ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Evander Holyfield's quest for a share of the heavyweight crown ended in defeat Saturday night as he was outboxed by unheralded Chris Byrd for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.
The 40-year-old Holyfield (38-6-2) was unable to find his rhythm against Byrd, an awkward, elusive southpaw from Flint, Mich.
"Byrd's punches kept me at bay," said Holyfield, who injured his shoulder in the one-sided fight. "I wasn't able to be aggressive. He kept me off balance. I couldn't use my left."
"He is a great fighter," Byrd said. "(But) I beat him to the punch all night long. He wasn't hitting me, but it looked good to the crowd."
Byrd's style was the reason why WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who was at ringside doing commentary, opted to take $1 million and a sports utility vehicle from Don King to vacate the IBF belt.
Judges Steve Weisfled and Eugene Grant scored the bout 117-111, while John Stewart had Byrd winning, 116-112.
Holyfield opted to look for the one-punch knockout of Byrd, which reflected in the statistics. The aging, four-time former heavyweight champion landed only three of 37 jabs in the entire fight.
"My goal is to be undisputed heavyweight champion of the world," said Holyfield, who plans to continue fighting despite the loss.
Byrd kept busy with a non-threatening but steady right jab. The combination of his foot speed and defense with his southpaw style gave Holyfield fits. In the eighth round, Holyfield switched to southpaw himself.
On the undercard, highly ranked heavyweight contender Fres Oquendo of Puerto Rico rebounded from his first career loss when his bout with George Arias of Brazil was stopped after the 11th round due to a cut.
Oquendo (23-1, 14 KOs) was on the road to a title shot but suffered his first defeat when he was stopped by David Tua in April.
Although Oquendo showed rust and was methodical throughout the fight, he managed to drop Arias in the fourth round. Despite his limited skills, Arias (31-5) pressed the fight. But in the 11th, Oquendo pounded open the Brazilian's right eye.
On the advice of the ringside physician, referee Tony Orlando stopped the fight before the start of the 12th.
At the time of the stoppage, Oquendo was winning all three scorecards by 110-98, 109-99 and 107-101.
