Holyfield Must Prove Holy 'Cure'

ATLANTA, Georgia -- Boxing officials said they will need concrete medical proof that a faith healer cured Evander Holyfield's heart problem before allowing him back in the ring. The former heavyweight champion hinted at a return to boxing over the weekend after claiming faith healer Benny Hinn miraculously cured him during a Christian revival in Philadelphia last week. "We can't rely on faith healers in a dangerous sport such as boxing," said New Jersey boxing commissioner Larry Hazzard. Holyfield, speaking through a spokesman from his Fairburn, Georgia home, said Monday that rumors of a comeback have been blown out of proportion, but he is considering it. "He said if it is God's will, he'll come back. But he doesn't know when that will be," spokesman Charles Watson said. Holyfield, 31, retired in April after losing a 12-round bout with Michael Moorer and disclosing he had a condition known as a stiff heart. Holyfield's heart does not receive enough oxygen for strenuous activity. It also has a small hole. Boxing officials said the chance of Holyfield returning to boxing is remote. "If his cardiologist says he can never fight again, it would be hard for us to let him fight again," said Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Watson said Holyfield has not yet seen his doctor. Dr. Ronald Stephens, Holyfield's physician and chief of general surgery at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, could not be reached. Ratner and Hazzard said every boxer must pass routine physical exams before fights. Scrutiny of Holyfield's health would be even more intense, they said. "We're here for the safety of the boxer," Ratner said. "All fighters think they can fight for ever." Holyfield, a born-again Christian, said he felt "a warm feeling" go through his chest when Hinn touched him on stage in front of 9,000 Christians last Thursday. He then collapsed. nFormer world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson says he has grown up enough in prison to know he should have walked a beauty contestant downstairs from his hotel room, but still staunchly denies raping her. The judge who listened to Tyson plead for a a reduced sentence Monday in Indianapolis said he showed signs of rehabilitation, but sent him back to prison anyway. "I should have been more polite," he told Judge Patricia J. Gifford at the three-hour hearing at Marion County Superior Court. "I should have walked her downstairs. I should have been more gentlemanly to her." Gifford said Tyson is bettering himself, but said his plea to leave prison early tripped over educational requirements. Indiana law requires that an inmate with less than two years to serve must complete an academic or vocational program, and show signs of rehabilitation, to get a reduced sentence. Tyson listened impassively as the judge refused to free him, then slowly stood up to be led back to prison by the sheriff's deputies. "They want to keep him in jail as long as possible," the appeals lawyer Alan Dershowitz said. "They've got a trophy." Tyson has served 26 months of a six-year rape sentence. With time off for good behavior, he could be released next May.