More money woes for Evander Holyfield

The thing with young professional athletes — as ESPN’s Rick Reilly notes in today’s column — is that too many of them never consider that someday the money spigot is going to be shut off. They’ll get old and retire. It’s just a law of nature. How else do you explain Evander Holyfield building a palace in Fayette County that requires $1 million a year (in 1997 dollars) just for utilities and upkeep?

The 54,000-square-foot home has 109 rooms, including 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley.

There will be no more big money fights for the 45-year-old Holyfield. And his financial problems — a near foreclosure and lawsuits for child support and loan defaults — made headlines last month.

TMZ reports that yet another woman — Toi Jenese Irvin — who is the mother of one of Holyfield’s sons filed a contempt motion in Fayette County yesterday because the ex-champ has not maintained health insurance for the child, has failed to pay for his private school expenses and failed to maintain a college fund.

Holyfield was one of boxing’s greatest all-time champions. He made hundreds of millions of dollars in his career, including $35 million alone for the infamous fight with Mike Tyson where Tyson chewed off a portion of Holyfield’s ear.

It’s a sad coda for Holyfield, who claims he’s not broke and only has a cash flow problem.