How would 190-lb Holyfield have fared at heavyweight?

Too bad Holy and Spinks didn’t know they didn’t have to put on weight when moving up. If only this forum had been around then so they could gained crucial insights about the futility of putting on muscle.

 

I Think he could’ve had a better career at heavyweight and would’ve been forced to rely on his strengths more, which were his mobility, handspeed, and ring IQ.

Regardless of how much weight Holyfield put on he was never going to be able to outmuscle a guy like Bowe or even succeed at fighting him head on. By putting on the extra size Holyfield sacrificed too much of his mobility and handspeed and became easier to land on.

 

I am sure that he would have done very well, and he might even have done better in some fights.

There are perhaps one or two fights where he might have needed the extra strength.

 

He would have done fine. Georgie Benton showed Holy all he needed to know to compete at a lighter weight. More times than not he chose not to listen and turn into a brawler. As time goes by and you get older..switch trainers ect your mind/body forgets those things that you knew how to do because you were too stubborn to listen. Benton loved Holy but always said the man just doesnt listen.
I remember reading once that Holy was his favorite but Pernell was his crowning achievement.
As far as the Bowe fights Bowe was just better. Bowe won the 2nd fight in my opinion too.
Bowe had Eddie Futch who Benton was an apprentice of.

 

For McCallum in 1997, Toney weighed in at 181 lbs. Since the fight was fought at CW, it figures he didn't have to drain or push himself to get to 181. That was a weight he felt comfortable at during that time. I think he would have been too small for HW then.

 

This. When Lou Duva used visit my football coach back in the late 90’s he talked about Holyfield having more guts than brains and that Holyfield liked doing things the hard way.

Also, Benton was a heck of a coach, since he also taught Marvis Frazier what he knew, since even Joe Frazier admitted he only took an interest in training Marvis once Marvis turned pro. Joe’s reasoning for squeezing Benton out was that he thought the style he taught Marvis wouldn’t sell tickets and would be bad for tv ratings regardless of how effective it was.

 

Evander was one of the toughest guys who ever laced up the gloves. He was not like Foreman or Tyson who relied on speed, and then faded when someone took it he found ways to win against bigger guys.

 

I think that Evander Holyfield would have fared well. It may be a generational thing, but the younger generation enjoys the heftier fighters rather than the well conditioned in shape fighters, that we were accustomed to seeing. It must be the Organic foods or something, to see a 6"9 fighters, usually from different parts of the globe. I like many of the older posters, remember heavyweights that were at the tallest, 6"4, weighing 215 lbs, with muscle definition. I remember guts like Ernie Terrell who was 6"6.

 

If you matched the best versions, it would have been very interesting indeed. In absolute terms, I have no problem with the line of thinking that says the bigger Holyfield was slightly better, even though I don't agree. And, in a meeting between the two, I see the heavyweight walking the smaller man down, busting him up late to win a close decision.

If the question is about the best 190-pound Holyfield matching up against Mercer and Moorer, I think he struggles less, and likely never loses to Moorer. But, recompiling the exact record as a cruiserweight might have burnt him out sooner. Of the two, I took the question, as posed, to mean the former, as it is highly unrealistic Holyfield could have continued to drain down to 190 into the 2000's.

 

He would have done excellently. He would have used a slightly different style though, with even more emphasis on movement.