Douglas' weight vs Holyfield

He was the nr 1 contender and the favourite if memory serves, so if the Holy team didn't take him seriously they were doing a very poor job.

EDIT: Memory didn't serve that well. Holy was a 7-5 favourite. But a pretty narrow favourite, and Bowe was highly ranked (1, 3 and 3 with the orgs) and a former Olympian so it would be strange if Holy's team wasn't fairly aware of him. The fight had some 900 000 ppv buys, so the fans seemed to be at least.

 

He just wanted the bucks. Last I checked, hes still living off it and good for him!

 

Why would he be more scared of Holyfield? He didn't have that "might one-punch KO you" type of power Tyson did. Yeah, he was a great fighter, smart in the ring, always fit and focused, fast, decent power, great combos, no real weaknesses, etc. I see him as more of a "this is going to be a long rough night" opponent than a "this guy might take my head right off" kind of opponent. I think against him you dread the fight itself and not so much what he might do with an individual punch.

 

I'm seeing that you took my comment fully seriously but then you wound up making a good case for me. Well, I respect that.

 

It was a bit more than 13 lbs., but likely effectively even more than ~ 16 lbs. because his inactivity in training probably had him lose some muscle too.
Some guys coming in heavier can be advantages for various reasons-or even be in better shape.

Douglas just got kinds fat & was not in good condition.

 

Amazing in the ‘Best I Faced’ how nearly every single fighter who fought Holyfield rates him the smartest. He probably is about the highest in ring IQ ever.

 

I hope he didn’t order ice cream in the sauna.

 

Exactly, the past heavyweights were more focused on their physical shape, but Douglas's weight gain would be completely disregarded in todays landscape. Douglas indulged in bad habits but plenty heavyweights do. Douglas himself thinks it would have been different if he had a longer training camp for Holyfield, but that indicates he was serious and didn't lose his fire

 

Hi Charles, thanks for this. It looks like a combination of reasons. He had a short camp, went into all you can eat buffet mode post Tyson, spent 4 weeks getting down to 246 and simply was not as driven or readt. He would have wanted to win but it wouldn't be 'life changing money' that the Tyson fight gave him. He was already filthy rich and set for life. He also hadn't just lost his mother

IIRC Buster didn't like boxing and was kind of pushed into it by his father.

No disrepect to Holyfield because he was punch perfect that night and fantastic, maybe Holyfield at his 100% best even if people disregard Buster.

 

As I mentioned in other similar thread, after beating Tyson, my man Buster was done with boxing and ready to quit.
He did the smart thing: signed for the biggest purse around, took an easy dive and laughed all the way to the bank to cash his $25 million paycheck.
Nicely played.