Holyfield, 46, Loses Close Bout for Title

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 20, 2008 9:32 PM CST
Holyfield, 46, Loses Close Bout for Title
Russian WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev celebrates after winning his WBA heavyweight boxing world championships fight against Evander Holyfield.   (AP Photo/Keystone, Walter Bieri)

Evander Holyfield lost his bid—barely—to become the world's oldest heavyweight champ tonight, SkySports reports. Holyfield, 46, lost a close decision to 7-foot Russian Nikolai Valuev in Switzerland for the WBA title. One judge scored it a draw, and the other two gave Valuev the win by scores of 116-112 and 115-114. 

"I saw it the other way from the judges, but I'm not disappointed by my performance," said Holyfield, a four-time champ who served notice that he has no intention of retiring. "My goal is to be heavyweight champion of the world. I am not interested in fighting for the sake of fighting. I want to be a champion again and that hasn't changed." (More boxing stories.)

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