Holyfield's determination is scary

Evander Holyfield delivered the line with that crooked smile of his and it got a big laugh.

But for anyone who has appreciated the four-time heavyweight champion or cares at all about the safety of the man it was scary.

The 39-year-old Holyfield insists that his fight on Saturday against World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion John Ruiz is only the first step in his bid to regain the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.

But when it was pointed out that even if he beats Ruiz it could be several years before he fights for the undisputed crown, Holyfield simply shrugged.

"Then I'll have to be 80," he said with accompanying smile and laughs from reporters on Thursday at a news conference in the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation's hotel and casino complex.

The scary part is that Holyfield probably meant it.

In the world according to Holyfield, who will receive about $2 million for Saturday's scheduled 12-rounder, he will beat Ruiz, who defeated him in a 12-round close decision last March.

Then the man who calls himself "The Real Deal" plans to go on to fight the winner of the proposed April fight between Lennox Lewis, who holds two of the three main world titles, and Mike Tyson.

However, even if he wins, Holyfield is likely to face a bevy of mandatory challengers, and coupled with the infighting that goes on between sanctioning bodies, promoters and managers means he may not get a chance to unify the division for a long time.

If he loses, Holyfield said: "I'll just get back in line.

"I want to be the undisputed heavyweight champion when I retire. I will be the undisputed heavyweight champion," said the always fit-looking Holyfield.

RUIZ CONFIDENT

Ruiz is, as expected, confident he will win the fight, which originally was scheduled for Beijing last August but was postponed due to an injury to Ruiz, money problems in China and the September 11 attacks in the United States.

The soft-spoken 29-year-old, who will make $3.25 million, says he is mystified about not receiving the respect he thinks he deserves.

One of the reasons might be that fight fans and the media may not be ready for a Latino champion he said.

However he did not mention that the quality of his fights might have something to do with his relative obscurity.

Before fighting Holyfield the first time, Ruiz had beaten only one top fighter - Jerry Ballard in 1998 to win the vacant WBA title. In his 37-4 career, Ruiz has lost to unknowns Sergei Kobozev in 1993 and Danell Nicholson in 1994.

But perhaps the biggest rap on the relatively light-hitting Ruiz came when David Tua knocked him out in 19 seconds of the first round in 1996.

TYSON FIGHTS

The 37-5-1 Holyfield has had many memorable fights. But his most famous were with Mike Tyson.

Tyson thought Holyfield would be an easy touch in defending his WBA crown, especially after Holyfield looked old and slow in defeating blown up cruiserweight Bobby Czyz.

But Holyfield shocked the fight world in November 1996 by knocking down Tyson and then in the 11th round battering him around the ring to force the referee to stop the bout.

Probably the most infamous fight ever was their rematch a year later. Known forever as the "Bite Fight", Holyfield won after Tyson was disqualified in the third round for biting Holyfield's ears.

Holyfield initially won the undisputed title by knocking out James "Buster" Douglas in the third round in 1990 before losing it to Riddick Bowe in a 12-round decision in 1992.

He beat Bowe the next year to take back two of the three main titles and then lost them to Michael Moorer in 1994.

Holyfield had two controversial fights with Lennox Lewis in 1999. The first ended in a draw and Holyfield lost the second on a 12-round decision.

Then Holyfield began his hunt for the undisputed title again by taking on lightly-regarded WBA champion Ruiz in August 2000.

After a 12-round toe-to-toe brawl, Holyfield won their first encounter in a close decision. A second fight was mandated and in a foul-filled bout last March, Ruiz won a unanimous decision.

DIRTY TACTICS

Holyfield and Ruiz on Thursday accused each other of being a dirty fighter, with Ruiz saying he will not hesitate to retaliate against any illegal tactics employed by Holyfield, who has developed a reputation for using his head and elbows as weapons.

Holyfield had a point deducted for hitting Ruiz below the belt in their last fight and accused Ruiz of being "a good actor" in convincing the referee he had been fouled.

Holyfield said he fought conservatively in their last fight because he was concerned about having points unfairly deducted for dirty tactics. But he says that on Saturday he will throw caution to the wind and let his punches fly.

"This could be his last fight," said Holyfield, referring to Ruiz's corner saying their man will retire the former champion for good.

But again turning scary, Holyfield said, "whether it's next year or the next year, I will be here until I become the undisputed heavyweight champion."