Evander Holyfield Bests Mitt Romney in Boxing Match

A five-time heavyweight champion has beaten a rich politician in a bizarre charity event.

A five-time heavyweight champion has beaten a rich politician in a bizarre charity event.

AP (“Mitt Romney lasts 2 rounds against Holyfield in boxing match“):

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and five-time heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield squared off in the ring Friday at a charity fight night event in Salt Lake City.

Romney, 68, and Holyfield, 52, sparred, if you could call it that, for just two short rounds before Romney ran away from the boxer and threw in the towel, giving up a round early in the lighthearted fight that came amid several other fights by professional boxers and an auction.

The two barely threw any punches and largely just danced around, occasionally lightly jabbing each other in the midsection in what was much more of a comedic event than an actual bout.

The black-tie affair raised money for the Utah-based organization CharityVision, which helps doctors in developing countries perform surgeries to restore vision in people with curable blindness.

While this seems like a good cause, it’s hard to think of an odder means by which to raise money for it.

FILED UNDER: Sports, US Politics, ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. CSK says:

    Sometimes “odd means” work the best, since they attract publicity and therefore money. This event raised a million dollars for what appears to be a fine cause–restoring sight to the blind. So…good for Holyfield and Romney.

  2. michael reynolds says:

    It’s not like Mr. Romney could have just written a million dollar check. Except that it is.

    It was cute and fun but charity? My wife and I have been privately funding our own tiny little charity for 18 years. Never threw a gala or a ball or a fight.

  3. Liberal Capitalist says:

    I used to be a fan of the old MTV show: Celebrity Deathmatch.

    So, I was really looking for a more interesting outcome, thinking that it could not happen to a better person.

  4. Gustopher says:

    Had Romney done this before running for president, it might have really helped soften his reputation for being robotic. Sure, he still would have come across as stiff, but he would have come across as a stiff human.

  5. michael reynolds says:

    @Gustopher:

    You realize 30 years from now that statement will be seen as disgustingly androidist.

  6. michael reynolds says:

    @Gustopher:

    You realize 30 years from now that statement will be seen as disgustingly androidist. Android rights, man. Power to the plastic! Right on!

  7. Trumwill says:

    @Gustopher: Alternately, if he really were an android, he could have won that fight!

    Seriously, Romney is always at his best when he is not actively running for office. It’s one of those things where politics is so unlike just about anything else.

  8. Slugger says:

    Mitt got beat by a black guy. Once again we have to put the fireworks back into storage.

  9. ernieyeball says:

    @michael reynolds:.. Android rights, man. Power to the plastic!

    See Twilight Zone episode Steel (4 Oct. 1963)
    http://i.onionstatic.com/avclub/5144/62/16×9/1200.jpg

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734623/?ref_=fn_ep_tt_7

  10. Paul Hooson says:

    Who could have guessed this outcome? I guess Romney is now 0 and 3 when in the ring with a Black man now…