Luca has set aside April 17 for a possible Holyfield-Botha fight, one he wants to put on pay per view at a Las Vegas site to be determined. They were to fight Saturday in Uganda, but the fight was canceled because of financial issues.

"I'm convinced if he (Holyfield) has anything left he can make a good showing," Luca said. "I've been good friends with (Holyfield's manager) Ken Sanders for a long time, and I've known Evander for years.

"There's always hurdles to clear with every fight. But we're working on it, and we hope to have something official to announce soon."

One hurdle is Holyfield's recent activity in the ring. He has lost five of his last nine fights, the latest on Dec. 20 when he dropped a 12-round majority decision to WBA heavyweight champion Nikolav Valuev in Switzerland.

"I saw that fight, and I thought he fought well enough to win, and so did a lot of people whose opinions in boxing I respect," Luca said. "He impressed me enough that I was willing to pursue this fight with Botha."

The other major hurdle is Holyfield's health. He has submitted the results of most of the extensive medical tests the Nevada Athletic Commission requires for fighters age 35 and older.

Those tests showed nothing that would prevent the process of granting Holyfield a license from moving forward, executive director Keith Kizer said.

"The medicals that have come in so far are satisfactory according to our doctors," Kizer said. "Ultimately, it's up to the commission to decide whether (Holyfield) fights here."