In case you haven't heard, Mitt Romney intends to meet former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in the boxing ring. This is not a joke, and it definitely shows how far former politicians and athletes are willing to go to stay in the limelight. Actually the Mitt Romney vs. Evander Holyfield fight is for charity, and it is expected to raise a lot of money.
Mitt Romney might have lost the 2012 presidential election as the Republican presidential nominee, but this fight with Evander Holyfield could put him back in the spotlight. This is odd, considering he is not planning to run for president. Romney told supporters last January that it's "best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity" to become the Republican nominee.
So why is this happening? Good question. When I saw the trailer for this fight, I have to admit that I thought I was watching some Saturday Night Live parody (I'm sure it will spawn some Saturday Night Live parody sketch with different opponents). And I believed that Mitt Romney and Evander Holyfield were just good imitators in the video. Fortunately, it got serious at the end as Romney stated that the "fight" is to benefit Charity Vision, a Utah-based nonprofit to help people in developing countries with vision problems.
According to NPR, Romney's son Josh is a volunteer part-time president of Charity Vision, and Romney was moved on a trip to India seeing the work that the organization does. The event hopes to raise $1 million that will go to medical equipment, surgeries, screenings, and medical training.
In case you are curious, Bleacher Report says that Romney will be wearing boxer shorts for the fight. According to Fox News, the official weigh-in on Thursday night was the 68-year-old Romney was at 179 pounds and the retired 52-year-old Holyfield at 236 pounds.
Anyone taking any bets? I'm guessing that Mitt Romney is a 1,000 to 1 shot of winning. Maybe 10,000. In a recent interview with the New York Times Magazine's Mark Leibovich, Romney stated that he is just hoping to survive the three-round bout without "being reduced to cottage cheese". He also stated that he's going to stay away from Holyfield's ears in an attempt to "lower the chances of the former heavyweight champ having some sort of angry flashback". This is a reference to the nineties fight with Tyson, when Tyson attempted to bite Holyfield's ear in 1997.
The fight between Mitt Romney and Evander Holyfield will take place on Friday Night, May 15, 2015, near Salt Lake City. Charity Vision is broadcasting the event live through Twitter's Periscope.
Honestly, I'm certain there would be a lot people who want to see Mitt Romney get punched by a heavyweight champ, and I'm sure there are going to be a lot of viral videos related to this match after it ends.
