Romney and Holyfield square off ahead of fight night

Five-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and one-time presidential nominee Mitt Romney met Thursday night for the traditional weigh-in and stare-down ahead of a charity bout in Salt Lake City.

{mosads}Romney, who has been preparing for weeks for his day in the ring, weighed in at 179 pounds, while Holyfield clocked in at 236.5.

The fight on Friday night is a fundraiser for Utah’s Charity Vision, a nonprofit that provides eye care for patients in developing countries.

Josh Romney, Romney’s son and the president of Charity Vision International, organized the fight and hopes to raise at least $1 million to fund some 40,000 eye surgeries for people in need. 

When asked if President Obama plans to watch the charity bout, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said he hadn’t spoken to him about it and wasn’t sure he would watch.

“I was pretty dumbfounded by the imagery,” he said.

Schultz also dodged when asked if Obama has any advice for Holyfield in beating Romney.

Jordan Fabian contributed to this story.

— This post was updated at 2:30 p.m.