( CNN ) -- Evander Holyfield has faced many difficult opponents in the ring -- but nothing quite like this . The former heavyweight world champion has teamed up with colorful Canadian businessman and philanthropist Yank Barry to help Syrian refugees in Bulgaria . Barry , once the lead singer of The Kingsmen , shot to fame briefly in 1963 with the single `` Louie Louie . '' He went on to become a music producer before turning his focus to international aid and diplomacy . The U.N. estimates about 5,000 Syrians have asked for asylum in Bulgaria . About 1,200 mostly Syrians live cramped inside containers and tents at the Harmanli camp near Bulgaria 's border with Turkey . On a foggy Sunday morning , I accompanied the pair on a drive from the capital , Sofia , to the camp , about 170 miles away . As soon as we arrived , Holyfield and Barry were surrounded by hundreds of refugees angry at camp conditions in Bulgaria . The pair planned to deliver food aid and to help resettle some families in a home supplied by Barry 's charity , Global Village . One refugee woman asked : `` Why do n't you do more to help us ? '' Barry replied : `` Since last year I 've delivered 5,000 tons of food to camps . I 'm a private individual . We now have a hotel and we are bringing families . '' The woman persisted : `` What about the rest of us ? '' Syrian refugees in Lebanon face polio threat . Holyfield and Barry 's recent aid mission was not supposed to be like this . In midst of the chaos , Barry said to Holyfield : `` We ca n't blame them for being angry . But they have to understand . We are a private foundation . '' The refugees questioned why more was not being done to help them . Visibly annoyed , Barry said : `` Wait a minute ! Time out ! We got here 15 minutes ago . Now have a little bit of patience before I lose my patience . And we take our food and do n't take anybody ! '' That did not appease the refugees . Instead , they held up their thumbs , chanting `` fingerprint '' -- their way of demanding to be documented as refugees and then released from the camp . `` I would n't refuse food if I was hungry . If they ca n't handle it , let 's go , '' Barry said as he got back into the car . They managed to sneak two families out and meet them at a nearby gas station . Barry offered to place them in a converted hotel with other Syrian refugees for up to a year . But Barry has more ambitious plans . He told us he would be meeting President Bashar al-Assad within a few weeks . `` We know he 's killed some of his own people . But then so did Mubarak . So did Gaddafi . So did Saddam , '' Barry explained . When asked why he would have more success than others in reaching out to Assad , Barry said : `` I know he loves Louie Louie . It 's my song . I sang it and I 'll sing it to him . I 'm going with Evander and possibly Mike , Mike Tyson . He , Assad , is a big boxing fan . And we 're not politically involved . '' It 's dark by the time we reach our next destination -- the hotel that Barry is using to rehouse refugees . There is already one family inside . Syrian refugees face miserable winter in Lebanon . When the new arrivals walk through , tears start to flow as Mohammed recognizes his brother , Noor . He has n't seen him in nearly a year . `` Hey Noor , you know this man ? It 's your brother ! '' Barry says enthusiastically . `` Your heart skips a beat and I was crying probably as much as he was , '' he tells me . `` I saw Evander had a tear in his eye . '' When I ask Holyfield why this mission is important to him , he says : `` Because at some point in time , when you leave this earth , they wo n't be asking about how many championships I won . They 'll say : 'What did you do for the least of them ? ' I can say I was in Bulgaria , I was in Russia , I was in the Philippines . '' Barry says he is already looking for another hotel to house more refugees . But with so many needing help , they may not be able to reach as many as they hope . More than 100 people try slip into Bulgaria every day , border police say , most say they are the fleeing the fighting in Syria . They pay smugglers as much as $ 1,500 to guide them in . `` The amount refugees pay varies according to the number of people trying to cross the border . If the group travels only to Bulgaria , the price they pay to traffickers is much lower . If Bulgaria is only a transit point , however , the price can go much higher , '' George Kalaydjiev , Director of the board in Svilengrad city explains . Bulgaria is one of the poorest countries in Europe . And this , Bulgarian officials say , is the best they can do . The UNHCR says it is trying to get more help for Bulgaria from the European Union . The U.N. says more than 62,000 Syrians have applied for refugee status across the EU . `` But we can not forget these people have suffered enormously . It 's unacceptable that they go on suffering once they reach the EU , '' U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees AntÃ³nio Guterres said recently during a trip to a refugee camp in Sofia . Bulgaria is now building a wall along the most thickly-forested section of Bulgaria 's border with Turkey , in an attempt to keep people out . But Syria 's refugees are desperate . And with or without a wall , Bulgaria remains the doorway to Europe . Syria 's refugee children : Alone , 'in crisis , ' UN report says .
Holyfield teams up with Canadian philanthropist Yank Barry to help Syrian refugees . The pair visited a camp near Bulgaria 's border with Turkey to rehouse some families . They met Syrian refugees demanding to know why more is n't being done to help . Bulgaria is building a wall along part of the border with Turkey , to keep refugees out .