Evander Holyfield filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Thursday in attempt to stop the upcoming auction of some of his boxing memorabilia.
Holyfield’s lawsuit is seeking an order to block the sale of 20 of the almost 450 items set for auction on Nov. 30 by Julien’s Auctions. Some of the items set to hit the auction block are the gloves he wore when Mike Tyson bit a piece of his ear off and his Olympic bronze medal.
The lawsuit maintains that Holyfield must consent to the auction of all items and the disputed items should be returned immediately.
In a press release announcing the auction earlier in the year Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien’s Auctions, said that his company received permission from Holyfield to list the items for sale.
Julien said that his company has worked for months to organize a world-class auction of Holyfield’s memorabilia along with other items removed from his foreclosed mansion in Georgia.
According to Julien, Holyfield has received an advancement of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He said that the future Hall of Fame boxer even selected the items he wanted to keep, despite the lawsuit claiming Holyfield was frequently distracted while the items were being sorted and catalogued.
Championship belts he won in 1993, robes he wore in the Olympics and a Father of the Year award are some of the disputed items that Holyfield would like a judge to block the sale of for perspective buyers.
The lawsuit asserts withdrawing these items from the auction would only diminish the amount of money the auction would profit from.
”If, on the other hand, Holyfield is forced to sell those few items of personal property that have the very most sentimental value to him as he looks back over his career, and which he wants to pass down to future generations of his family, the hardship is overwhelming and irreparable,” the lawsuit states.
Holyfield announced his retirement on his 50th birthday on Oct. 19, to change his mind a week later and return to the ring.
Holyfield has a lifetime record of 44-10-2 with one decision, now he is hoping for a knockout decision from a California judge to salvage the items scheduled to be auction is late November.
