in his latest comeback.
Holyfield, the 44-year-old former heavyweight champion, started and ended the fight with a hard left to the head of the 41-year-old Savarese. In between, Holyfield was in control.
The judges scored it 98-90, 99-87 and 96-91.
PHOTO: AP
Savarese, a former title contender, held his own for the first eight rounds before being knocked off his feet with a hard left to the chin.
Holyfield (42-8-2) knocked Savarese (46-7) to the mat again in the 10th round, with Savarese looking as though he was hoping to just stay upright.
Holyfield came in weighing 99kg, giving Savarese a 10kg advantage that wasn't all that tough to overcome.
"Lou hurt me with an upper cut [in the third] ... but I got away from the next one," Holyfield said after the fight.
That was about the only stunning shot for Savarese, who himself had been on the comeback trail.
Holyfield said after a quick try at fighting the taller Savarese on the inside, he moved to the outside and did his best to land some quick, hard left jabs.
Savarese did a good job of dodging second hits, Holyfield said.
Savarese, looking swollen and battered, said that the fight was his last.
"I fought hard," he said. "I gave it my all."
It was Holyfield's fourth bout since returning to boxing after a two-year layoff. His goal is to win an unprecedented fifth heavyweight title and unify the belts in the messy division before retiring for good.
Saturday's result was a big step for Holyfield to possibly get another crack at one of the many fighters holding a heavyweight championship belt.
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