Champs Page #10

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that there's no standardized

health and safety

criteria in the United States.

Think about that.

It's preposterous.

It's high time

that boxing began to regulate

just like other pro

sports like the NFL.

When there's no checks and

balances, there's a problem.

When you see the people who

come from nothing, who come

from less than nothing,

to see them perform

and to see them give

such great entertainment

is an amazing thing.

But as important as it is

for us to celebrate them

at the top of where they

are, it's as important

that we figure out

how to carry them

when they need us the most.

There are

some great success stories

and some great

stories of those who

escape prison, escape

the street and make it.

But for every one of those

guys, there's a sad story

and there's a story of

someone who's exploited,

or a story of someone who loses

their health in the long term,

or a story that somebody

who becomes a champion

and toils for years,

and then winds up

retired with virtually nothing.

It's the American dream and

it's the American nightmare.

When I'm over here

and I'm looking at the Vegas

strip, I can think about all

the trouble I got in over there.

All the drugs I used there.

I never even think about all

the great fights I had there.

I just think about

all the things

I did there, wasn't

really moral.

All I did is knock

people out, screw people,

have sex with women,

get high on drugs.

When me and my wife

first got together,

I was a full blown addict.

My daughter passed

away at four years old.

What happened was a

tragic accident at home.

That's my lowest point.

When I was at the

hospital, I realized

that other people's

children were dying too.

And those people, just

because I'm famous,

they took out of their way,

left their dying children,

their sick children, came

over here and prayed with me.

Then I realized, well, hey.

Their baby's dying too.

So what makes you so important

that you think you should

be mad and angry,

want to kill somebody,

and do... just do

this whole tough guy

stuff because your baby's dying?

Their baby's dying

too, and they left

them to come over

here and talk to you.

You ain't sh*t, motherf***er.

You don't care about nobody.

These people left

their f***ing baby

to talk to your no

good f***ing ass.

And, um, that's

just what it was.

And it's not about me.

The world's bigger than me.

My wife, she stayed

by me and said,

we're gonna get through this.

Just kept it very positive.

Constantly positive.

I just wanted to change.

I wanted to break the

chain of self bondage

that my mother and father

and her mother and father

probably had.

And I wanted it to change with

me so my kids wouldn't have

to deal with that

same suffering.

I'm so happy to be involved

with the recovery world.

I met a bunch of people that

were just amazing people.

They didn't quit on me.

They didn't give up

on me like the rest

of the people in my life.

It's an ongoing struggle.

The pain never goes away.

I'm never in a situation that

I'm so secure that I could

never fall back into that nasty,

dirty, disgusting, wretched

individual that I once was.

I never think that

guy's gone totally.

It's time now where I

have to deal with things

from a serious perspective,

and how me and my family

are gonna evolve from

that perspective.

He had to make adjustments.

Adjustment's part of life.

Disappointment.

That's the biggest fight.

You want to see how

strong somebody is?

Have them get disappointed.

It's over.

That's it.

It is over.

That's it.

Evander Holyfield

has never been knocked out,

and Riddick Bowe is

the one to do it.

If I was Holyfield

or any of his team members,

I'd really have to reevaluate if

he's fit to continue to fight.

With all the health problems

and the heart conditions,

is Evander Holyfield

just completely done?

We don't know.

My mother passed

before I fought Mike Tyson.

My brother passed before

I fought Riddick Bowe.

I had a lot of tragedy

in my family and stuff.

So, you know, you have

to put them behind.

And the continuing life

in the ring of

Evander Holyfield.

Don't count me out yet, he says.

And tonight, with some

new gas in the tank.

Evander Holyfield

was an all time great.

But Evander didn't understand

that the shell life

of a fighter is limited.

We may be

seeing the end of an era.

And I think they

throw in the towel.

I think he was

forced to fight way too long.

Fights at the end of his career

are for virtually no money.

Evander is very

confident in what he believes.

His stubbornness

can be his greatest

asset and his

greatest liability.

I didn't

get into boxing for money.

I got into boxing because I

wanted to be the very best.

I'm the only person who's

been the heavyweight champion

of the world five times, because

I got that many opportunities.

Everybody's gonna

get off the path,

but the point is

to get back on it.

Forgive yourself

and get back on.

Evander Holyfield

has faced plenty of opponents

in the ring, but

nothing like this.

Together with his friend

and financier Yank Barry,

they plan to deliver

food aid and help

resettle Syrian

refugees in a home

supplied by Barry's charity.

Yank Barry used

my likeness to draw the people.

I was on my last leg, but this

man gave me an opportunity

to fight back these

people who were

taking my memorabilia

and all this.

He did it himself.

I think Evander

has come to that realization

that he needs to be Evander

Holyfield and not necessarily

Evander Holyfield, four

time heavyweight champion

of the world.

If it wasn't for that Boys

Club and other people who

had money who sponsored me

as a kid, I wouldn't

be who I am.

The work that I'm doing

now with Global Village,

that's what life

is really about.

I go to Heaven, they

ain't gonna be asking me,

how many times you became

the heavyweight champion

of the world.

He's gonna ask, what did

you do for the people.

The reason why you exist in

the world is to help somebody.

Not just for yourself.

One of my best friends

was Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad's health

started failing

and I had to pick a new

goodwill ambassador.

It was Evander.

And Evander brought in Mike.

He brought... You bought him in?

Yep.

Evander Holyfield has been

very gracious with Mike.

Mike bit a portion

of his ear off.

that takes a lot of compassion,

a lot of love in your heart,

to forgive someone.

If you forgive, then

you'll have peace.

You won't have people fighting

each other all the time.

That's what makes the world

go around is people forgive.

What did you think when

Evander called you and said,

I want you to get

involved in this project.

Well, it's not like I was

doing anything, of course.

You know?

I said, hey, um, yeah.

OK.

Well, Mike always talked

about that he never

wanted to be involved

in the sport again.

But now that he's

resurrected himself,

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