in 1986, what did you think of Holyfield? I finally sat down and watched the fight and it was brilliant. But for those around at the time, what were your thoughts on holyfield after the fight? It was clear from the fight (and the commentary) that holyfield just couldn't hurt Qawi. He also suffered a DRASTIC loss of energy mid-fight but recovered in the final third. Did you see greatness? Did you think his power was overrated? Did you see the stamina problems back then that would continue throughout his career?
I saw a replay of the fight some years later ( around 1990 ), and frankly I was impressed. Qawi was a seasoned veteran in good shape and with lots of experience. I was following Holyfield's heavyweight prime as it unfolded from month to month, and opponent to opponent, and it was clear that in 1986, and at cruiserweight, that he was years away from reaching his best.. He was an 11 fight prospect, barely out of the amateurs, and fighting in a 15 round bout against a future hall of famer.. He showed signs of exhaustion at some points, and had not yet developed the power or offesnsive tactics to finish a game Qawi, but he certainly proved that he was world class in that outing....
Qawi seemed to be by far the more efficient and skilled of the two. Holyfield just gutted it out with sheer work rate and exertion. Evander was seen going in as having questionable stamina. Lou Duva talked about what a junk food addict the young Holyfield was, and instructed him to instead eat all the fruits and vegetables he wanted.
I was very impressed with him as a potential star then. There has never been anybody close to him at cruiserweight. He is head and shoulders above anybody. He had terrific power at that weight, was exceptionally strong, and seemed to have grown tenfold in confidence as a result of that first fight with Qawi. I think he could be forgiven for a little bit of a letdown in certain portions of that fight; let's not forget the kind of pressure he was under from Qawi, who just would not relent. Holy ended up so dehydrated afterward he had to be sent to the hospital. He still managed to finish strong.
I thought it was a great fight. Holy showed a lot of heart and Qawi, though on the downside showed he could pull out one last great performance. I thought it could have gone either way.
This is still true. Holyfields favorite place to eat is burger king and he tears those cheeseburgers up. He was even in a commercial for burger king years ago when he first won the title. Its amazing he can keep that physique, even with the steroids.
Holyfield was terribly inexperiened at the time .. he fought an amazing fight all things considered ..
thanks for the responses guys! i've always found holyfields stamina to be curious. in this fight it was quite unusual because he had youth and apparently conditioning on his side but qawi was always moving and was very much fresher throughout the fight. this is a time before steroids (which have been blamed for his heart condition at times). How did he consistent drop in his energy level? It was a great, gutsy performance by holyfield with wonderful combinations but i was thrilled with qawi to be honest
You're forgetting that Holy had only had a handful of pro fights at that time and had never even fought 10 rounds, let alone 15. Of course his stamina was going to be unreliable at this stage of his career - and especially against a relentless, more experienced bulldozer like Qawi. The fact that he was able to keep pushing himself to go a full 15 rounds under those circumstances is just plain incredible, and gave an early indication of just what a special fighter he was.
can't argue with this: he proved his most valuable trait in that fight, willpower:thumbsup his ****ing determination was nothing short of amazing throughout his career and kept him on top. guess i'm being a little hard on him, it was REALLY early in his career
I saw it and I thought for all the world that Holyfield looked brilliant...a guy with as few fights as he had going 15 and winning vs a brute like Qawi...he really impressed me...and I was rooting for Qawi.
