Bobby Czyz: “I know for a fact that Evander Holyfield did use a foreign substance in our fight”

Recently I had the pleasure of talking with former light-heavyweight and cruiser weight world champion, Bobby Czyz. Aside from being a fighter, Czyz is also one of the finest boxing analysts in the sport currently. Topics discussed in this interview include Bobby’s introduction to the sport, dealing with the death of his father, becoming a world champion, and the controversial circumstances surrounding his fight with legendary champion Evander Holyfield. Here is part one of Bobby Czyz’ interview.

Robert Brown: Bobby, could you let us know how you got involved in boxing?

Bobby Czyz: Well this goes back to 1972 when I was 10 years old. My dad had given me an ultimatum pretty much — to me and both my brothers, Vince and Tony — he said, “We’re going to the gym and you guys are gonna learn how to box.” We all said, “For how long?” and he said, “Till I say otherwise.” That time to me turned out to be five years.

By the time I was 15 years old, I was beating grown men in the gym in their mid 20’s and early 30’s who were ranked in the world, and I was just a 15 year old teenager. I was kind of happy about that and I thought to myself, if some of these guys are making the money that they’re making, well what could I make? Should I do the same?

I was always a straight A student so I had a number of scholarships available to me, but I wanted to chase my dream of being a professional athlete and being in the history books. I’m also an Atheist — I don’t believe in God — and now I’m in the history books three times, for three different titles, so technically I’m immortal. That was pretty much my goal in doing what I did.

Robert Brown: You were still a young man trying to make your way in boxing, and your father died suddenly and tragically. How did you find the strength to continue on with your boxing career?

Bobby Czyz: Well I’ll tell you, for the first couple of months after he passed away, I was emotionally distraught and I was pretty much a wreck. I couldn’t go to bed without drinking — I couldn’t sleep, I had insomnia and nightmares.

Then one day I woke up a couple of months in and I said, “You know what, this is not what my father would have wanted for me. I’m gonna keep chasing the dream, I’m gonna get this done.” I went back to the gym, started my training and never looked back. Three world titles later, I’m proud of what I have accomplished.

Robert Brown: Your first world title was the IBF light heavyweight championship you won against Slobodan Kacar. After such personal turmoil, how did you feel having realized the dream for yourself and your father?

Bobby Czyz: I have a very interesting answer for that. For many, many years, from the time I was very young, right up until that moment when I won the title, I could never understand why a woman would cry when she was happy, until that moment came upon me and I started to cry.

What I had accomplished was so overwhelming, even to me, that it was almost surreal. I knew that I had chased that dream for me and for my father, and I had realized it for both of us.

Robert Brown: After three successful defenses, you faced ‘Prince’ Charles Williams who was a heavy underdog going into that fight, and you lost to him in the 9th round. What went wrong in that fight?

Bobby Czyz: Well, what went wrong is I didn’t under train, I over trained. I trained too much, I came in light — I was five pounds under weight. I had just over trained, and anyone who knows boxing will tell you that overtraining is worse than under training because if you under train you can always dig deep for something.

Once you’ve over trained for a fight or a sport, you’ve exhausted the muscles beyond fatigue and there is no coming back from that. I over trained and there was basically nothing more I could do, my body was used up.

Robert Brown: In 1996, you faced Evander Holyfield. At the start of round 3 you complained that something was burning your eyes, and in round 5 the fight was stopped because you could no longer see. Do you think Evander or his corner were using a foreign substance in that fight?

Bobby Czyz: I know for a fact many years later that he did use a foreign substance. I found out from the state police in New Jersey that it was a mixture of Tabasco sauce and something else, I don’t know what else, and they’re not sure.

I had certified paperwork from eye surgeons and facial plastic surgeons that exfoliating agents were used on my cornea. My vision went from 20/15 in both eyes to 20/45 within a week, and all the skin peeled off my face after the fight. I know something was used, I don’t know exactly what.

Robert Brown: While your boxing career was still continuing, you started working for Showtime as their principal boxing analyst, and then it ended. What brought your relationship with Showtime to an end?

Bobby Czyz: Well, there were a couple of people at Showtime in the hierarchy — the bigwigs that are always behind the scenes and in the upper offices — that were upset from time to time that I told the truth on the air.

When I said on a regular basis that, if fighter A is beating up fighter B and fighter B keeps getting the decision, then the judges are one of two things; they’re either incompetent or they’re on the take. No other logical explanation on the planet can be substituted for the decision being so poor.

I kept saying that it was an agenda that some people had, to see that certain fighters did well and other did not. They got upset with that, then I had a couple of car incidents where I was driving under the influence and was bad publicity, and they found a way to put that together and make that the reason to fire me. No harm, no foul, it is what it is.

I have to take my mistakes and own up to them, and I did. I think that it will be a very long time coming until you find another person who’s fought in six different weight divisions, won world titles in three of them and speaks the way I did on the air. I think it was a unique combination of things that I brought to the table that made me a unique person in that position.

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Stay tuned to ontheropesboxing.com for Part 2 of my interview with Bobby Czyz