Holy is my 4th favorite fighter, but I can't see any way ranking him ahead of Foreman and yes I agree, he had more heart than any fighter besides the aforementioned 3.
Well, "you don't know **** about boxing". Anybody who knows a thing or two about boxing NEVER thought Tyson had a "raw physicality". Tyson was a very skilled and technical boxer, had a great defense, his knockouts was the result of his handspeed, fast combinations and his use of unexpected angles to punch from. He never had "raw power" like Foreman did. Btw, rest is from Holyfield's interview from the ring magazine: For the record, Holyfield who fought against Big George (when he was 42) said that he was the hardest puncher he ever fought, also said something about being afraid of taking his mouth guard off because he felt like his whole teeth would just come off. The rest is from ring magazine: STRONGEST Foreman: Out of all the people, I would say George Foreman was the strongest. And behind him Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe. I could push anybody back, it wasn’t a problem. I couldn’t push George back. (Laughs.) You had to go around him. BEST PUNCHER Foreman: George Foreman hit the hardest.
If Foreman would have targeted Holyfields ribs early in the fight, he (maybe) could have immobilized him and had a stationary target.
It's a tough call... for me Evander's winning the title 4 times tends to sway me. But George...it's hard to argue with George in the top 3 (unless he edges out Holmes, which I just don't see...but that's just me).
I don’t think Holyfield goes with rope a dope but I think he practices box a slugger. The two champs trade rounds until the 7th and you can see the Zaire Forman starts to slow. The Real Deal has a big 7th, win a close 8th and clearly out boxes Foreman in the 9th. In the first 30 seconds of the 10th George is hit with a combo and goes down rises only to go down again. It seems like any energy he had left was used trying to get up the first time. Foreman just did not have the endurance to keep up with Holyfield and when you throw in Holyfield’s experience at that point, I can live with a KO 10.
Prime Holyfield is a full time slugger.....full stop. He slugged with cannon fodder Stewart twice......slugged against no hoper Cooper......was beating from pillar to post in Bowe 1........without the Fan man, Bowes wife collapsing ringside, Bowe being not in the best shape he still barely pulled it off.......and was ko'ed face down in the 3rd. Holyfield "Boxer" rep comes from defusing a washed up post prison unmotivated Tyson who fought barely a handful of rounds in half a decade.....on one hand Tyson is a front running punk but of course for Holyfield it is a Grand dragon slayer moment. Whenever Holyfield "boxed" he usually lost on the upper end............see Moorer 1 or both Lewis fights.............again he out brawled glass cannon Moorer in the re match because Moorer decided to trade, if he would have boxed like in the first one Holy would have been in for a long night again Holy would slug with Foreman, guaranteed, he tried to slug with grandpa foreman and could not move him......and grandpa Holmes did prevented a slug fest because he was the superior but old Boxer Toney stopped a ancient Holyfiled to the body......Bowe effectively stopped Holyfileds movement with body shots and forced Holy to slug because he lost his legs............Foremans body shots would freeze Holyfield. Tyson landed ONE trade mark body/uppercut one two and Holyfield was shook up..............and washed up head hunting Tyson never went for the body again..............prime Tyson would have nailed the body many times over. Foreman will force a fire fight which Holy gladly engages in and that will be it. BTW, Holyfield was never a conditioning monster at Heavy, he gassed badly later in his fights and tried to fool his opponents with his attempt to dance around until he fell in and slugged away Holyfield is 1-2 against Bowe who brought the heat ........Foreman brings another level of heat with a lot more fire power. Foreman KO.
I’m in the minority here when I slightly favor Holyfield. In order for George to beat Evander he’d most likely have to stop him within the first several rounds and frankly I can’t see anyone doing that to the real deal in his prime. In addition George had a questionable defense in his seventies rendition while Holy punched with precision. I can see the real deal taking some heavy punishment and even visiting the canvas but at the end of the day I think he outlasts big George.
I don't think anybody has mentioned yet how (25 lbs lighter) Foreman would handle Holyfield's offensive barrages.
This is an excellent analyses & has a perspective I never considered Sawhund. Maybe Holyfield with the extra bulk gained in part from PEDs was vulnerable in terms of endurance. I give him more credit vs. Lewis just due to being well past prime. I still think he could have continued as the best ever CW if he did not bulk & drug up. But larger he was a different, lower volume, often brawling fighter. His strategy vs. Tyson was perfect-even then he needed to be allowed to clinch often, & intentionally or not, the head butt helped.
It depends. Does he fight George the way he did Bowe? Does he think he's a hero and slug w/ the big man, or does he box smart the way he did Holmes? If A) he slugs, it would be a classic war, but George would brutally stop him. If B) it would still be a great fight, but Evander was great at moving in-and-out and George would get tired of chasing Evander and get stopped probably around 8, maybe a little later. Either one would be worth seeing.
Its simply the question of seeing Holyfield come out of round 6 at one piece. In a case like that, I´ll give the benefit of the doubt to the more defensive (plus good durability) fighter. After watching the Norton fight, I might change my mind again on this one...
yea cause holy in 90s is way to great at skill that George always was easy to hit and way easier to hurt with combos