Joe Rogan Experience #10080 — Evander Holyfield Transcript

Transcript

0:00 Boom and we're live. What's up champ? How are you? I'm great. How you doing? I'm great man. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been a fan forever. Oh good. I've seen every single fight you've ever had. So for me it's a it's an honor to have you in here man as a giant boxing fan all the way back to Dwight Cowie. Saw you fighting the Olympics. Saw everything. Yeah, you did. Everything, man. You did.

0:46 Yeah. Well, thank you. Is that what it was? Like that. Yes. Right. Are you worried that those competitive juices might get fired up again? I think I had a great career. right no no it's tim hallmark yeah tim hallmark mackie shillstone got uh sphinx ready yeah and uh And Tim was able to – he did everything with me to show me that that's just a myth.

4:33 They were the first guys really to bulk guys up. Did you really? No, we did not. Because she was like 70 years old when she was stretching me and had me doing all the splits and all this. a good big guy beat a good little guy anytime. What was that guy's – what did he call himself? And he helped the fight up about 30 minutes. I mean, it almost seems like they should have canceled the fight.

7:41 Same thing. Well, yeah, and I was trying to make sure that I could make that quick step, get in or get out. Everybody asks me that, and I'm like, you have to have a one-track mind. and clean the ring out and everything? So many things happened because the guy happened to come over, Farrakhan. He passed now. You're right, but I won. Because back then, then i mean we knew

10:22 to be able to beat him so when you didn't just So, son, you know, which one is sports you going to do? Yeah, don't say that. And they asked me, was I coming back next year? In team sport, you're betting on the coach. incredible olympic team too i mean so many great fighters nine gold medal, one silver after you beat Dwight Muhammad Kawi Right. He's got short arms. And so I seen Mike whipping people that's 6'4", 6'5", 6'6". They outweigh him by 20, 30 pounds.

14:49 And what's the next goal is to go up. Well, it was like this. everybody will always remind me, you didn't beat Mike Tyson. but it wasn't my fault. you know, is that, you know, he was that person that I watched everyone in his fight. to beat a mean guy. And more so than, I'm a skillful fighter. I took care of my body and I Yeah. And he was right. was to let him know that early.

18:25 She said, let me tell you when you know how good you are. and somebody do it again, you get ticked. Was there anything surprising about that fight? Show everybody that. Do you know who I am? Biting him back. I'm going to trip you up and bite you right But my corner person started telling me, keep my mind on the Lord. I said, did you see how high I jumped?

21:53 You know. it hit my mind that because they always catch me trying to get the get back. I really wanted to hit him. And the bell rung, and I went back to the corner. Well, yeah. And everybody said, so what's special about that? You're going to find yourself locked up. I mean, when I have seen things that you've done together, I'm like, wow, it's crazy.

25:33 How long did it take after the fight before you forgave him? And you know what? So you forgave him in the locker room right after the fight. God. So in the point of being able to do that, you know, to realize man if Evander Holyfield can forgive Mike Tyson after he bit a chunk of his ear off, if you bit his face. something would have happened. when,

28:08 And, you know, I talked to Mike, Big fur coat? The thing is, with my ear, my ear is almost like a testimony. So when you saw Mike, did you guys talk? He looked. So they were shocked, wondering why we wasn't fighting. And I told the guy, I said, man, I said, you know how much money I got paid in that fight. And my own thing is that I kind of feel like it's kind of a bully for you to ask somebody to fight you again when you know you're going to win again.

31:17 It's somebody's challenge. And that sort of defines your career, She stayed on me all the time. And I'm just so thankful. They like me a little bit. knew something special about everybody, but you So I got more whooping than everybody. No. That's incredible I said, you know, if I did, I forgot it, Mike. very smart and very humble you know the way he looks at life now. Like, he doesn't even think about his old days.

35:23 You don't have to worry about it. It's got so much, It's all just healthy for you. and I just now found that they got some oil drops that are really good for you. Yeah, I do both. And do you have any injuries or anything that still carries with you after all these years? but I was very disciplined in what food to eat and what not to eat. Spinach, kale, that kind of stuff.

38:23 I like all this fruit stuff that you cut up, the berries and all that. I really ate real clean, real good. No, I did that too. Oh, okay. How many days a week did you spend doing weightlifting type stuff? he was especially in conditioning. But you probably didn't work number 15 minutes, but you're tired. You get tired out. I'm not for sure because the whole thing with me is understanding

42:10 Yes, see, if it's going to make me do it, And they said, why? I said, because one wouldn't do it and they said why what I'm going to do I said my mama Right, right. But why get something new that you can't pay for? What I didn't want to do, I didn't want to retire and then come back. And I asked them why they didn't want to fight. He said, why did I have to go four?

45:13 records are meant to be broken. they just miss it. because he just, after that Sugar Ray Leonard You know what? didn't have a lot of haters or detractors when you the champ, people just appreciated who you were as a man. Yeah, you were never a guy that bragged. But you never went that route. I said, but everybody in that neighborhood told me, you ain't going to be nothing.

48:18 I can't lie and say We could do all these different things, wood shop. everything, but at least you know when to be quiet, when to talk, when not to, because you're And I just wanted to be one of the ones that I did what my mama said, and she was proud of me and all that. but she didn't want the house that I wanted to give her. because people, they don't want everybody

51:08 So I was kind of upset because I want to buy my mama this nice house for me to talk about. eight-bedroom for nothing. Now her house than you. I love them too. room for everybody. Why did you build a house that big? So, you know, you would have a place still for everybody. Yeah, it cost then didn't have no organization Yeah. Well, yeah, yeah. Really?

54:24 Yeah, so I feel like I'd be a part of it, too. You're in that, right? Coming to America there. Are they really? Yeah, so I'll probably That's going to be crazy to be Did you put a gym in it? Well, that's what, I mean, every great champion wants that. I want to see that. There it is right now. Yeah. So he come and tell me, he said, I'm for you. because you're fighting someone from a different generation.

58:14 He said, if you fight George first, That's the only reason why they're going to give you $20 million. Yeah. The oldest ever guy to regain the championship. And ESPN, they scored it. How old were you at that time? and I'm supposed to be the oldest one. Tyson did this thing at 20 years old. I said, you know, I said, you're talking about a kid. Yeah, being 20 and winning the heavyweight championship of the world,

1:00:51 He certainly did. He can fight. But that was my first time ever seeing a guy, and I said, Because Anthony Joshua looks like a Greek god. Well, you know, because people ask me about him. But he get wild at the end. I said, at least he know the guy hurt though. his fight and and when he can see that shot he throwing it and everybody get wild chance to

1:03:21 to know Right. Which shows his confidence. yeah okay upset somebody He's so skilled out of that Cuban amateur program. In the 12th round, it looked like it was over. I'm like, he fight 213. I'm like, you know. When he started talking to people and people get scared of him because he said, look, man, I can fight. I said, oh man, That guy got up after that.

1:06:34 But the referee, well, dive on you, jump on you, won't let you get up. Yeah, but aren't you excited that he got up He did. You know what bothers me? What bothers me is the count was more than 10 seconds. This is how you know. Other referees like one, two. A couple of seconds. Right. Well, you know, even though I'm saying you go in another country, you know, if that fight closed anywhere, you're not getting it.

1:09:25 The only person who's ever done that is Willie Pepp. And it bothers me. Yeah, but you know, At least I got my opportunity.