Evander Holyfield At 58: 'I've Been Taking Care Of My Body'

At 58 years old, most people are daydreaming about retirement, popping aspirin for joint pain and watching Wheel of Fortune from their recliners. At that same age, former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield will be participating in an actual sanctioned boxing fight. But don't worry about The Real Deal, he's feeling just fine.

 

Ahead of Saturday night's fight with former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, the 58-year-old says he's feeling spry.

“Well, the thing is that I’ve been in good shape and I’ve been taking care of my body,” said Holyfield per MMA Junkie. “I didn’t have a lot of bad habits that a lot of people have and that’s a big part of it. Talking to the younger people, you take care of yourself while you’re young and when you get older still take care of yourself. If you take care of yourself on both sides, you’ll be alright.”

Holyfield last fought in May of 2011 at the age of 48, besting Brian Nielsen. He then retired for a decade before the opportunity to replace Oscar De La Hoya in a bout with Belfort presented itself.

It's still to be determined whether Holyfield will keep fighting after Saturday, take another 10 years off, or retire for good.

“This is like a one-off because after every fight I’m like, ‘I don’t know,'” said Holyfield. “After each and every fight you have to make a decision: Are you going to do it again or not? At any given time if I decided I don’t want to do it no more, it’s O.K.”