More Disappointing Fight - Holyfield/Tyson II or DLH/Trinidad?

So which was the more disappointing fight - Holyfield/Tyson II or DLH/Trinidad?

To me they were probaby the two most disappointing fights of the 90s.
They both were supposed to be two huge events for the sport.

I think DLH/Trinidad was the more disappointing fight ultimately because it was two undefeated fighters in their prime, but I will explain in more detail why I think that is the case.

Holyfield/Tyson II

This fight was massive in terms of the hype. The fight itself had the most PPV buys of all time (1.9 million?) until Mayweather/DLH surpassed it this year.

Everyone was pumped because Holyfield had pulled off the unthinkable upset at the time. Evander showed that he was not shot and was still a formidable, ableit past prime heavyweight going into fight 2.

Tyson on the other hand was coming in more focused than ever. Instead of just being in decent shape at 222 pounds like he was in the first fight, Tyson came in at a perfect 218 pounds for the second fight, so he seemed to be in top shape. He also knew that Holyfield would be a tough challenge (where as he thought he was going to blast him out of there early before the first fight) so Tyson seemingly was ready.

And then the fight happens. Even more disappointing was that the fight started off pretty great. Round 1 of fight 2 was arguably the best round Tyson and Holyfield ever fought against each other. Tyson looked very focused, was bobbing and weaving, trying to jab and put his punches together, and also was not letting Evander push him back so easily. Holyfield on the other hand looked pretty great in round 1 as well and even cracked Tyson with a pretty big right hand that backed Tyson up. Holyfield definitely took the first round but Tyson definitely looked pretty game.

And then the fight went to hell after that. In round 2, Tyson was cut, which was probably bound to happen since the fight was originally delayed because of Tyson getting cut in training. A shame. And then we know in round 3 Tyson looked like he was having his best round and then snapped, biting Holyfield twice to get disqualified. I've often wondered what would have happened had Tyson kept his cool and used his aggression with his punches. I ultimately think Holyfield would have taken Tyson out by the 9th round, but it would have been a more action packed fight no doubt. Such a disappointment.

DLH/Trinidad

To me this is undoubtably more disappointing than Holyfield/Tyson II. It is rare for boxing fans to get two great, undefeated fighters to fight each other in their prime. That happened with DLH/Trinidad.

Both guys looked pretty great going into the fight. Both were in great shape. Tito had been pretty destructive in KOing his opponents. DLH was the bigger star at the time and had that great fight with Quartey already.

And then the fight happened and boxing fans ended up with the worst possible outcome - a highly tactical fight, and even worse, a controversial decision.

For the record, I had DLH winning the fight by a point - 115-114, 6 rounds to 5, 1 even. I thought DLH clearly outboxed for most of the fight, although DLH was stupid for running those last 3 rounds. Trinidad unfortunately didn't show much ability to cut the ring off and mount much of a sustained attack.

But again this fight should have been amazing. When you think of all the great fights we got at 147 and 154 in the late 90s and early 00s it is a damn shame that DLH/Trinidad wasn't the best of the bunch. I mean DLH/Quartey, Trinidad/Vargas, DLH/Mosley I, and DLH/Vargas were all great fights. DLH/Trinidad had the potential to outclass them all. So disappointing.

Again you had two guys in their primes, that's what makes DLH/Trinidad the more disappointing fight over Holyfield/Tyson II. At least with Holyfield/Tyson we got their first fight which was a good/very good fight.

With DLH/Trinidad we never got a rematch. That to me is the biggest non heavyweight fight that was missed since 1990.

In retrospect, instead of having DLH get the decision (which I felt he won) - I think the absolute best outcome would have been a draw.

Think about it, if DLH/Trinidad was scored a draw then we would have all but guaranteed a rematch. Boxing fans would have demanded it. Plus with a draw, neither guy has the advantage in negotiations like Trinidad did by 'winning' the fight.

I know Tito was having some problems making 147 at the time. But I still think had their fight been scored a draw we would have got an immediate rematch.

So I guess a side question is - had DLH/Trinidad fought an immediate rematch at 147 who would have won? I would bet on DLH but can certainly see an argument made for Tito.

So which was the more disappointing fight - Holyfield/Tyson II or DLH/Trinidad?

 

I don't think DLH was a coward. He had a healthy respect for Tito's power. Gil Clancy I think is the one who told him not to take any chances.

But DLH has been in too many good fights like DLH/Quartey, DLH/Mosley I, and DLH/Vargas for me to call him a coward. Again he thought he had a big enough lead to sit on it. Certainly DLH's decision was the biggest mistake of his whole career.

But again, like I said, their first fight should have been scored a draw in retrospect thus giving boxing fans an all but certain rematch. It is a crime against humanity that DLH and Tito didn't fight a rematch.

 

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