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The five-men Championship
Committee of the World Boxing
Federation, after consideration
of all arguments, has decided
against sanctioning the proposed
second title defence of its
world heavyweight champion
Evander Holyfield against
Denmark’s Brian Nielsen.
The main reason, obviously, is
that 46-year-old Nielsen, while
sporting a glossy record of 64-2
(43), has been out of the ring
for almost a decade. The
Holyfield vs Nielsen fight is
scheduled for May 7 in
Copenhagen, Denmark and will be
promoted by Sauerland Event. WBF
president Howard Goldberg, who
is part of the Championship
Committee, said:
“While Brian Nielsen a decade
ago posed threats to
heavyweights worldwide, he has
not fought in nine years and
thus does not qualify to contest
a WBF world title at this point.
We have no problem with this
fight taking place, but
certainly the WBF will not
approve it as for our title.”
Jean Marcel Nartz, the vice
president of the WBF, further
explained the decision:
“Although the WBF is a world
boxing sanctioning body and
although we are a business as
well, our primary business is to
ensure that our fights are
quality matchups, that fighters
are deserving of title
opportunities and that the
standards we aim for are not
compromised in order to make a
quick buck.”
While Holyfield will remain WBF
champion, should he lose to
Nielsen his title will
automatically be declared
vacant. |
