Holyfield vs Qawi 1....what fight were the judges watching?

I edged it in Braxtons favor

 

I thought it was only by a couple points, but Holyfield clearly outworked him.

 

Been a while but I too thought Holyfield outworked him

 

-I have to watch it again - I had Holyfield winning something like 9-6

 

Holyfield stole some rounds by being busier the last 30 seconds Ala Ray Leonard.

 

Close fight could have gone either way.

 

I'm a huge Qawi fan and I couldn't find more than 5 or 6 rounds to give him the last time I watched it 4-5 years ago.

 

That’s my memory as well! This would be a good candidate for fight of the week sometime

 

Haven't watched it for quite a while, but I've always thought Holyfield was a deserved winner. I'd agree that Qawi landed the heavier shots overall, but Holyfield wasn't outgunned in this area and even managed to discourage Qawi from coming in a couple of times in the late stages with some whipping left hooks. Although from memory Holyfield was noticeably hurt at the end of the eighth (I think it was the eighth, anyhow). Not saying he was saved by the bell, but would have been interesting to see what Qawi could have done with that opportunity if he'd had another 20-30 seconds.

But in general, I think Holyfield's combinations and cleaner countering banked him enough rounds. As a side note, one thing which always strikes me in that fight is how fast Evander was. As a Heavyweight, nobody really associates Holyfield with having speed as one of his great assets, but damn, at 190 / 195 lb he was seriously quick with his hands. What he lost in speed from moving up to Heavy he recouped in experience.

 

It was a close hard fought fight but I think Holyfield did enough to get the decision. It should really be seen as one of Holyfield best wins considering that it was only his12th fight, having been a pro for just over a year and a half or so and the first time he was in a 15 round fight and all this against a still formidable seasoned champion like Qawi.

 

Disgraceful scoring by two judges. 149-136 in favor of Holyfield on my scorecard.

 

I was at that fight, just a few rows behind the judges. Great fight, best I've ever seen live. But I didn't leave with any doubt that Holyfield deserved the decision. Haven't watched it in a long time.

 

Agreed. You could reasonably have given it to Dwight as he was the aggressor throughout the fight. holyfield landed more while Dwight landed the harder shots, could have gone either way

 

Did you look at his scorecard? 14-1