CHRIS Byrd outboxed Evander Holyfield to take the IBF heavyweight title in Atlantic City on Saturday. Byrd took the crown by a unanimous points decision, with two scores of 117-111 and one of 116-112. The IBF title had been vacated by Britain's Lennox Lewis, who was ringside doing television commentary on the fight.
The 40-year-old Holyfield's immediate reaction was to say he would continue to fight on, despite having won just two of his last seven fights.
Byrd, whose slippery southpaw style has not made him popular with fans, was able to keep Holyfield, left, at bay with a fast jab and flurries of point-scoring, if not devastating, punches. "Now the world sees I can stay in there with the great heavyweights because I just beat one of them," said Byrd.
Punch statistics showed Byrd threw 747 punches to 344 for Holyfield, and landed 252 to 102. There were no knockdowns, although Holyfield drew a large roar in the 11th round when he seemed to hurt Byrd with a right hand.
After the fight ended, Byrd went over to Holyfield's corner and the two heavyweights linked arms and prayed together.
Holyfield's record falls to 38 wins, six defeats, two draws with 25 knockouts, while Byrd improves to 36 wins and two defeats, with 20 knockouts. Byrd's reward should be a fight against the winner of the John Ruiz-Roy Jones fight which takes place on 1 March.
