Could Evander Holyfield make it 49-0 in the 50s?

I would feel confident saying yes, if he was to replace Rocky on this timeline. If he could/would also face Rocky I kind of see it as a 50/50 fight. Hard to say based upon the info, but I certainly think he is more than capable of flirting with being undefeated.

 

Not likely. Holyfield was out boxed but he likes of Moorer and Ruiz. Charles or Walcott could beat him at least once in 4 tires.

 

Holyfield would not. He could be too inconsistent and lacked the X factors of power and stamina that bailed Marciano out.

We haven't seen Holyfield in that 50s schedule. Marciano had the bulk of his 49 fights in a short window. 48-55. He had one fight in 47.

Holyfield didn't have 49 fights until something like 84-2006. That's over 20 years. No evidence to suggest he could hold up to a schedule that grueling.

 

I'm wondering if he would have made it against 1959 Liston.

 

He was having serious heart problems vs moorer and was well past it when he lost to Ruiz. Charles and Walcott aren’t on his level

 

To be quite honest, I'd not have picked Marciano to go 49-0 against his opposition himself. His run was remarkable.

 

Sonny wasn’t really prime until 1960. When He came out of prison in 1958, Sonny had been away from boxing almost as long as he had been active. Soon as he got out he was very busy building up to a peak in 1960. I’m not sure any of the guys Sonny fought in 1958/59 were really enough preparation for Evander Holyfield. By 1960 he was ready.

 

LOL @ you....

Marcianos first 40 fights were against bums of all bums......absolute local sub pat local club cannon fodder.

Essentially he fought 9 opponents with a pulse and struggled , was cut to shreds and knocked down/had to come from behind against AARP recipients..fact...credit to him ....he came around the right time with the right match making against shot old Timers or young never weres in a totally depleted Heavyweight division after WW2.

I am the biggest critic of Holyfields PED abuse but with or without he is slicing thru marcianos first 40 like a hot knife thru butter and the rest he mifgt loose a round here and there but Prime Holyfield would and never will loose to Pensioners...end off ......Proof ? Grandpa Holmes/Foreman had way more in the tank left and were legotimate BIG Heavyweights in comparison to the shell of Louis/Walcott and Moore.plus there was no 220 pound C level lights out puncher like Cooper around who still got stopped by a off his game Holyfield.

BTW, insert Marciano instead of Holyfield in againt Bowe 1 and he aint seeing the 5th and I am being generous, it would be a execution, there is no way in hell he would even come close beating Bowe or being competitive , a massacre.

 

Holyfield was pretty consistent in his prime. He only lost to Moorer due to heart issues, likely brought on by the roids he was on (which he wouldn't have in the 50s), and only lost to most others when he got old. Bowe beat him fair and square, but Bowe would ****ing slaughter Marciano's opponents. Holyfield being inconsistent simply isn't true.

If we assume that he doesn't have access to steroids, then he's 190ish for basically every fight. With no heart problems. Yeah, he'd beat the versions of the fighters Rocky fought. No problem.

 

He was 31 years old for Moorer, hardly past it and had one of his best performances in his next fight vs Mercer. Hardly well past it.

 

Then take him down several notches off PED's. He wasn't very consistent. He was floored and hurt vs Bert Cooper, and looked awful beating Vaughn Bean. Bowe creamed him. The Moorer fight counts, not his excuses. He was out jabbed and out landed, plus cut.

Let's be reasonable the commission checks health, blood pressure, and such. If Holyfield had a heart problem problem, this fight is flagged. Boxing is very paranoid of health issues, with a commission sanctioning a fight, only for tragedy to happen when so and so should have never been in the ring.

Also Holyfield looked great in his next fight vs Mercer, are we to be naive to assume it just disappeared?

 

way more in the tank? Larry Holmes and Foreman were active enough not to have been “dug up” but who was the contender Foreman beat to earn his shot? Addison Rodriguez? The guy Holyfield knocked out already? Larry at least outfoxed a wet behind the ears Ray Mercer On experience..but it was smoke and mirrors bluffing his way through that result. What else had he done in his comeback?

Louis, Walcott and Moore were knocking out relevant contenders. Lee Savold. Ezzard Charles. Bob Baker. Look where those guys were placed and whom they were beating at the time’s they were vanquished by Louis, Moore and Walcott. It’s a lot different than two old chancers tippy toeing their way through the tulips & trading on the senior ticket as a USP.

Who was the second best fighter Ridick Bowe ever beat?

 

I didn’t say he was past it against moorer I said he was having serious heart problems

 

The Mercer fight was a year later after he recovered from injury.. Holyfield only lost to Moorer due to injury. The rematch proved that.

 

You're irrational hatred of Holyfield is out of control.

I assume you know he was 35 for Bean, and clearly in decline? Cooper was dangerous, he dropped Moorer multiple times & showed himself to be a good fighter vs Mercer. Holyfield beat him comprehensively. The Moorer fight only counts if you ignore the fact that he was coming off two of the hardest fights in his career vs Bowe (who btw, did not 'cream' him) and was having heart problems at the time.

He was actually diagnosed, medically, with a heart problem.

Holyfield didn't look great vs Mercer. Actually, he looked pretty poor. And given that there's a full year between those two fights, then yeah, I'm pretty sure you could assume that things had simmered down by then.