So that’s what Mitt Romney has been up to …
The former Massachusetts governor, 2012 GOP presidential nominee, and longtime political veteran is going to attempt a new bloodsport — boxing — and square off against former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield for charity.
On May 15 at a black-tie event in Salt Lake City, Utah, the 68-year-old Romney will don full protective gear to take on the 52-year-old, but still remarkably fit, Holyfield for CharityVision, an organization based in the state which helps doctors in developing countries perform surgeries to treat people with curable blindness, according to the Associated Press,
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“It will either be a very short fight, or I will be knocked unconscious,” Romney said recently, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “It won’t be much of a fight. We’ll both suit up and get in the ring and spar around a little bit.”
Unlike politicians with a pugilistic past, like, say, Nevada Democrat Sen. Harry Reid, Romney has not publicly demonstrated much athletic prowess. But CharityVision is close to his heart since his son Josh serves as a volunteer president of the organization.
Holyfield last stepped into the ring in 2011 and is perhaps most famous for his mid-90s clashes with Mike Tyson, the second of which ended with part of his ear being bitten off by the eccentric future star of “The Hangover.”
The Romney v. Holyfield match-up will be one of three featured attractions on May 15, and sponsorships for the event range from $25.000 to $150,000, according to the AP.
“We just thought it would be a lot better to provide this kind of entertainment rather than just have dinner and listen to speakers,” Mitt Romney told the Tribune.
