Griffin vs roy Jones is wildly different than holyfield Tyson 2. Denying holyfield beat Tyson in the 2nd fight is akin to saying the no mas fight wasn't a victory for Leonard. Sometimes fighters have breakdowns in the ring and it's not usually when they're winning.
The thing about Tyson odds is a fighter that popular will never stay an underdog bc so many ppl will always bet on him. So even if he starts underdog the bookies will start hedging and moving the line. Plus he had made the excuse that it has been stopped prematurely in the first fight which some people may have bought as you say he has a cult like following of believers.
1. Looking at this time distance, Evander Holyfield could have retired even after the first fight with Lennox Lewis. 2. He could have retired after the victory over Michael Moorer. 3. After defeating John Ruiz. 4. No later than the win over Hasim Rahman. Those are the 4 scenarios when Evander Holyfield could have retired. They are arranged chronologically, the way I would like; and the rest only spoiled Holyfield's legacy.
After the Ruiz trilogy. Struggling so much with a bum like Ruiz should've been the sign to call it a career.