Holyfield's best fight as heavyweight: Foreman?

Nope...That is one that never really got off the ground.

Had two chances. The first one, I was turned down, fairly, and was probably not ready to handle Mike. That was in 88.

The second, in 99, I chose not to take. Mike was unstable at that time, and I worried about what would go on in a camp with him.

Always a badass. Would have been fascinating to see how hard he hit at any point, and in 88, would have been fascinating to experience that legendary formidability firsthand, even if I'd have gotten my face pushed in.


I have a ton of respect for Evander. A very, very good fighter, and a personal hero of mine. Beating any version of a guy like Tyson is a triumph. In camp with him for Moorer II, we all knew he was going to wreck him; He was so sharp.

 

Holyfield-Douglas was his best performance, bar none.

He was fighting to gain the belt. Viscious. Had he already had the belt and fought Douglas as a defense, let's say, it probably would have been a drag out affair. That's just how Holyfield seemed to operate.

 

:goodgreat stories, much appreciated

and the second moorer fights is one of my favourites. he knocks moorer down (for the second time i think) with a BRUTAL right hand...punches right through him

 

Evander put on a TON of muscle for the Tyson fights after getting sleek for the Czyz fight, and for the Moorer rematch, he was toning it up; It transitioned from bulk to a very natural part of his body, and that was a focus in the, I think it was five, months between this fight and the Tyson rematch. It was also the only injury free Holyfield camp I've ever heard of; The guy trained like an absolute demon, and he always dinged himself up, but not for the Moorer rematch. Being in the best shape of his life, being healthy, having his confidence sky high(The man just broke Mike Tyson), he was SO formidable.

Some of the hardest sparring of my life, those last rounds before we wrapped the camp. I put money on Evander by knockout, and it was the easiest bet I've ever made.

 

Love hearing these stories and thanks for sharing! I remember comparing Holyfield's look on the RING magazine covers for his winning 2 consecutive Fighter of the Year awards. The '97 cover he looked chiseled, confident and poised. The '96 cover not as much.

He seemed to have shoulder problems often, something not unusual for an overachiever. Lifting too much, perhaps?

 

When did you first work with Evander? Any ummm 'supplement' stories?

 

It was n't Evander's fault but he had nothing to fight on that night. If Douglas had been in the same shape and state of mind that he was in Tokyo,it would have been a 50/50 battle.

 

Not in my mind. Peak Holy is a whole different kettle of fish, compared to a lethargic & listless sleepwalking Tyson who was dehydrated & starved to get his weight down by 28lbs in 2 weeks (crash dieted) & undertrained. Holy would show "Tokyo shape" Buster what it was like face someone with at least equal superb stamina, faster lateral footwork, even great combination punching, faster hands, quicker reflexes, & sharper timing. Mainly, Holy would always be able to counter Buster's flawed long-range uppercut technique.

 

First, there is an inherent difference between a close fight and a competitive fight. Second, I never once said that the fight was close. What I did say was that Holyfield made Foreman look more dangerous than he was.

 

Great info...Thanks for sharing.:good

 

Agreed.

I knew he was going to put on a career best performance because it was his chance to win the heavyweight title. I also think he is at that same level if Tyson had not pulled out of their fight late and Evander was going to be a real handful in there.

But Evander was in great shape and did a ton of homework on Douglas and when Buster threw an uppercut from way on the outside, Evander knew exactly what to do. Bang and a new heavyweight champ. I really liked his pre-fight preperations and he was going to be tough to beat on that night and was determined to win the title.

 

How did Foreman look dangerous? Foreman blew away his hand-picked, low-level opposition pre-Holyfield, but against Evander, Foreman rarely even hit Holyfield cleanly. Foreman took more punishment against Holyfield than he did in all of his comeback fights combined (excluding Stewart). The only thing that might have made George seem dangerous was his strong chin and determination, but that would be there no matter who he was fighting.

 

Watch the fight again. In fact, watch it as soon as possible. Foreman had some success and connected on more than a few occasions. Holyfield wanted to impress his audience and almost paid for it. He fights Tyson like that in '91 and he becomes an ex champ just as fast.

 

Bowe. He needed to fight Bowe the way he did in both fights, he just needed to be a little more refrained because of Bowe's size. People think Holyfield just boxed Bowe to an easy victory in the second fight but you couldnt just box Bowe, you had to fight him and box him, and Holyfield in my opinon did barely enough to win the second fight.

Bowe was an offensive force who threw a lot of punches in combination and could fight well inside and out behind a jab and his big frame. It was an amazing feat for the smaller Holyfield to fight as competiviely as he did against him because Bowe was just as talented but bigger and stronger. Holyfield thought he could break Bowe's will in the first fight because of their sparring sessions and Bowe rose to the occassion and gave him a beat down, but Holyfield showed some stuff in all those fights.

In the third fight Holyfield really didnt have enough left to fight a long sustained fight like the first two, so he had to go for broke quicker, and he was just done after the first half of the fight.

Foreman nor Tyson offered the kind of offensive resistance that Bowe did so its hard to say those are his best fights although people probably feel Tyson is his best win even though he was fighting a shell of the Tyson from the 80's.