I just re-watched this fight the other day... It was quite a slugfest. First off...moorer did not look like he was in Tip-Top shape... It was pretty clear to me that he had not trained like he did for the first fight. It looked as though moorer was doing okay for the first three or four rounds... But as the fight went on Holyfield began to beat him to the punch and Moorer was basically a punching bag from round 5 until the end. Does anybody know the back story to this fight? If so, feel free to share.
I do not know the details of the fight tbh. Although I think it is overrated as a hw slugfest, it was a great fight anyway. This is why I extend Evander's prime to 1997. After beating Tyson twice back to back and then Moorer, how can anyone not extend Evander's prime to '97?
Good fight. Moorer was doing well early on, and an upset for a second time seemed to be on the table but holyroid cracked his chin and basically kept cracking it from round 5 on. Holy was slightly past prime and began to look uneven in fights but this was a good one. He didn’t look good in Bowe holy 3 and he looked awful vs Cyzyz. Not to mention lethargic in first Moorer fight. I think he always wanted the Tyson fight and was able to go to well in that fight like never before and Tyson was expecting a much different fighter and had not been tested at all since his return
Holyfield put on the best display of heavyweight combination punching since.. Ali/Clay? In the 60's? Or ever?
Moorer showed a ton of heart in that fight climbing off the deck multiple timea. Moorer is one of the more frustrating heavyweights I have ever seen. He was so talented and had tons of heart but he didn't always prepare like he should have. I'll never forget that fight because I had serious money on Moorer in that one. Holyfield was coming off the Tyson win which honestly I felt was very overrated at the time. I thought Moorer was a far more dangerous fighter at that time than TYson was.
Moorer had shoulder surgery shortly before the bout and Freddy Roach mentioned that he felt it affected his training as he did not have enough time to get into proper condition. It may not have made a difference against a dialed in Holyfield but Moorer was in much better shape in their first fight.
This is an interesting assertion. Both were really great at that, but Louis was certainly more effective both power-wise and overall.
Agreed, but Evander Had other attributes that joe didn’t have. Holy could be out on his feet at the start of the round and still comeback and take the round or be on top at the end of the same round, a will that joe imo couldn’t match
Holyfield seemed to have trouble with with Moorer southpaw stance and showed his age a little. But Holy eventually turned it on and avenged the Moorer defeat pretty decisively.