Reaching for a win
Holyfield not concerned with Akinwande's height
Posted: Saturday May 30, 1998 01:08 AM
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Evander Holyfield will take his 35-3 record against Akinwande's 33-1-1 record on June 6 (Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport) |
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Evander Holyfield, whose challenger will tower over him in their fight next week, isn't concerned about any height and reach disadvantages.
"I'm in great shape and have done all the things necessary to beat a giant," said Holyfield, who puts his WBA and IBF titles on the line against Englishman Henry Akinwande in New York.
"He's 6-foot-8 [actually 6-7] and I'm 6-foot-2. I'm not going to get any taller before June 6 and he's not going to get any shorter," Holyfield said Friday at a news conference to hype their bout at Madison Square Garden.
"I will still be able to hit him. I've never fought someone that I couldn't hit. And if I can hit a guy, I can win."
Akinwande didn't put up much of a fight against WBC champion Lennox Lewis on July 12, getting disqualified in the fifth round for constantly holding and grabbing.
"I only did it [clinch and hold] one time," Akinwande said at the news conference with Holyfield. "Just because I lost one fight, that doesn't mean I'm a bad fighter. I just put that fight behind me.
"Emanuel Steward [his new trainer] has shown me some different things."
Holyfield is 35-3 with 25 KOs, while Akinwande is 33-1-1 with 19 knockouts.
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