- 6/7/2025
Evander Holyfield defends his WBA/IBF Cruiserweight Titles against Ossie Ocasio in the main event of Showtime Championship Boxing.
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00:00:00It's one of Europe's most glamorous locale, part medieval village, part Mediterranean fishing port, part modern seaside resort.
00:00:09For millions around the world who've never seen or visited it, Saint-Tropez speaks of wealth and antiquity, freedom and full-heartedness, youth and beauty.
00:00:19In the warm waters amid pink and yellow houses that cascade down from the surrounding mountains,
00:00:23scores of yachts and pleasure boats nod to the patrons of seaside cafes and await the return of 20th century sailors
00:00:31who've slipped away into 14th century cobblestone streets to taste the luxurious texture of Saint-Tropez.
00:00:38In late summer, Frenchmen from Paris and all the provinces gravitate southward for their holidays,
00:00:43as much of the nation converges on the coastline below Lyon.
00:00:46To the eastern corner lies Monaco, richest jewel of the Riviera,
00:00:50and westward from Nice are the large port of Cannes and the tiny outpost called Saint-Tropez.
00:00:56It sits on a peninsula wrapped around a small bay, the place whose style defines the life of Le Cote d'Azur.
00:01:03On a typical summer day, the Mediterranean sun washes over the white beaches of the peninsula
00:01:08where sunbathers enjoy a freedom of expression unsurpassed in the leisure world.
00:01:13At night, tourists stroll amid street vans and outdoor cafes,
00:01:17while the privileged class crowds into Europe's hottest, loudest, and most expensive discotheques.
00:01:25But tonight, there is another seaside diversion here,
00:01:31as thousands are gathered at an outdoor arena for action in the sport of boxing,
00:01:35which is becoming ever more prevalent on the Riviera.
00:01:38Tonight on Showtime's third major boxing telecast of 1987,
00:01:42it's a return to the cruiserweight division
00:01:44to pick up a story which began three months ago on May 15 in Las Vegas,
00:01:49where Puerto Rican former WBA junior heavyweight champion Asi Ocasio
00:01:53won a widely disputed decision over another former WBA champ,
00:01:57Dwight Mohamed Kawi,
00:01:59and with it, the right to meet rising star Evander Holyfield,
00:02:03holder of two versions of the 190-pound title
00:02:06after his devastating third-round knockout of then-IBF champ Ricky Parkey.
00:02:11Tonight, Holyfield will live up to his promise to defend against Ocasio,
00:02:15while Kawi will get a chance to recover from what he sees as past injustice.
00:02:19And now Holyfield discotheque.
00:02:27But tonight, there is another...
00:02:29...me to being able to take care of my family in a proper way,
00:02:32I think I should take care of them.
00:02:35He told me in Las Vegas that the fighter who says,
00:02:37I don't know fear is a fool, right?
00:02:40There's fear.
00:02:41Most definite, most definite.
00:02:42I think what Christ in my life made me comfortable and peace of mind
00:02:47when I go into the rain, knowing that I'm protected all the time.
00:02:51What about Ocasio?
00:02:52When you saw him, you saw the tape, I'm sure, of him fighting,
00:02:56uh, while he...
00:02:59He ran.
00:03:01He's gonna run from you, isn't he?
00:03:03Well...
00:03:04He better.
00:03:05Yeah.
00:03:06Well, I don't know.
00:03:07I'll break you off.
00:03:08Like, his tactics of fighting Kawi, Kawi was this better-pressure fighter.
00:03:12I think he might even change and try to, more like, hit me with combination and move,
00:03:18but I feel like with George Ben had me to cut the rain off, it should be a lot easier.
00:03:26That's the old Joe Lewis line.
00:03:27Yeah.
00:03:27Run.
00:03:28He's can't hide.
00:03:29He can't hide.
00:03:30All right, one of these days, there's a guy who can't hide from you anymore.
00:03:34You're growing.
00:03:36You're getting bigger.
00:03:38Uh, Lou Duva tells me you can go to 2'5", 2'10", and be a bigger heavyweight.
00:03:43There's a guy who can't hide from you.
00:03:45Well, well, right now, I look, I look towards that, that goal, but, but right now, I do want
00:03:53to just take Ozzy Ocasio and take him very seriously, then, then afterwards, then, you
00:03:59know, looking towards that tough fight against Mike Tyson, uh, whoever might be there at
00:04:03that time.
00:04:04Will you know when it's time not to fight anymore?
00:04:07Most definitely.
00:04:08How will you know?
00:04:09What'll tell you?
00:04:10Legs?
00:04:11Money in the bank?
00:04:12What?
00:04:13I think through motivation.
00:04:14I feel like any time where I get where that is just a money thing, then I think it's time
00:04:20for me to leave.
00:04:20I feel like as long as I have that motivation to go out there and prepare myself in a proper
00:04:25way, uh, that would be the time.
00:04:28I don't think your mother would let you fight one fight past when it's too late.
00:04:32She's great with you, isn't she?
00:04:34Most definitely.
00:04:34She always keep me as her little chubby, and my mother-
00:04:37You're the baby, right?
00:04:38She says you're the baby.
00:04:39That's right.
00:04:40That's right.
00:04:40Isn't she a great lady?
00:04:42Most definitely.
00:04:43A lovely lady.
00:04:44What does she teach you?
00:04:45Above all else.
00:04:46Well, my mother, uh, really taught me to respect people.
00:04:49Uh, and, uh, to, to love, you know, one another, to share with my brother, and really to, uh,
00:04:56to, to respect people.
00:05:00Evander Holyfield is curious about, but not distracted by, the worldly things that would
00:05:05tempt an ordinary man.
00:05:06At 24, Evander is no ordinary man.
00:05:11You see, boxing has taken him out of poverty in the state of Georgia, and little by little
00:05:16is introducing him to places and things that, as a child, he dared not dream about.
00:05:24Evander Holyfield was given a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics after what most saw as an
00:05:29unjustified disqualification for punching on the break in the semifinal.
00:05:32There, his opponent tonight, 32-year-old Ozzy Ocasio, spotting eight years to the younger,
00:05:39stronger champion.
00:05:40And it's pretty, as Dave Dial's alluded to in that piece, the speculation is that somewhere
00:05:45down the road, Evander Holyfield becomes a heavyweight, potentially an opponent for
00:05:51Mike Tyson, if Tyson holds on to the heavyweight championship, or Michael Sphinx, if Sphinx
00:05:56is able to take it away from him.
00:05:58Holyfield's heavily favored to win this fight.
00:06:00What will we look for, which might influence our opinions on what he can do down the road?
00:06:04I think, uh, the way that Holyfield can dominate Ocasio, direct him with his jab into the, uh,
00:06:11right hooks and left hooks that he throws, principally the way he can cut him off.
00:06:16None of that is going to give you any indication of what he's going to do with Tyson, if ever
00:06:20they get together, because obviously anybody that's grieving and weighs more than 200 pounds
00:06:24is being mentioned for Tyson.
00:06:26But Holyfield has several very good bouts ahead of him.
00:06:30He has to take care of Ocasio tonight, and no matter how much the public doesn't think
00:06:34he has a chance, and I'm one of them that doesn't think he has a chance, still, when
00:06:37two men get in the ring, all kinds of things happen to him, and I can't tell you the number
00:06:40of nights I went into a sure fight and walked out with a loser.
00:06:43So, uh, the way that Ocasio can handle the, um, cutting off and the jab, it's going to
00:06:49be a very interesting thing to measure the development of Holyfield.
00:06:53Has he developed enough to handle a master boxer who is impelled and fueled a great deal
00:06:58by fear?
00:06:59You're judging if, in fact, Ocasio is interested only in running, which many believe will be
00:07:04the case.
00:07:05Does Holyfield have the skills to cut him off, uh, and find him?
00:07:09I think he does.
00:07:09I think he's learning with every fight.
00:07:11I think he's got terrific trainers, and, uh, Lou Duman, especially Georgie Benton.
00:07:16Benton was a marvelous fighter, and he seems to have, uh, gotten the skill of being able
00:07:21to communicate that to a boxer.
00:07:23Georgie Benton has communicated by his boxing skills to almost everyone at Duman's fighters.
00:07:27That's what we're going to see today.
00:07:29All right, there is Lou Duva now, as he helps to prepare Holyfield for entry into the ring.
00:07:35Momentarily, you saw Osvaldo Ocasio, nicknamed Jaws, making his way towards the ring.
00:07:40Is there anything completely unexpected, completely out of the blue, which Ocasio might conceivably
00:07:46spring aside from what we would normally expect from him?
00:07:49Well, I think the most unexpected thing he can do is explain his nickname.
00:07:52How did he ever get a nickname, Jaws, when he can't punch at all, and he's virtually a
00:07:56dentureless as far as danger is concerned?
00:07:59I don't think he can spring any success.
00:08:01If he runs around, uh, like he did, uh, in Las Vegas, I don't think he's going to be blessed
00:08:06with his second gift to the Magi, as he got the last time.
00:08:09And that was one of the greatest gifts I've ever seen in boxing.
00:08:11I don't think that'll happen here.
00:08:12In spite of the fact that, interestingly enough, we have two Venezuelan judges, both of whom
00:08:16speak Spanish.
00:08:17And of course, that's always a factor of when it goes to a decision.
00:08:21And now Holyfield makes his way out of his dressing room and toward the ring.
00:08:27Ocasio already in the ring.
00:08:28There you see the two championship belts being paraded toward the ring.
00:08:33And of course, the familiar figure of Lou Duva ahead of his fighter, George Benton, whom
00:08:38Ferdy mentioned, will also be in the corner, quietly providing advice to Holyfield.
00:08:44Benton has delivered advice, particularly on defense, to all of those Olympians who are
00:08:51under the tutelage of Duva and his main event's boxing outfit from New Jersey.
00:08:57A little bit earlier, Dave Diles, amid all this darkness, spoke to Osvaldo Ocasio.
00:09:06No, it was not Diles.
00:09:07Excuse me, of course, because Ocasio speaks Spanish.
00:09:10It was the Romance Language Specialist, Ferdy Pacheco, who spoke to Ocasio about his strategy.
00:09:17I'm going to handle him as he comes.
00:09:20I'm going to fight.
00:09:21I'm going to fight.
00:09:22I don't know how I'm going to fight.
00:09:24If he comes, I'm going to fight.
00:09:25Whenever he comes, I'm ready to cut the ring.
00:09:29Eso es seguro.
00:09:30Es muy importante que venga a tu manera.
00:09:33I asked him, if he comes to cut off the ring, he says it's very important the way he comes.
00:09:38If he comes in to cut the ring, I have to challenge that by moving away from him, not letting him
00:09:43do that.
00:09:43And now we're back live.
00:09:48Ring announcer Jean-René Goddard, taking care of the official duties in the middle of the ring.
00:09:56Tale of the tape, 32 years old Osvaldo Ocasio, 24 years old Evander Holyfield.
00:10:04Both fighters weighed in at just below the 190-pound limit for this fight earlier today.
00:10:13WBA rules in the fight, same as in the previous bout.
00:10:17Yes to the mandatory eight count, no to the standing eight count.
00:10:20Yes on the three-knockdown rule, it is in effect.
00:10:23Bell saves the fighter only at the end of the last round.
00:10:26Three judges scoring the bout on the 10-point must system.
00:10:30Ocasio is the number one ranked WBA contender.
00:10:36He is ranked number 11 by the IBF.
00:10:40The referee for the bout, John Coyle of Great Britain.
00:10:44Judges Antonio Requeña of Venezuela, Contimamsa Amedio of Italy, and Fernando Viso of Venezuela.
00:10:52La Marseillaise.
00:10:53The combatants in this championship bout.
00:11:19The player in five hours of three minutes.
00:11:23In the red light, George Rouges, accompanied by his manager, Gregorio Benitez.
00:11:31In five hours of three minutes.
00:11:34In the red light, George Rouges, accompanied by his manager, Gregorio Benitez.
00:11:42The challenger, the Puerto Rican, Osvaldo Ocasio.
00:11:46In the red light, George Rouges, accompanied by his manager, Lou Tuva, the champion of the world,
00:12:07and the champion of the world, the American Evander Oliva.
00:12:13The champion of the American Evander Oliva.
00:12:21The champion of the British champion, John Coyle.
00:12:27Juge, Messieurs, Antonio Requiena, Venezuela, Amadeo Continanza, Italy, Fernando Vizzo, Venezuela,
00:12:42Supervisor, pour l'IBF, Yamata Knight, pour la WBC, Hector Rodriguez.
00:12:51So the stage is set now as Holyfield prepares to defend two thirds of the world championship
00:13:06in this weight class. Official representatives on hand from both the International Boxing
00:13:11Federation, that is the lady right there, Hiawatha Knight, and the WBA, also with a representative
00:13:17on the scene. Referee John Coyle of Great Britain brings the two fighters together in the middle
00:13:22of the ring. If you've just joined us on Showtime Championship Boxing, in an earlier bout, Dwight
00:13:27Mohamed Kawi scored a sixth round technical knockout over Leroy Murphy, which has given
00:13:33Kawi the right to meet the winner of this bout. And if it is Holyfield, it will be a revenge
00:13:38bout. Holyfield took the WBA title from Kawi last July. Ocasio comes out and tries to get
00:13:43off first. Well, he's certainly fighting totally different right off the bat. I mean, he has
00:13:49trained three months. He's come in to lay it out in the first round. That's exactly what
00:13:56Holyfield would like. He would like an exchange. Holyfield is not a defensive fighter. He will
00:14:02take some punishment, but watch for the ability to finish combinations and indeed, sometimes
00:14:08the opponent with either hand. In defense of Ocasio, if he needs one, the fight with Kawi
00:14:14was taken after a year layoff, and he really did look flabby and sloppy in that fight. He's
00:14:19had three months of hard training now with Gregorio Benitez, Wilfredo Benitez's father,
00:14:23and he certainly looks much sharper. I mean, even his body looks much sharper today.
00:14:30Holyfield not yet able to land the combinations. He's tried twice with the jab setting up the
00:14:47jab setting up the right cross. Benitez keeping up a running commentary, telling him to move,
00:14:56move, move. As soon as he, uh, as soon as, uh, Ocasio gets still, Benitez starts hollering,
00:15:02move, move, move. The difficulty in watching Oswald Ocasio is that his punches, even when they land,
00:15:12don't have a great deal of steam or power to them. Round one of a scheduled fifteen rounds. Holyfield
00:15:21has gone fifteen once in his career. Ocasio has done it five different times.
00:15:31Few here expect the bout to go that distance.
00:15:35Chopping right hand by Holyfield, and Ocasio leaned back on the road to get a better look.
00:15:44A little bit of the amateur in Holyfield, and I think he's getting already a little frustrated.
00:15:48It's only the first round.
00:15:52But already we have seen a, a great variety of ways to hold and grab and tie up the fighter. Ocasio's a master at doing that.
00:16:00Good tactic. Just a little short with the right hand there with Holyfield,
00:16:05but he digs twice to the body, and has got Ocasio standing still.
00:16:10This is a twenty-foot ring, not as advertised twenty-two, but twenty feet, which is, uh, in Holyfield's favor.
00:16:16It's a lot less to run around. The ropes are rather loose, as you saw, uh, Ocasio lean back into him,
00:16:23and, uh, they bent a great deal backwards, which is in Holyfield's favor again.
00:16:32Ocasio might like the thirty-foot ring. You can probably hear the running commentary
00:16:37from Torrio Benitez in the background as round one comes to a close.
00:16:42Evander Holyfield goes to listen to the wisdom of Lou Duva, who faces him,
00:16:46and George Benton, who whispers into his left ear.
00:16:48Oddly enough, or not oddly enough, I think, uh, Ocasio did enough net round to win
00:16:55because of his defensive skills, which were not purely running, but because of the way he tied him up,
00:17:00because of the way he made, uh, Holyfield reach, get frustrated, and even clubbed.
00:17:05You sound like a Las Vegas judge, Bertie.
00:17:10Rewarding Ocasio for defense.
00:17:12No, baby, those body punches, he's kneeling down on.
00:17:15Let me see you come up with those body punches, okay? Punch up, punch up, okay, baby?
00:17:19Keep it moving, keep it moving, right?
00:17:21Uh-huh.
00:17:22You gotta listen to anything, baby.
00:17:24All right, second round.
00:17:26Just hustling, baby, just hustling. Get up.
00:17:28Get up.
00:17:32You heard both voices there.
00:17:34Duva urging Holyfield to punch up.
00:17:38I presume that means he's recommending the uppercut as a stratagem.
00:17:41Yes, because as Ocasio leans down, you just saw him lean down twice.
00:17:44He's wide open for an uppercut.
00:17:46And, uh, Holyfield has just got to begin to control him with a jab
00:17:51and start taking over the fight, the tempo.
00:17:54Holyfield hooking to the body.
00:17:57It's much stronger than Ocasio. Punch is strong on Ocasio.
00:18:02He just doesn't have the experience to know how to get away from a grasping, grabbing fighter.
00:18:07There. That's a perfect example of that.
00:18:12Which, by the way, is a perfectly legitimate boxing tactic.
00:18:14You don't have to fight every minute of every round
00:18:16if you're smart enough to hit somebody and hold them
00:18:18and get away with it, as he just did again.
00:18:21That's what a youngster, like Holyfield,
00:18:24even though he's a champion, has to learn how to control.
00:18:32Capacity crowd here in Saint-Tropez.
00:18:34They are not the noisiest crowd you've ever heard.
00:18:38The French tend to treat boxing as as much a romantic art
00:18:43as a vicious blood sport.
00:18:46They cringe a little bit during punishment.
00:18:49Is it a vicious blood sport?
00:18:50I never thought so.
00:18:51Holyfield doing much better. Stepping up the action.
00:19:01He had top rope. Goes way back.
00:19:03He just doesn't get the support that he thinks he's getting when he leans back.
00:19:06He leans too far back.
00:19:19Holyfield beginning to connect inside.
00:19:21Holyfield, much, much faster hand speed and much sharper punches.
00:19:24Starting to put punches together, which he wasn't able to do in round one.
00:19:30I think those twin hooks to the body early in the round got Ocasio's attention.
00:19:35And now Holyfield is able to bear in and pin Ocasio against the ropes from time to time.
00:19:40I'm out of reach!
00:19:41He's coming in just as Benton trained him.
00:19:43Double, triple jab and then the right cross and then a hook behind the cross.
00:19:47He just did that, that last series of punches.
00:19:49He's just doing it again.
00:19:50And again, the two or three jabs gets the other man on the defensive.
00:19:54Not looking for the right hand.
00:19:55Comes the right hand.
00:19:56He thinks it's over with and comes the left hook after that.
00:19:58So, the perfect combination.
00:20:01And you can certainly see why lovers of hard punching love Holyfield.
00:20:06He delivers each blow with a purpose.
00:20:08And it's also why the Holyfield-Dwight-Cahui fight was such an attractive fight and so hard to judge.
00:20:15And why it's going to be so good coming up.
00:20:17Solid right hand against the ropes by Evander Holyfield.
00:20:20Ocasio slinging him away and then backing up again.
00:20:24As long as Ocasio backs straight up like this and leans against the ropes for it, he's going to take a pounding.
00:20:29Charlie Holyfield doesn't forgive him any moment.
00:20:32I mean, he makes a mistake.
00:20:34Holyfield's there to make him pay.
00:20:36He's an active fighter.
00:20:37Much better second round.
00:20:39Much better second round for Evander Holyfield who evens the score.
00:20:42We mentioned the vignettes will bring you throughout the evening to enhance our understanding and appreciation of the color and atmosphere of Saint-Tropez.
00:20:53Now, this is a scene from one of the beautiful beaches here in Saint-Tropez.
00:20:57And it should be pointed out that this is an everyday scene in Saint-Tropez.
00:21:02Nothing unusual about it.
00:21:03And to these viewers, to these eyes at least, the mundane act of walking out of the water tends to overpower any sexual content in that.
00:21:12What do you think, Ferdy?
00:21:13Can I have a recording of that? I want to play that back when I get home and try to figure out what you just said.
00:21:17You mean that meant nothing to you?
00:21:18Well, when you're here and on the beach at the time, it's not exactly the way you might think it would be.
00:21:25Now, let's take a quick look at some of Holyfield's combination punching in round two.
00:21:30Let's look at that top rope. See how that leans back. He tries to get some support from it. He leans back and gets powdered some more by Holyfield.
00:21:37Holyfield had a wonderful round that time.
00:21:39Round three coming up. Holyfield feeling nice and perky.
00:21:44The bout evened up unofficially. First round to Ocasio, second to Holyfield.
00:21:48I kind of stammered a little bit on that vignette. Did you think for a minute of maybe leaping in and helping me out there?
00:21:54No, I wanted to see a first-rate talent like you sweat like everybody else.
00:22:03Well, at least we've left no stone unturned in trying to enhance the viewers' appreciation of San Tropez. Isn't that right, Ferdy?
00:22:09Yes. I've been collecting those beautiful views for five days, and I have enjoyed it almost as much as Holyfield is enjoying it.
00:22:17I thought you were talking to Leroy Murphy in the hotel lobby.
00:22:21I was talking to Leroy's shirt, actually.
00:22:25Round three of a scheduled 15. Bout began to turn in Holyfield's favor in round two.
00:22:31It'll be interesting to see what Gregorio Benitez has left at the end of the evening in that voice, Ferdy, if he keeps up at this rate.
00:22:52Well, I know him for many years, and I can tell you he can go into Christmas season without losing his voice.
00:23:03By the way, speaking of great fighters, his son, Wilfredo Benitez, was certainly a great fighter, maybe one of the youngest, if not the youngest man ever to win a title.
00:23:10As for Holyfield, he won the WBA cruiserweight title in that 15-round split decision over Kawi on July 20 of last year.
00:23:23WBA, of course, calls the title the junior heavyweight title. The other two governing bodies, the IBF and the WBC, both refer to it as the cruiserweight title.
00:23:32On May 15, with his third round TKO of Ricky Parkey in Las Vegas, Holyfield took over the IBF version of the championship.
00:23:42Up ahead, if he were able to defeat Ocasio tonight, a bout with Dwight Mohamed Kawi, a revenge battle for Kawi.
00:23:51And then, potentially, a bout with Carlos de Leon to attempt to unify the title in this weight class.
00:23:57And it is at that point that most suspect he will move up to the heavyweight division.
00:24:02Well, he's certainly fighting like a heavyweight right now. He is controlling Ocasio.
00:24:06He has had a series of set-pitch battles here, which Ocasio's lost every one, and Holyfield has really been powdering him.
00:24:14It is beginning to look like the wear and tear on Ocasio is showing.
00:24:18The one left hook, about 15 seconds ago, landed flush on the jaw of Ocasio, and he grimaced as he moved away.
00:24:25Ocasio continues to back straight up. Holyfield continues with the easy task of simply chasing him forward against the ropes.
00:24:45You saw the left-right, which he landed to end the round, and the third round belonged to Evander Holyfield.
00:24:52I think not only belonged to him, but he took a headlong race ahead.
00:24:57While he's only ahead by one point, 29-28, if you were looking at it qualitatively, he is one quantum leap ahead of their baby.
00:25:05They almost drowned Ocasio in the corner there. Gregorio Benita is very liberal with the water.
00:25:14And a look back at action from round three, Ferdi.
00:25:17These are the little set battles that I'm telling you about. They set up. Ocasio missed, but Holyfield didn't.
00:25:26And those little battles went on all around the ring until he got hit with that big left hook.
00:25:32Gregorio insisting that Ocasio not get to the ropes, pointing out that they're loose and trying to stay away from the ropes. Don't get on the ropes.
00:25:51Easy to say, but when Holyfield's in front of you, pushing you against those ropes, there's nowhere else to go.
00:25:57That's what we talked about at the top of the show, cutting him off, dominating him with a jab.
00:26:00Everything we said at the beginning, Holyfield just showed in that last round, and it's beginning to pay off.
00:26:05And he's stepping up the gas.
00:26:07Holyfield using the jab now more in round four.
00:26:22As Ocasio slows down, the jab is more effective in controlling him.
00:26:26As it's more effective, the right hand comes in better, and all of it to the detriment of Ocasio.
00:26:32Ocasio countered for a moment with a right. Holyfield digs back to the body.
00:26:45Ocasio has had the unfortunate habit of punch, punch, and then grab.
00:26:50Holyfield, once he finds out that the punch, punch is going to be followed by grab, moves away and starts punching himself.
00:26:56Of course, that results in more punishment on Ocasio. Back to the rope for Ocasio just then.
00:27:01You saw Holyfield there doing something he's tried to do, and there again, coming up the middle with the uppercut.
00:27:07Indeed, Ocasio holding his hands apart and making that available to him.
00:27:17You can almost see Holyfield turning on the heat a little bit at a time each round.
00:27:21That's right, it just gets a little bit more intensive. The punch is a little bit more meaningful.
00:27:28Again and again, as coroner exhorting him, don't get on the ropes, don't get stuck on the ropes, punch and move.
00:27:46We're in round four of the scheduled 15.
00:28:01Beautiful double jab and a right hand by Holyfield.
00:28:05Double title holder, Evander Holyfield dominating Asfaldo Ocasio of Puerto Rico.
00:28:13As he tries to retain his championship and point toward a second battle with Dwight Mohamed Kaui.
00:28:19Ocasio taking punishment against the ropes. Solid left to the head there by Holyfield.
00:28:26Holyfield just moves him from one rope to the other. Traps him on one rope, goes to the other rope.
00:28:34Ocasio beginning to wear out.
00:28:36Round four comes to a close. There has to be a limit to how many times Ocasio can lean on the ropes and take that kind of punishment.
00:28:48Now, between rounds, a chance to go to Dave Diles with one of the most famous tennis players in the sport.
00:28:53Yannick Noah, eighth rated in the world, but tennis is not the alpha and the omega of your life, is it?
00:29:00Well, not when you are in this place like Saint-Tropez, which is beautiful and you can enjoy this kind of event.
00:29:06You know, it's a very, I'm having a good time here.
00:29:09You're taking a couple of months off.
00:29:10I take a break, a little break, you know, just to enjoy myself for a while and we'll play again around October.
00:29:16Do you get burned out once in a while?
00:29:18Oh yeah, I've been playing for about 20 years as a professional for 12 years now. I'm 27.
00:29:23So sometimes since we're playing 11 months a year, more and more some guys are getting tired.
00:29:28John McNer was tired for a while.
00:29:30Could I make a wild guess that you've had fun all those years?
00:29:32Oh sure, it was a great time. Yannick Noah, fine man, a great boxing fan.
00:29:37Gentlemen?
00:29:38A long way from home to David, El Vive en Nuevo York, Erdi.
00:29:43Yannick Noah chose to live in New York a few years back rather than to remain in Paris
00:29:50because of the difficulty of being a public figure in his own hometown.
00:29:55A difficulty which you've handled very well in Manhattan, I understand.
00:29:59And you in Tampa and Miami, Erdi, everyone knows about that.
00:30:02Don't leave out Mobile, Alabama. I was very big there for you.
00:30:06Round five of a scheduled 15 now as Holyfield tries to press the attack once more.
00:30:12In case you joined us late here on Showtime Boxing in an earlier bout,
00:30:21Dwight Mohamed Cowie scored a sixth round technical knockout over Leroy Murphy
00:30:27to put himself in line for a shot at the winner of this fight.
00:30:34He, uh, Ocasio is behind, obviously 39 or 36, he's been losing the second, third, and fourth,
00:30:51but I feel that the quality of the fight is much superior to what we saw with Dwight.
00:30:57Uh, uh, Cowie, I mean, I just didn't, with Cowie, he just looked like he had nothing.
00:31:01At least here, he's trying hard, he's fighting back, he's getting outclassed by Holyfield,
00:31:05but you, you see, you sense a desire on his part to fight,
00:31:09whereas I didn't see that at all with, uh, with Dwight,
00:31:11and that's what sort of infuriated me in a title fight to have a guy just openly run.
00:31:15He's not doing that here. He's trying to fight, he's just getting outclassed.
00:31:18Well, if he has a desire to fight for it, you have to assume that he has some outside idea of winning,
00:31:24what strategy could he be employing here?
00:31:26Is he hoping that Holyfield will punch himself out?
00:31:28He's hoping he'll get tired, he'll make a mistake.
00:31:30Unfortunately, when you have a fighter that can't punch, your options are rather closed,
00:31:35because if you're, even if you're waiting for him to get tired,
00:31:38if you blow out all those first rounds, you're not gonna knock him out,
00:31:41you're not gonna appoint him, so he is in a difficult position for a man who can't punch,
00:31:47and who's slowly, inexorably falling farther and farther behind.
00:31:51Ocasio has a record of 21, wins three losses and a draw, only 11 knockouts,
00:31:57and when a fighter at this level has knockouts in fewer than half of his bouts,
00:32:03then that is a fair indication that he can't punch,
00:32:05because obviously many of the early opponents in the career are of lesser stature.
00:32:10That's exactly the point. All his knockouts came out early when he was fighting just opposition to get him training fights,
00:32:16and then when he got up into the real divisions, he got hammered by Holmes,
00:32:20and sadly got knocked out by folks and won.
00:32:24Short right hand inside stunned Ocasio, who stopped movement for a moment,
00:32:29and Holyfield was able to press in and land a couple of more.
00:32:32Ocasio now flinching and merely trying to defend himself.
00:32:41That rally at the end of that round showed Holyfield that he can hurt Ocasio,
00:32:46because for the first time he began to flinch and show in his face that the punches are hurting him.
00:32:51In Holyfield's corner, Lou Duva seems calmer than I've ever seen him in my life,
00:33:00so that he must be very, very aware.
00:33:02There's a street scene from Saint Tropez.
00:33:05Some of these artists, not as talented as yourself, Bertie, but...
00:33:08Well, I prevailed on our producer to show art in view of the fact that the corner work of Duva is not exactly exhilarating.
00:33:14We thought we'd go to the art and show that some of my friends are hard at work painting pictures,
00:33:19some begging me for you to come over there so they could do caricatures of a Yankee announcer.
00:33:25Yes, indeed. I went up to one of those artists last night who had a beautiful hand-done sketch of Paul Newman,
00:33:31and of course I posed for 30 minutes, and at the end he handed me a hand-done sketch of Paul Newman.
00:33:36It looked terrific.
00:33:37Very wise on his part.
00:33:39We are back now to boxing as round six of a scheduled 15 between Evander Holyfield in the black trunks
00:33:46and Osvaldo Ocasio in the red begins.
00:33:50Holyfield defending his WBA junior heavyweight IBF cruiserweight crown in the 190-pound weight class.
00:33:59Very frisky on the part of Evander Holyfield.
00:34:02He's bouncing up and down now like if he was just having a wonderful time here.
00:34:05This bouncing up and down does him a little good, though, doesn't it, Bertie?
00:34:08He'd be better off to settle down on his feet.
00:34:11Doesn't do him any good, but when you're feeling frisky and everything's going your way, you're a little cultish.
00:34:16Well, what he did was allow Ocasio to land his first solid blow of the fight.
00:34:19Yeah.
00:34:20A right hand.
00:34:22And the crowd responded because up to now it's just a one-way walk away.
00:34:27Might have been a bad idea for Ocasio if Evander is back down on his feet now.
00:34:35It was a bad idea.
00:34:36Obviously, if you're going to bounce around with a guy who can bounce around as good as Ocasio, that's his territory, not yours.
00:34:42Holyfield pressing forward, starting to use the jab again now.
00:34:47Follows with the right.
00:34:50Every round, Ocasio goes to the same spot on each corner and lays there and gets pummeled.
00:34:56Keeps that up, he's going to have to start paying rent on that top rope over there.
00:35:00Get up!
00:35:01Directly across from him, he just keeps laying there and getting killed.
00:35:04Come on, get up! Get up!
00:35:05Get up!
00:35:06Get that jab and get up!
00:35:14One of the things that strikes you when you come to Saint-Tropez in the south of France is the orderliness of the crowd and the quiet of the crowd.
00:35:21Get up!
00:35:23Get up!
00:35:24Get up!
00:35:25Get up!
00:35:26Get up!
00:35:27Get up!
00:35:28Get up!
00:35:29Get up!
00:35:30Get up!
00:35:31Get up!
00:35:32Get up!
00:35:33Get up!
00:35:34Holyfield measuring him.
00:35:37Ocasio tries to grin at him.
00:35:39It's a half-hearted effort.
00:35:41That's better when he punches back.
00:35:44Oh, there's that uppercut.
00:35:45There's the uppercut that Benton wanted.
00:35:47There it is again.
00:35:50Holyfield senses that he has Ocasio in trouble.
00:35:54Comes forward with the right hand.
00:35:57Ocasio's showing pretty good ability to take a punch.
00:36:01He is and he's showing more fighting spirit.
00:36:03He's fought better this run in spite of the fact that he's taking a good pace and he's coming back.
00:36:09Not enough to win a round, but at least it was better than that one way of beating he was taking.
00:36:14That's right!
00:36:15Punch!
00:36:16Punch!
00:36:17That's right!
00:36:18I think a fighter should evince some reluctance to take a beating from time to time just to make his opponent feel that he's in a fight.
00:36:24Interesting that although Ocasio is eight years older, Holyfield is much more experienced in the ring.
00:36:37He had 174 amateur bouts.
00:36:40Ocasio had only a brief amateur career before turning professional.
00:36:46Round six comes to a close.
00:36:49Pretty much the same as the previous four rounds.
00:36:53Here, Ferdy, another look.
00:36:59The best thing you can see in all of these things is the uppercut that Holyfield lands.
00:37:05And all of them are unanimous in one way.
00:37:06It's all Holyfield doing something to Ocasio.
00:37:09Ocasio trying to hold on.
00:37:11Those punches, you know, from having it Sunday.
00:37:14You got me covered?
00:37:15All right.
00:37:16Okay.
00:37:17Now listen.
00:37:18Now your jab will work for you.
00:37:19Now see, you're still swinging at the jab.
00:37:21Just take the jab and use that jab.
00:37:22If you do it, you see what happens, do you?
00:37:24Okay.
00:37:25You nail him every damn time.
00:37:26Now keep the jab going, Holyfield.
00:37:28You make a easy fight out of it.
00:37:29Use that jab and move the combinations right after that jab.
00:37:32Keep using that jab.
00:37:33You gotta snap it.
00:37:34Come on.
00:37:35Snap it.
00:37:36Come on.
00:37:37Let's go.
00:37:38This is George Bent, trainer, Lou Duva, manager.
00:37:41A tap on the shoulder from cut man Ace Morata.
00:37:44Coming back to action after being out for several months as the result of injury suffered in an automobile accident.
00:37:50It's nice to see Ace back in the Duva corner.
00:37:53And now Holyfield comes out to do business in round seven.
00:37:57Holyfield feels slightly frustrated and not disappointed in not looking that much better.
00:38:03Although, how much better can you look against a guy that is fighting to survive rather than to win?
00:38:12Well, he's pitching a near shutout by our card.
00:38:15Maybe he lost the first round, as you said, but certainly he's won every one since then.
00:38:20Interesting that people speculate he may meet Tyson down the road.
00:38:24This is just the kind of frustration that Mike Tyson has had to learn how to deal with in bouts against opponents who fight defensively and simply won't allow him to knock them out.
00:38:33I think Tyson's trouble is mainly of size and defense.
00:38:36When little guys try to be defensive like that, he eats them up.
00:38:39He's got huge, tall heavyweights like Franklin Thomas and Mitch Green.
00:38:44Oh, Mitch Green was an awful fight in the garden.
00:38:47Revolta.
00:38:48Bonecrusher Smith.
00:38:49Bonecrusher Smith.
00:38:50Quick Tillis.
00:38:51All of them just grabbed him.
00:38:52The last ten rounds of the Tucker fight.
00:38:54Smothered him like an octopus and just couldn't shake loose.
00:38:58And as much as Kevin Rooney will yell, punch out of the clinches, it's a lot easier said than done.
00:39:02Well, at the end of this circus, we have it 59-54 at the end of six for Hollyfield, giving, as my partner Jim Lapley said, only the first round to Oswald Ocasio.
00:39:16Although I do not hesitate to point out that I feel Ocasio is fighting a much better fight than he did against Kawi.
00:39:23Yet he was given credit for victory in the Kawi bout.
00:39:28And here he is, well behind.
00:39:31Remember, this is quite unofficially.
00:39:34We're just sitting here idly looking at this.
00:39:37There are three judges, two from Venezuela, who might love defensive fighting, seeing it quite differently.
00:39:42I am sure that Lou Duva, Ace Morata, would not like to see this go to a decision.
00:39:49Want to see that PKO or KO on the Holyfield's record.
00:39:54Ferdie, if he's winning this bout, the ghost of Sugar Ray Leonard is much more than an imaginary apparition.
00:39:59It is moving pens on paper at these judges' stands.
00:40:03Seventh round of a scheduled 15 in San Chopin.
00:40:13On Le Coeur d'Azur.
00:40:15Pieces of tape, a little flick of tape coming off a Hollyfield's glove, which will result ultimately in having to put some more tape on it, or else stopping the bout for Duva to do that.
00:40:30The action has a sameness in and of itself, which may tend to frustrate Holyfield.
00:40:46Each round very much alike. Another 10-9 victory unofficially, and another vignette as we look at the Pacheco, as this one is called.
00:40:58The SS Graf Spee. Too young to remember that.
00:41:03Well, I'm not too young to have read about it in history books, Ferdie.
00:41:06Went to Montevideo and sank.
00:41:08The Graf Spee was indeed larger than that.
00:41:10A small bit.
00:41:11That was a big boat.
00:41:12Not after the British got through with it.
00:41:13The British chopped it down to size, and the captain said, oh, I think I'll stay in Montevideo.
00:41:18There are even a few British tourists here in Saint-Tropez.
00:41:21They're unlikely to attack a boat of that quality, Holly.
00:41:24No, it's basically here as a Wehrmacht.
00:41:26And I think the German army is camping on every street corner.
00:41:29It's quite an imagination you have going for you there, Ferdie.
00:41:35No, it was fueled by reality.
00:41:37I remember hearing what the Panzer brothers sound like.
00:41:42I think these conversations with Leroy Murphy in the lobby of the hotel have you delirious.
00:41:47It's the heat.
00:41:49A million degrees, as I described it, with a thousand percent humidity.
00:41:54Right now we're down to about 990,000 degrees.
00:41:57Now, I would like to just play devil's advocate for a moment.
00:42:00That last round, which you and I so glibly gave 10-9, there could have been, with the ghost of Sugar Ray Leonard hovering over the two Venezuelan judges,
00:42:09a dim, remote possibility that in some way, somehow, they saw that as a defensive masterpiece on the part of Ocasio,
00:42:17in that he didn't get pummeled as much as he did the other rounds and may have given it to him.
00:42:21You see what I'm saying?
00:42:23That would bring my confusion with regard to boxing scoring to a newly elevated level, Ferdie.
00:42:29That's true.
00:42:34One wonders...
00:42:35But, of course, anything's possible.
00:42:36One wonders, as we spoke earlier this morning, if scores went out between rounds, as we tried to do in NBC for a year,
00:42:44if the boxers would fight any differently, would Ocasio fight any differently if he knew that Lampling had him behind by such a huge score?
00:42:54My guess, Ferdie, just as a layman with less exposure to the sport than an expert like yourself, is that it wouldn't make much difference.
00:43:01My personal belief is that 99% of the time a boxer gives you what he's got in the ring and will do so regardless of whether he's ahead or behind.
00:43:11Often, they don't seem to hear what they are told in their corners.
00:43:14That's exactly how it proved to be in our experimentation on NBC.
00:43:18When asked after the fight, the boxer always said, I didn't hear him, I don't know what I was doing.
00:43:22All I did was I had to fight this guy in front of him, so you're exactly correct.
00:43:26The boxers apparently don't care. They just want to fight what's happening and they want to take care of what's happening in front of him.
00:43:32In this case, it's Holyfield now beginning to step up the pursuit of Oswald Ocasio, who is beginning to get a little speed in his retreat.
00:43:43Does that mean, Ferdie the Fight Doctor, that you favor progressive scoring announced at the end of each round and made public?
00:43:50No, I don't. We did it every which way. And I want to tell you, it didn't add anything, it didn't take anything away, it didn't change anything.
00:43:58And I felt that I liked it the way it is right now. I may be in a minority, but I like it the way it is right now.
00:44:05Do you see anything different happening in this fight as opposed to what's gone down for the last six rounds prior to this?
00:44:10No, it's the same Holyfield in the attack. Ocasio trying to skip and use his superior boxing defensive skills, but no offense to gain points.
00:44:23Do you think any doubts will arise with regard to Holyfield if he's forced to settle for a decision and is unable to get Ocasio out of there?
00:44:30No, I don't, because I think he's a young man facing a difficult opponent. After all, Ocasio has only been knocked out twice.
00:44:38Once, both by heavyweights, both by the champion, Larry Holmes, and by Michael Doakes.
00:44:45Round eight comes to a close this entire weekend on Showtime, accented in French. And let's go to Dave Diles for more on that.
00:44:53Well, few people have traveled further to see this fight and got in more cheaply. Howard Baer of Southfield, Michigan, one of the Showtime contest winners.
00:45:00Your feeling about San Tropez?
00:45:02I can't believe it. It's fantastic. The nicest place I've ever been to.
00:45:05Okay, Howard Baer, you're here with your sister, Fran Brewer of Southfield, Michigan, and Sandy Ortega of Key West, Florida. How'd you win this contest?
00:45:12Sent in a postcard and they called me up and said I won.
00:45:15Came all the way from Key West, Florida. You got time off your job at a restaurant?
00:45:19Yes, wait to see you at Captain Bob's, yes.
00:45:21How good a time are you having?
00:45:24A great time, it's been wonderful.
00:45:25All right, great to win by Showtime.
00:45:27This is my girlfriend, she came with me.
00:45:28All right, you're having a great time here.
00:45:30And thanks to Showtime, you're enjoying an exciting weekend. Now, back to the guys at ringside.
00:45:36Exciting weekend for Dave Diles as well.
00:45:40And also thanks to Showtime, I guess you can say, Freddie.
00:45:43I've always said Dave Diles is a natural for game show. I don't know what Vanna White is waiting for.
00:45:48It should be the Vanna White and Dave Diles show.
00:45:51And in the background, you hear the pleasantries being exchanged at the end of that interview, which was indeed a beautiful thing.
00:46:01Well, it's been three years since Evander Holyfield graduated from amateur boxing along with his Olympic classmates of 1984, Mark Breeland, Pernell Whitaker, Frank Tate, Meldrick Taylor, Henry Tillman, Tyrell Biggs, and several others.
00:46:15He was the first in the group to win a world championship despite not having won a gold medal at Los Angeles where he was disqualified after the semifinal bout with New Zealand's Kevin Barry for punching on the break.
00:46:29Most of you will remember, if you saw it, Barry going down from a punch that Holyfield threw just as the referee called for a break.
00:46:36He was awarded a bronze medal in the Yugoslavian fighter who won the gold, pulled Evander up onto the stand with him.
00:46:44Early in his professional career, he demonstrated tremendous potential, went on to fulfill it by winning that title against Kawi last summer.
00:46:52And of course, as we mentioned earlier, Ferdie, the speculation is that much better and indeed bigger in terms of weight class, things are on the horizon for Evander Holyfield.
00:47:03As often happens when you see just a whole team of guys win the gold medal, the most unlikely one.
00:47:08I'm not saying that Holyfield is certainly not in talent unlikely, but the others got the publicity, they got the magazine covers, they got the big contracts.
00:47:16Holyfield just came out of nowhere. I think he is, if you look at him in comparison with the rest of the group, he is far ahead of them.
00:47:24He's developed better and faster than Breeland and better and faster than Pernell Whitaker and Meldrick Taylor.
00:47:30Although, those three youngsters are well on the way to being in the top ranks of boxing, Breeland of course already being a champion.
00:47:37But they haven't had the sparkle, the hit, the charisma, the sizzle that Holyfield has.
00:47:42Of course, that has to do with the weight and has to do with the prospect of fighting Tyson down the road.
00:47:49I mean, what's in store for Breeland? I mean, you can't name opponents that are wonderful for him to take on.
00:47:55The Breeland camp complains that they have been unable to lure Lloyd Hunnigan into a welterweight unification battle.
00:48:02Breeland, of course, will face off against Marlon Starling in defense of his WBA World Welterweight Championship next weekend in Columbia, South Carolina.
00:48:11And if he can win that battle, then he will defend the title here on Showtime in the fall.
00:48:17Come on, that's right, let's go get it! That's right! Come on, baby! Come on, baby, that's right! Come on!
00:48:27But it is the same to him. Put your right hand in here, he'll fall, meaning Holyfield will fall in the meantime.
00:48:34And Ocasio looked over there, disbelieving agony, like saying, are you kidding?
00:48:39Good left hand right there by Holyfield, who was able to bring it over the top on the ropes.
00:48:44Round nine comes to an end, very much the same as the preceding seven rounds.
00:48:50In preparation for this bout, it's fitting, amid all the talk of boats and yachts, that we look back at Evander Holyfield's publicity stunt of training on the U.S. aircraft carrier Intrepid in the Hudson River next to Manhattan Island in New York City.
00:49:07Good place to train.
00:49:09He actually trained on an aircraft carrier?
00:49:11Well, he fought a round or two after stepping into that particular fighter plane right there and giving the taped thumbs up sign.
00:49:19If somebody knew what it felt like to jet off a catapult off one of those carriers, you wouldn't even get in and inside of the jet plane.
00:49:29The destroyer, USS Holyfield.
00:49:32T-shirt to be sent to the main events hall of fame.
00:49:36All right, now let me see it.
00:49:38Come on, rip him up on the inside.
00:49:44They've gone through nine rounds.
00:49:47How do you score it so far?
00:49:4830.
00:49:4989-82.
00:49:50Holyfield ahead.
00:49:51Ocasio now looking more like the Ocasio of old in that he was running much faster, looking very tentative and almost apprehensive as Holyfield closes in with that head.
00:50:15If you have not found spine tingling excitement in this bout, let us say that there's something about Ocasio which tends to eliminate to a certain degree the chance of that happening in a bout at this level.
00:50:33It almost robs you of your senses because along about the middle of the fight, you have an overwhelming urge to close your eyes.
00:50:40But then you feel like you might miss something because a young Mr. Holyfield is doing all he can.
00:50:45He's doing 100% to get rid of Ocasio and not have to wonder about the ghost of Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:50:54Ocasio landed a pawing left.
00:50:57Closest thing he's mounted to an assault in recent rounds.
00:51:07Holyfield has not been as sharp for the past two rounds.
00:51:10Perhaps he is indeed beginning to die.
00:51:13Or get frustrated.
00:51:14I mean, it's very difficult to keep up that high speed when the other guy is just running, grabbing, pawing.
00:51:20In order to fight, you have to have two people.
00:51:22It's like playing a tennis game where a guy is just lobbing the ball back quietly.
00:51:25No matter what you do, he lobs it back.
00:51:27I mean, pretty soon you get your interest wanes.
00:51:30Should we replay some of the color shots of San Tropez?
00:51:33I'd like the one of Dave Diles talking to his two relatives on the bench there, having a drink.
00:51:38I've never seen him so relaxed.
00:51:40More relaxed than we've ever seen him.
00:51:43Como-esque, I'd call him.
00:51:45Oh, good right hand, good left hook.
00:51:48Best punches of the fight.
00:51:50Oh, solid right hand.
00:51:52Evander trying to finish.
00:51:57First genuine trouble that Ocasio's in.
00:52:01Two.
00:52:02Punching.
00:52:03Punches by Holyfield.
00:52:12Holyfield digs to the body.
00:52:14Ocasio holds.
00:52:15Here comes Evander again.
00:52:17We are in round 10 of a scheduled 15.
00:52:20Ocasio flat footed.
00:52:26Has very little left in his legs.
00:52:28He's working on very dead legs.
00:52:33Move around the band there.
00:52:37Big round, baby.
00:52:38Big round, baby.
00:52:39Big round, baby.
00:52:41Nuva yelling out.
00:52:43Big round, baby.
00:52:44And so it was.
00:52:45Round 10 comes to a close.
00:52:47Another round unofficially given to Holyfield on the 10 point must scoring system.
00:52:53We visit the corner of Papal and Waldo Ocasio.
00:52:56Here comes the deluge of water.
00:53:06I wonder where they get all that water.
00:53:08Almost between every round.
00:53:10Here are the two great punches that got Ocasio's attention.
00:53:16And it looked as if Holyfield was on the way to at least dropping Ocasio.
00:53:21But what a survivor is Ocasio.
00:53:23Get out of his own way.
00:53:25The referee says wipe up some of that water or else corn is going to start to grow.
00:53:30I don't know about the 13th round.
00:53:31You know, actually, when you douse a fighter with that much water, you wonder what effect it is on this.
00:53:36He should be growing gills by now.
00:53:38He's getting up with a big ice pack on his back.
00:53:43As he doesn't look terribly excited about coming after the 11th round, Ferdy.
00:53:47Well, he's wondering how you say I resign in French.
00:53:50But apparently, I don't want to make fun of Oswell Ocasio.
00:53:54He's been a brave warrior in his time.
00:53:56His time may not be right now.
00:53:58But he has fought well for many, many years and honorably.
00:54:03I think he's in way over his head with a young, strong man.
00:54:06And that's the nature of boxing.
00:54:08You build your career on fading fighters.
00:54:11That had become increasingly inevitable during the last minute of round 10.
00:54:23We are now in the first minute of round 11.
00:54:26Ocasio takes the mandatory eight.
00:54:28Looks to his corner and to Gregorio Benitez.
00:54:31Tries to deliver a right hand.
00:54:34And now prepares to try to weather another storm.
00:54:38He got hit a bruising uppercut as he got in.
00:54:41Of course, Hollifield zeroing in knowing this could end right now.
00:54:45You get the feeling Ocasio certainly doesn't want any more.
00:54:49Hollifield a little wild at first.
00:54:51Now tries to go back to concentrating on the body.
00:54:58Ocasio just getting pumped.
00:55:01That's quite enough for British referee John Coyle.
00:55:09And by technical knockout in the 11th of the scheduled 15th, Evander Holyfield retains his WBA junior heavyweight IVF cruiserweight crowns.
00:55:21And sets up a second match with Dwight Mohamed Kawi.
00:55:24And that's got to be a wonderful match.
00:55:26I mean, because Dwight has all that energy burning in him.
00:55:29And of course, Holyfield is dying to come back and show much better than he did the first time.
00:55:34Against Dwight Klawi.
00:55:36I found this fight not quite what I expected from Holyfield and that I thought he would do this much sooner.
00:55:43He was faced with an opponent who wasn't fighting but surviving.
00:55:46And so therefore it took a little bit longer than anticipated.
00:55:50But the end came as it, as we will see with one point.
00:55:55You see that top rope giving way and that punch was so hard that the referee had to come in and stop.
00:56:00He did it again correctly.
00:56:02The referee comes in, stops the fight as he should have.
00:56:05No, no reason for more.
00:56:06No reason for more.
00:56:07Don't you agree?
00:56:08Good stoppage.
00:56:09It had become target practice at that point for Evander Holyfield.
00:56:11Evander Holyfield.
00:56:12And even you could see Ocasio in his face looking in his corner as if saying,
00:56:16you want me to do some more of this?
00:56:17I mean, it isn't like, you know, looking for help.
00:56:19Would you throw in the towel?
00:56:21Give me some break here.
00:56:22And he went back to take some more punishment.
00:56:24Unfortunately for his people in his corner, Ocasio has said that no matter whether he wins or loses,
00:56:32he's going to keep on campaigning, frankly, between us.
00:56:35I don't know what this guy is going to campaign with.
00:56:37He has no punch to hit anybody with.
00:56:39And he's just a track artist.
00:56:41Where is he going to go and seek fights of this caliber after these last two fights?
00:56:46I think he'd do well to consider an alternative career.
00:56:51Maybe in broadcast television.
00:56:54On Puerto Rican television.
00:56:56In Los Angeles.
00:56:57He can be an expert boxing commentator.
00:56:59I could probably use him in L.A.
00:57:00Dave Dial standing by now in the center of the ring.
00:57:04And as soon as the official announcement is concluded, we're trying to get up to David.
00:57:09We've got to wait on the television first.
00:57:15We've got to wait on the television first.
00:57:16We've got to wait on the television first.
00:57:17We've got to wait on the television first.
00:57:18All right, David.
00:57:19Take it away.
00:57:20All right.
00:57:21We're with Evander Holyfield.
00:57:22Just as soon as the fight was over, you said something very profound to me.
00:57:38He's a crafty old dog, isn't he?
00:57:40That's right.
00:57:41He had a lot of experience.
00:57:42He knew just what to do to get himself out of trouble.
00:57:45And really to really show my Aaron Spinner.
00:57:49By the way, you know, he was able to handle me at time.
00:57:52But I'm looking forward to a tough fight.
00:57:55He's a former champion.
00:57:57And self pride in the way he said that, you know, he was going after tighter and stuff.
00:58:02So I'm glad to prepare myself to the floor.
00:58:05You're telling me, really, Evander, it was a learning experience for you.
00:58:09Maybe a fight that you needed to come up against a sly fighter like this.
00:58:14It'll make you a better fighter.
00:58:16Is that what you're saying?
00:58:17Well, most definitely.
00:58:18That's the reason I say I can't look into the future and not taking Ozzy Casio seriously.
00:58:24If I would look past him, he probably would upset me.
00:58:28But I was looking forward to a tough fight.
00:58:30He was very crafty.
00:58:32So I was glad that, you know, we started the filming.
00:58:35He showed me more than what he showed me on the television against Quarley.
00:58:39You know, sometimes I think it's quite possible that those of us in the media,
00:58:43we look at a guy like you, great Olympic fighter,
00:58:45and our other great Olympic fighters that we've seen so often.
00:58:48We expect so very much out of you so very quickly.
00:58:51Well, I only had 15 fighters, but I'm not making that as an excuse.
00:58:55That was my 16 fight.
00:58:56And I learned from it.
00:58:57And that's what benefited me more because I did learn something before that fight.
00:59:01Are we going to look at the knockdown?
00:59:03We're going to go back to Jim Lampley.
00:59:05Lou Duva, one word from you.
00:59:06Can I get one word from ever from Lou Duva?
00:59:09We'll fight anybody.
00:59:10We'll fight anybody.
00:59:11That's three words or four, okay, if you count the contraction.
00:59:14Back to Jim and Kurti at ringside.
00:59:16Words or four, okay, if you count the contraction.
00:59:19Back to Jim and Kurti at ringside.
00:59:21All right, thank you, David.
00:59:23And according to tentative scheduling, they won't fight just anybody.
00:59:26They will fight Dwight Mohamed Kawi in December.
00:59:30Now, 31st, we'll take a look back at some of the destruction heaped upon Asio Casio
00:59:36in that last round by Evander Holyfield.
00:59:39That was the right hand that got him in all the trouble.
00:59:42After that, he could never recover again.
00:59:44Holyfield on his part, showing that kind of aggressiveness that comes with young, well-trained men.
00:59:50Keeping one punch after the other.
00:59:52Ocasio, an old veteran, can't take that kind of punishment.
00:59:56Could have easily stayed down there.
00:59:58No one would have complained.
00:59:59But he has enough heart to get up and try again.
01:00:02And, of course, he is stopped.
01:00:04The referee stopping it very wisely.
01:00:06And Holyfield progresses on to a very interesting fight with Dwight Kawi.
01:00:13All right, now, Ferdy, our last chance to wrap things up.
01:00:17We look ahead to December when Evander Holyfield will now meet a highly motivated Dwight Mohamed Kawi for the second time.
01:00:25At 34 years, can Kawi bring enough to that fight to pose a reasonably strong challenge to Holyfield for the title?
01:00:31Oh, I think so.
01:00:32A very strong challenge.
01:00:33He's met him once.
01:00:34He knows what he's got in front of him.
01:00:36The last time it was a superb fight.
01:00:37No one knew who won.
01:00:39I think it could well be one of the fights of that year.
01:00:43And I never saw Dwight Kawi short.
01:00:47I've seen him so many times just overcome the odds and win.
01:00:51If I had to pick, if my feet were in the fire, I would have to go with a younger man, Holyfield.
01:00:55He's on a roll because he's learning more and more because he's getting stronger and stronger.
01:00:59And he can punch very hard.
01:01:01His endurance is very good.
01:01:02And his movement is so much superior to Dwight Kawi.
01:01:06What I would liken it to, it's finally back to the pasture with an old bull and a young bull.
01:01:10It's time for the young bull to take over.
01:01:13All right, and we'll go away now, Ferdy, with a final look at some of the destruction heaped upon Asi Ocasio by Evander Holyfield at the close of what became an 11th round technical knockout for Evander Holyfield.
01:01:20And a successful defense of his WBA and IBF 190 pound titles.
01:01:50Now for Ferdy Pacheco and Dave Dobbs.
01:01:54This is Jim Lampley saying au revoir from Le Côte d'Azur.
01:01:58Tonight's program was a Sports Television International production.
01:02:20Awesome!
01:02:30Awesome!
01:02:31We have an OPå“¥!
01:02:32Yeah!
01:02:34He had a brand brand-new one of the marinawans trying to get to where they are.
01:02:38Well, the sidck silic Kingdom is a day-long person actually comes up hard, too.
01:02:43And we will win a World-On-Examon invasion thing.
01:02:47You
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