Is Evander Holyfield underrated?

I somewhat contest his wins over Mike Tyson being void because the latter was past his prime. I'm not going to pretend the Tyson that Holyfield faced was the same that knocked out Spinks. He was still good enough to be WBA champion and WBC champion (if he wasn't stripped for fighting Bruce Seldon iirc).

'88 Tyson stands a decent shot of beating Holyfield, but I still think the Real Deal deserves credit for the '96 and '97 wins.

 

Evan didn't beat prime Mike, but there's a reason why Mike was a big favourite at the time. Evan was considered washed before the fight and whilst clearly not '88, nobody was really looking at Evan like someone that would somewhat intimidate Mike by refusing to cede ground.

 

A Well crafted high IQ fighter with a blood & guts mentality.. his list of opponents is ridiculous .. Tyson X2, Lewis X2, Moorer X2, Ruiz X3, Bowe X3, Qawi X2, Dokes, DeLeon, Foreman, Douglas, Holmes, Mercer, Rahman, Byrd, Toney.. he lost a few but overall his career was remarkable.. hes a top 50 all time fighter for me.

 

I think he is underrated. Of course, the doping issue follows him around, but that was commonplace in his era—it’s hard to say who was actually clean back then. Some argue that doping isn't the most critical factor in boxing and doesn't provide the same level of advantage as it does in other sports. It’s well known that Roy Jones used performance-enhancing drugs too, yet that is rarely mentioned.

Holyfield fought for many years at the highest level. He didn't suffer any embarrassing losses like those of Purrity, McCall, Young, or Marshall. He achieved magnificent victories. He faced Tyson when the latter was past his prime. Even when clearly past his own prime, he fought a competitive bout against a prime Lennox Lewis—whose style was a bad matchup for him and who holds a significant edge in rankings, especially fan-generated ones. No one in heavyweight history, aside from Ali, has fought as many big names—and remember, Holyfield started out as a cruiserweight. I believe he is usually ranked lower than he deserves.

 

If he was overrated, he wouldn't have survived when Tyson, Bowe and Lewis tried to blitz him.

 

Makes me laugh when people single out the steroids when it's almost certain many of his opponents were on them as well.

 

He gets hammered for doping, but I don't think it matters as much as people make out. It’s not a strongman competition. RJJ has a proven history of doping—just like Shane Mosley or Pernell Whitaker—yet that rarely gets mentioned; with Holyfield, however, it’s constantly brought up, as if his career wouldn't exist without it. That’s nonsense.
Many people define him by his fights with Bowe, but let’s remember that Bowe at his peak was a magnificent boxer, and those bouts were true classics. If Fury claims he wasn't the same after the Wilder fights, what is Holyfield supposed to say after facing Bowe three times, Qawi, and Foreman? By the time he stepped into the ring with Lewis and Ruiz, he was clearly past his prime, yet he still gave them competitive fights between 1999 and 2001.

Lewis is generally ranked higher, but wouldn't a 34-year-old Evander have been closer to Lewis and Ruiz than the 38-year-old version was?

In many "fantasy fight" scenarios, people bet on Evander in his prime—and rightly so, given that his résumé boasts more outstanding heavyweight boxers than anyone else's in history (Ali aside). While Holy was waging wars against Bowe and Tyson, Lewis was battling the likes of Mavrovic and Phil Jackson; that hardly seems fair.

In 1998, Holy was ranked third all-time. I think that was an overstatement, but it’s impossible that someone with a 14-year career would suffer such a drop in standing—falling to the top 8–12 range—just because of his age (36). After 1998, he fought well against Lewis, Rahman, and Ruiz, and displayed good boxing skills against Valuev. He even won a title, despite already being a veteran.

 

What you had with Holyfield was a cruiserweight on steroids fighting heavyweights on steroids. He was just the best boxer of all of them. And I think he beats Usyk.

So, yeah, he's underrated.

 

No.

1) He has a lot of great wins, but was not a significant champion
2) Very dirty fighter- the package blast/headbutt combo
3) Evan Fields
4) Even great wins are problematic
....Buster Dougals- beached Whale
....George Foreman- over 40
....Larry Holmes- Over 40
.....Mike Tyson- drug addicted post prison version
.....Riddick Bowe- lost two of three to fighter that never accomplished much else
5) Losses

He is thought of highly and rated about right. HE and his hardcore fans can hang their hats on that.

 

I like him right where he is which I think for most people is lower part of the top 10 heavyweights.

 

Get outta here with that, boy. There is nobody on here ridiculously pumping Evander Holyfield. C'mon, it's Holyfield. I have to pump him because nobody but nobody else here does. That's for the Tyson bunch.. is that you? Holyfield was more diminished when he fought punk Tyson. Couldn't even move around the ring anymore.