Evander Holyfield Is Waiting Patiently for Title Fight With Mike Tyson

NEW YORK —  Marking time. That is what Evander Holyfield is doing, staying busy until he finally gets his shot at undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, now tentatively slated for June, 1990.

At the same time, Holyfield, a gentleman, had been doing his best to convince people that he really wasn’t not looking past menial tasks such as beating up heavyweight Alex Stewart Saturday night at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

“I’m not taking this fight easy,” Holyfield said the other day. “I never take any fight easy.”

And yet, Holyfield (22-0, 18 knockouts), the No. 1 contender in all three ratings organizations, couldn’t find many arguments to make a case for Stewart, who had knocked out all 24 of his opponents but didn’t have a recognizable name in his result sheet. “I think he is a good fighter, but he just hasn’t been put to the test yet,” Holyfield said. He added, “You can pretty much judge a man by the quality of people he’s fought.”

By that standard, the scheduled 10-round bout figured to be a mismatch. Holyfield, of course, has beaten the likes of Dwight Qawi (twice), Pinklon Thomas, James (Quick) Tillis and Michael Dokes. Stewart, 25, struggled with club fighters Conroy Nelson, Lorenzo Canady and Arthel Lawhorne. Those are the better-known opponents.

But at a well-conditioned 6-3 and 220 pounds, Stewart is the first young, strong, legitimate heavyweight Holyfield had faced. And Stewart had something else going for him--a burning resentment at the lack of respect he thinks Holyfield and his handlers, promoter Dan Duva, trainer Lou Duva and manager Ken Sanders, gave him since the fight was announced in August.

“I’m sorry he felt that way,” Holyfield said. “I always respect my opponents. If he wants to be angry at me for what my manager or promoter says, let him.”

In the ring, Holyfield said, a fighter’s anger will work against him. “When a fighter fights out of anger, he doesn’t fight smart.”

Holyfield said he doesn’t mind taking chances while waiting for the Tyson fight to be made. Although a few months ago Tyson’s promoter, Don King, said the fight could never be made if the Duvas were still involved with Holyfield, recently the relations between the two camps have thawed a bit.

And Dan Duva has taken steps to have the World Boxing Assn. notify Tyson that if he does not sign to fight Holyfield by March 25, he will be stripped of his title.

Whether the WBA would strip Tyson--a laughable move--King told a Showtime interviewer in a piece that will air before the bout, “We want Evander Holyfield and we want to be able to get him sometime in the near future.”

“I hear it’s supposed to happen in June,” Holyfield said. “I’m just here waiting. I’m being patient, taking my time.”