Imagine Lennox Lewis is out of the picture in 1999, for whatever reason. Loses to one of the guys below in a shock result, spontaneously decides to retire, car accident or whatever. How does the Holyfield of '99 stand up against the leading contenders and "people to watch" of the day? Here's a dozen guys that Evander potentially could've swapped punches with instead. ------------------------------------------------- Michael Grant 28-0 (20), 27 years old, 71% KO ratio, 6'7", 255lbs 1998 record - TKO5 David Izon, TKO9 Obed Sullivan Unlikely to happen in real life due to their friendship, but would Grant's size and volume of shots get him the victory or would the vastly more experienced champion take his 'O'? My call - Holyfield UD12 (8-4) ------------------------------------------------- Chris Byrd 26-0 (14), 28 years old, 54% KO ratio, 6', 215lbs 1998 record - TKO5 Derek Amos, UD10 Elieser Castillo, UD10 Ross Puritty Crafty and slick, can the young southpaw hoodwick the champ? My call - Byrd UD12 (9-3) ------------------------------------------------- Ike Ibeabuchi 19-0 (14), 26 years old, 74% KO ratio, 6'2", 235-240lbs 1998 record - TKO1 Tim Ray, TKO9 Everton Davies Can Ibeabuchi handle the main-event pressure and keep it together to outwork Holyfield, or does the Real Deal have too much savvy for him? My call - Holyfield UD12 (7-5) ------------------------------------------------- Vitali Klitschko 23-0 (23), 27 years old, 100% KO ratio, 6'7½", 240lbs 1998 record - 10 fights, 10 KOs, including TKO2 Julius Francis and TKO2 Jose Ribalta Certain to battle hard and not be budged by Holyfield's shots, but could it be too early for Vitali? My call - Vitali SD12 (7-5s) ------------------------------------------------- David Tua 33-1 (28 ), 26 years old, 82% KO ratio, 5'10", 235lbs 1998 record - MD10 Wooden, TKO3 Woods,KO2 N Tubbs, TKO1 Curry, TKO10 Rahman Reputedly had some awesome back-and-forth sparring sessions with Holyfield in '96, can the squat Samoan land enough thundering shots to win the HW crown? My call - Holyfield SD12 (7-5s) ------------------------------------------------- Henry Akinwande 33-1-1 (19), 33 years old, 54% KO ratio, 6'7", 240-5lbs 1998 record - n/a (last fight December 13th '97 UD12 Orlin Norris) Due to fight Holyfield in '98 until a hepititus infection ruined his year, could the awkward jabber be a stylistic problem for Holyfield or would he wilt under Holyfield's fighting spirit? My call - Holyfield UD12 (8-4) ------------------------------------------------- Hasim Rahman 29-1 (24), 26 years old, 80% KO ratio, 6'2½", 235-40lbs 1998 record - UD12 Ferguson, TKO2 Foster, KO2 Pannell, TKO2 Lane, L-TKO10 Tua Will his long jab be too much of a problem for the older champ, or will Holyfield slip and counter it all night long? My call - Holyfield TKO10 (up 6-3) ------------------------------------------------- Wladimir Klitschko 24-1 (22), 22 years old, 88% KO ratio, 6'6½", 225-235lbs 1998 record - 9 fights, 8 KOs, including UD8 Everett Martin, L-TKO11 Puritty Big pedigree but with his first loss just incurred, Wlad would seem to have all the tools needed but will his confidence and chin be strong enough? My call - Wladimir UD12 (8-4) ------------------------------------------------- Andrew Golota 32-3 (27), 31 years old, 77% KO ratio, 6'4", 240lbs 1998 record - KO6 E Dixon, TKO3 J Basting, UD10 Corey Sanders, UD10 Tim Witherspoon The 'Foul Pole' still has his pre-car crash prime jab and all the punches, but is his heart strong enough for an extreme gut-check like Holyfield? My call - Holyfield TKO7 (up 4-2) ------------------------------------------------- Shannon Briggs 31-2 (25), 27 years old, 76% KO ratio, 6'4", 230slbs 1998 record - L-TKO5 Lennox Lewis, TKO1 Marcus Rhode Heavy and quick hands but dogged by stamina issues, can he put enough of an early blitz on Holyfield to win or will he get dragged into the deep waters and drowned? My call - Holyfield TKO8 (up 5-2) ------------------------------------------------- Mike Tyson 45-3 (39), 32 years old, 81% KO ratio, 5'10", 220-5lbs 1998 record - n/a (last fight June 28th 97 L-DQ3 Holyfield) The biggest money fight of the twelve, can Tyson redeem himself or will ring rust and Holyfield just be too much? My call - Holyfield TKO7 (up 4-2) ------------------------------------------------- John Ruiz 33-3 (24), 27 years old, 67% KO ratio, 6'2", 225-235lbs 1998 record - TKO11 Tony Tucker, TKO4 Jerry Ballard Against a slightly younger and fitter Holyfield than he faced in 2000-2001, can Ruiz prevail or will he go down? My call - Holyfield TKO5 (up 3-1) ------------------------------------------------- How do you think he would've got on?
I agree with all of your predictions except I think Holyfield would kayo the weak chinned Grant and still struggle somewhat with the awkward Ruiz. I still would pick Holyfield though by UD.
The Holyfield from the 2nd Lewis fight was Holyfield at his technical best and had only just turned 37 a couple of weeks earlier. That loss took a lot phsychologically from him though, he wanted to win that match real bad so as to then immediatley retire as Undisputed champion.
I went for Holy beating Grant on points because I felt neither guy would be really throwing full-bloodied bombs out there, and while Holyfield would do enough to win thanks to cleaner work, Grant's size and grappling would probably help him through the distance. Ruiz, well, bear in mind Holy had him in deep trouble in the 3rd round in 2000, and had a probable knockdown in the 1st round in Dec 2001 that went unmoved by the ref. I think the Holyfield of even a year or two before can put together the necessary push that he couldn't later on to get Ruiz out of there. Fair point though, Ruiz is almost always difficult to shift.
Holyfield UD/TKO's Grant Byrd UD's Holyfield (baaad style matchup) Holyfield SD Ibeabuchi (hardest one to call IMO) Holyfield close UD/SD V.Klitschko (could go either way) Holyfield wide UD Tua Holyfield UD/T(KO) Akinwande (highly overrated) Holyfield TKO Rahman Holyfield TKO W.Klitschko Holyfield by TKO/DQ over Golota Holyfield UD Briggs Holyfield TKO Tyson Ruiz SD Holyfield
Solid enough picks. I would likely give the '99 Holyfield an edge over Ruiz, though and Vitali would stand a very good chance of perhaps beating Evander at this point. As you say a young Byrd would be a tough matchup for him.
I found the Vitali and Wlad fights the hardest to predict...mainly because while I feel they have physical tools in their favour (size, jabs, stamina and work rate) it was quite early in their careers and Wlad would be coming off a loss. Big pressure cooker situation suddenly stepping in there with a guy like Holyfield, one which I felt Ibeabuchi for example might not have been able to fully handle.
Yeah, the Ruiz fight is hard to pick because his style is so terribly ugly. Vitali has/had the tools but I don't think he had the style to decisively beat Holyfield....Holyfield didn't look too bad in there with Lewis, who was clearly better than Vitali was at that time. I think Byrd could beat Holyfield of the early 1990s, but that's just my opinion. His spoiler, elusive style would be a real ***** for someone like Holyfield (who lacks the jab of a Vitali or Ibeabuchi and the size of both) to really dominate him.
Prime vs prime? Interesting. I think a prime version of Holyfield would be able to throw the punches in bunches that, even with Byrd being the elusive slickster he is, would get through enough times to win the judges over. Holyfield might not look great doing so, a bit like the Holmes fight, but would get the win...at least in my view.
Not prime vs prime, as I consider Holyfield's prime his time at cruiserweight, but his "heavyweight prime". I'd pick the CW Holyfield to mash Byrd and stop him, but the heavyweight version was slower, less active, and less powerful (P4P). He was bigger and stronger, but that really doesn't help you against Chris Byrd.
