Trainer: Holyfield Unbeatable

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 1, 1999 / 12:36 AM EST / CBS Sportsline

Two days before the opening of training camp, trainer Don Turner said that his fighter Evander Holyfield would handily beat Lennox Lewis in their upcoming heavyweight title unification bout.

"Lewis will probably fight the best fight of his life and Holyfield will fight the best fight of his life and will win," Turner said on Saturday night a few hours before another of his fighters, heavyweight Michael Grant, was to go into action at the Atlantic City Convention Centre.

"I see Evander hitting him and him falling down," Turner said.

Holyfield, 36-3 with 25 victories inside the distance, is the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association champion. Lewis, 34-1 with 27 ending early, is the World Boxing Council champ. One of the two will unify the crowns March 13 at Madison Square Garden.

With training camp opening Monday in Houston, Turner said he was more optimistic about this fight than he was before Holyfield's first bout with Mike Tyson three years ago.

"I feel better about this fight than I did about the Tyson fight," Turner said of the clash when Holyfield surprisingly stopped Tyson in the 11th round. "I don't think it will go as long as the Tyson fight."

"Evander is going to go in there and make Lewis fight and mix it up. I don't think he will be able to stand up to it," Turner said.

Turner questioned 33-year-old Lewis's fighting spirit.

"I don't really think he wants to fight," Turner. "When he gets in there he don't give his all. Fighters find a way to dog it." Turner was careful not to say that Lewis didn't have the heart to fight, but explained that a fighter can find subtle ways of surrendering in the ring.

"How can I say that he doesn't have heart, he is a world champion? " "You can quit in a lot of different ways. When they get hit, they don't want to get knocked out so they start holding. They just quit fighting," said Turner.

"Like (American) football, a guy doesn't want to get tackled, he runs out of bounds. If he doesn't want to get hurt, he won't get hurt," Turner said.

That has never been the case with 36-year-old Holyfield -- and never will be, promised Turner.

"Very few heavyweights -- Ali, Holmes and Holyfield -- they would die before they quit," said Turner. "And after five rounds every fight just becomes a battle of wills."