Holyfield return is boxing’s most depressing show . . . on points

NO DOUBT they will curse this fling with fate. But hang in there, battle-weary boxing fans. Better days do lie over the horizon. Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk is a fascinating match-up in a fortnight, then it’s the trilogy fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder on October 9. Yes, the one we want remains out of reach, but let’s gobble up any crumbs of optimism after this week that was. Only eight days have passed since 18-year-old Jeanette Zacarias Zapata died following a defeat. And yet already tragedy is being crowded out by farce. In Arizona last night, Oscar Valdez defended his world title against Robson Conceicao, despite testing positive for a banned substance last month. It is testament to another circus rolling into Florida that Valdez v Conceicao was only a contender for most depressing show of the week. Here’s a potted history of that madness: Oscar De La Hoya, boxing’s rusted Golden Boy, was due to return to the ring aged 48 to face MMA veteran Vitor Belfort, 44. Then Oscar contracted Covid barely a week before the fight. The natural replacement was, of course, Evander Holyfield, 58. Who else? California’s State Athletic Commission refused to sanction the new headline attraction, so the entire card was moved to Florida. No, really.

The undercard sees David Haye, a relative spring chicken at 40, return to fight an old friend, nightclub-owner-turned-boxer Joe Fournier. ‘I see it as very similar to going to watch The Expendables with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone and all of those legends,’ Haye told the BBC. Who knows if the commentators will agree. Who’s behind the mic? Oh, Donald Trump and son Donald Jnr, of course.