Evander Holyfield: What does his Cruiserweight reign do for his legacy

The cruiserweight division has always been crap. That´s why it´s safe to call Evander the greatest.

 

It adds to his overall p4p greatness for me because he's the consensus goat in the division and that can only be a good thing :good

 

It contributes to his legacy in no small way. Taking his heavyweight reign in isolation,I would n't rate him that high. That first fight with Dwight Qawi must be THE cruiserweight fight against which all subsequent and prior ones in that division are measured.

 

I add the good cruiser wins to his heavyweight legacy also. Because, all of the guys fighting at that weight would be rolled over into heavyweight at earlier times anyway. It rubs some people the wrong way but I rate Evander my number six heavyweight, in part due to his short but sensational cruiserweight asskickery being counted, which I feel it would be unfair not to include when rating him against guys like Marciano, Dempsey, Johnson, Charles, Patterson, etc. That Qawi, for instance, really may have had some very good heavyweight matches and wins in other eras, I feel.

 

I am normaly opposed to includng cruiserwight wins, when comparing modern heavyweights to those of the past. In this case I think that the guys Holyfield was fighting, would have been significant players in a heavyweight division of the day that started at 175lbs. The dvision would likley have almost stratified unoficialy, with the small fighters fighting the other small fighters to cimb the rankings.

 

He stood in there two times while past his prime with a peak super-heavyweight Lewis. That he is universally recognized as the greatest cruiser ever can only add to his legacy.