I'm curious... Cuz as beloved as Tyson was, I was just surprised to see the fans cheering holyfield over tyson? Do you think it was because of the debacle of his last fight with seldon (which was not his fault) that kinda soured people on Tyson?
Tyson had plenty of haters by the time he fought Holyfield... And even when Tyson was still at his most popular, people still marveled at anyone who could trade hard punches with him... plus it was a high energy fight
People were captivated by the image of Tyson but that didn't mean they actually liked him. People thought Tyson was unbeatable again so it was the aura of invincibility that made people focus on Tyson and want to see what he could do. It was bloodlust really. Holyfield on the other hand was genuinely popular. So when it became clear Holyfield was winning the fans cheered him on because they liked him. I don't think the crowd turned against Tyson as such, they just started supporting Holyfield because they suddenly realised he could win and Tyson wasn't invincible.
I was at the fight. It was clear from the beginning of the fight that at least 80-90% of the crowd there that night was cheering for Holyfield.
Holy was never more popular as when the underdog .He was ripped for going the distance with Foreman and Holmes and struggling with Cooper .But against Bowe in the rematch and Tyson people cheered him ,they liked to see the man come back .
