BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, who made four unsuccessful attempts to regain his title after a 1985 loss to Michael Spinks, doubts Mike Tyson will be a champion again.
"He can win a few fights and get a shot, but I don't think he has it in his heart to get his title back," Holmes said Tuesday at a news conference to promote his Jan. 23 fight against former champion George Foreman, who turns 50 on Jan. 10.Tyson is scheduled to launch his latest comeback Jan. 16 against Francois Botha. However, that bout was in jeopardy Tuesday when Tyson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault in Rockville, Md. The plea could result in the revocation of his parole for a 1992 rape conviction in Indiana.
Holmes and Foreman will be a combined 99 years old when they enter the Houston Astrodome ring 26 years and one day after Foreman first won the heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of Joe Frazier on Jan. 22, 1973.
"I've been training harder for this fight than for any other fight," said Foreman, who said he expects to weigh between 237 and 245 pounds.
Foreman has not weighed less than 250 pounds since he was at 244 in 1988, the second year of his comeback from a 10-year retirement.
Holmes turned 49 in November.
"I'm 49, but I fight like I'm 29," said Holmes, who held a portion of the heavyweight title from 1978-85. "I don't do all the things a 29-year old does, but I can do them in spurts."