Holyfield set to finally hang up his gloves

Ring legend Evander Holyfield is likely to announce his retirement when he turns 50 on Friday.

The veteran American will finally hang up his gloves if a fight with one of the Klitschko brothers isn't offered to him in the next couple of days.

"I believe I can beat either of them but I don't have time now to fight my way back up the rankings and become the No 1 contender," he told the Daily Mail.

"There's no point badgering them any longer. If I don't get the call on Friday, I quit."

Holyfield turned pro after winning a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

He picked up his first world title in 1986 when he defeated Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA cruiserweight crown on a split decision after 15 rounds.

The self-styled "Real Deal" went on to add to WBC and IBF baubles to his collection before jumping up to heavyweight.

Wins over former beltholders Michael Dokes and Pinklon Thomas put him in the title mix and in March 1990 he wiped out an overweight James 'Buster' Douglas inside three rounds to become undisputed champion.

After a trio of fights with Riddick Bowe and a shock loss to Michael Moorer, it seemed that Holyfield's career was on the wane.

Indeed, he had been forced to retire after it was announced that he had a heart condition. But shortly afterwards Holyfield returned to action, claimed that his heart has been healed by a preacher.

And in the summer of 1996 he became a world champion once again when he stopped Mike Tyson in the 11^th round to take the WBA bauble. It was a fight that few boxing experts had given him a chance in beforehand.

A controversial rematch happened a year later, with Tyson infamously being disqualified for twice biting Holyfield's ear.

After avenging the Moorer loss and defeating Vaughan Bean, Holyfield was rewarded with a highly controversial draw against Lennox Lewis before losing to the giant Brit in a rematch eight months later.

In 2000 he became a world heavyweight champion for the third time by defeating John Ruiz on points, but his career was patchy after that and many believe that he should have walked away from the sport many years ago.