Holyfield was only 205 when he stood toe to toe with Riddick Bowe

This is what I was thinking. The scale doesn’t tell the whole story.

 

I strongly suspect Zurdo was heavier in the ring vs Benavidez (he was noticeably bigger than at LHW, where his reported fight night weights were up to 204lbs) than Holyfield was for Bowe 1.

Zurdo is obviously not in the same stratosphere of ability as a fighter and that is the primary cause of the juxtaposition between the quality of his performance vs Benavidez and Holyfield's against Bowe. I have long felt Holyfield is a little overrated at HW and a little underrated p4p.

 

He didn’t have a heart condition. It was just the temporary Peds effects that were detected. Ain’t no way any boxer with any kind of real heart conditions would ever be licensed to box again

 

Yes, don't think I can remember any other case where a fighter abandonned a gamenplan that worked so well.

In the rematch he brawled significantly less, despite being 12 lbs heavier.

 

Holyfield was in at his best as a heavyweight from (1988-1992) Lou Dova assembled Team Holyfield with George Benton as his boxing coach and Tim Hallmark as his conditioner. Bodybuilder Lee Haney and Powerlifter Fred Hatfield were also added to his set up however it was Hallmark who did the majority of his physical preparation and remained with Holyfield througout the remainder of his career even after he left Lou Dova and Benton to later work with Emmuanel Sterward, Don Turner and Tommy Brooks. From 1988-1992 Holyfield at heavyweight trained for agility and flexibility along with his George Benton like style and Hallmark's conditioning that enabled him to produce the types of performances he did. During Holyfield Vs Bowe (1992) the original plan was for Holyfield to box during Round 2 (which is often overshadowed by Round 10) Bowe started fouling Holyfield which in turn caused him to retailiate and forget about his boxing.

Also Joe Fraizer at 205lbs beat undefeated Lineal Champion Muhammad Ali in 1971 and Michael Spinks weighed 200lbs with the help of conditioner Mackie Shilstone in 1985 beat reigning Lineal Champion Larry Holmes.

 

Ali lost a claim to the lineage when he was inactive for over 3 and a half years and retired in the meanwhile. Even "mister lineal" himself, Nat Fleischer gave up in recognizing him as the champion in the midst of the Frazier vs Ellis fight.

 

Yes Nat Fleischer made Joe Frazier the de facto Ring Magazine Champion after he beat Jimmy Ellis. Muhammad Ali was still actively trying to get his license back to box and campaigning to fight Frazier. If Ali had retired after 1967 and not returned to boxing then Frazier would have restarted the lineage as the recongised Heavyweight Champion. That's why the Fight of The Century in 1971 was a big event as both boxers were unbeaten Champions. There are also some similarities between Ali and Frazier and James J Jeffires and Jack Johnson as Jeffires had retired as Champion and was coming back to fight the then present Champion Johnson however when Jeffries retired he vacated the Lineage and Marvin Hart and Jack Root fought for the Heavyweight Championship. Both big events either way.

 

As you get to the upper weights within the super heavyweights there are less and less fighters so the talent becomes rarer. There is always an unlimited classification in any sport where weight gives a significant advantage. The weight amount is determined after which it would be fair. If you notice newer sports like MMA have heavier weight limits then boxing which was devised over 100 years ago. Not sure why people have such trouble understanding how the dynamics of weight works it’s the same as in many other sport’s ie weightlifting wrestling etc.

 

Holyfield definitely put up a great fight, but he did lose a lopsided decision, and Bowe's size advantage had a whole lot to do with it IMO. Bowe wasn't any more skilled than Holyfield, he wasn't any quicker, wasn't the better combination puncher, probably didn't have any better a gas tank. He did have an excellent, long jab which he used to great effect vs. EH. Holyfield may not have fought the perfect fight that night, but I'm not sure he was beating that version of Bowe either way.

FWIW, the rematch looked like a Bowe W as well IMO. When the final bell rang, I remember thinking that Bowe outworked him, and the punch stat numbers were pretty lopsided in Bowe's favor (353/786 to 253/514).

 

Just like Ali retired in February 1970 to enable for his legitimate successor to be crowned. He even wanted to present his belt to the winner of Frazier vs Ellis. He backtracked later after Frazier was already the universally recognized champion, but still, he was an ex-champion, just like Jeffries against Johnson.

 

Yep, I'd also add that if David Haye brought Benny Hinn into his camp to heal his big toe, there would have been a totally different outcome in the Wlad fight.

 

He was trained by 8x Mr. Olympia Lee Haney, you can't have that kind of lean mass without anabolics

And more than just love handles, I was wondering why AI would give them such man boobage for the YT thumbnail

Obviously Holyfield was off the deep end, but like even Frazier looked better than both of them in 74-75 which is crazy

 

Holyfield had someting many dont aswell:

Work ethic.
He s in his 60 s and still has a great physique.

 

Yes and also genetics. Some have a greater disposition to go to muscle. Look at Fury he bragged about the limits he surpassed in his training saying how he was fitter then ever for one of the Wilder fights but the guy always looked soft.