Holyfield learned lesson early

      Evander Holyfield quivered with fear the first time he faced a man with a moustache in a boxing ring. Holyfield was so afraid, he went down without being hit.
      But as a young teen in Atlanta, he quickly learned a lesson that would lead him three times to the heavyweight championship of the world. The bullies disliked being hit as much as he did. And they didn't punch as much when they were getting punched.
      So, when people told him he had no chance Nov. 9 against Mike Tyson, Holyfield smiled and said, "I don't believe that."
      Sure, Tyson was fearsome when he was doing all the punching. But how would he react when he was taking as much as he gave? Holyfield knew. He had seen it many times.
      It had happened in his camp, only weeks before he stunned Tyson by stopping him in the 11th round at the MGM Grand Garden.
      "When I first started to train for that fight, I couldn't keep (sparring partner) Gary Bell off me," said Holyfield, who will meet Tyson on Saturday night in a highly anticipated rematch at the MGM.
      Bell is an undefeated heavyweight prospect who has an aggressive, smothering style similar to Tyson's.
      And as Holyfield tried to get into shape for the fight of his life, he couldn't keep a fighter with fewer than a dozen bouts from mauling him.
      Slowly, that changed. Holyfield countered Bell's misses and made him pay with powerful shots. And Bell's attack slowed and grew far more cautious.
      That is what happened Nov. 9. Tyson tried to overwhelm Holyfield, but Holyfield refused to let it happen.
      "I don't know how many times I have been asked if Tyson's a bully," Holyfield said. "What is a bully, anyway? He's a fighter with certain strengths that he tried to use to his advantage. But all fighters have strengths, and all fighters have weaknesses."
      But people weren't used to seeing the weaknesses. Before Nov. 9, Tyson had lost only once and, despite the convincing way Holyfield handled him, is a 2-1 favorite in the rematch.
      Many have said the Nov. 9 bout was a fluke, that Tyson was ill-prepared and that new trainer Richie Giachetti will right the wrongs.
      Again, Holyfield smiles. Saturday night's result, he said, will be the same. The fight might not be the same tactically, but he said he knows one thing: He will win.
      "The ultimate thing is to get the victory," Holyfield said. "Now, as far as how the fight goes, we'll see. The thing is, I will have to adjust if Tyson brings something new in. If he brings something new, I'll have to figure it out, adjust to it and go on. But if he fights the same fight, I'll give him the same old whuppin'."
      Holyfield is far from convinced that Giachetti will make a difference.
      "Tyson could try to change things, but it all depends on how well he'll listen and how smart Richie Giachetti is," Holyfield said. "Is he going to tell Tyson something that is really going to benefit him? I think, Richie Giachetti, it's a guessing game for him, too."
      Holyfield then becomes animated and laughs heartily. One gets the sense Holyfield has a vision of Tyson and Giachetti poring over films from the Nov. 9 fight.
      There is one problem with that, Holyfield said. It might not do any good, because Holyfield might not fight the same way.
      "Richie really doesn't know how I fight, either," Holyfield said. "Ain't too many people out there can actually pattern me down to a fight, 'cause I can fight a lot of different ways. There's a lot of things that could happen, and I'll adjust to it. The thing I know for sure is, the outcome will be the same. I'll win it again."