Re-watching that Foreman fight, jesus, I forgot just how nuts Holyfield could be. Scrap with Foreman. Great plan. I do point out, though, that Holyfield actually hurt Foreman in some of those exchanges, wobbled him into the ropes more than once, and at one point landed something like a ridiculous 19 punch combo to the face. Who are your #1, #2, and #3? #4 seems a bit high for him, imo. Are you counting in the fact he's also in the running for #1 cruiser? Whether or not it changes his HW ranking, it sure does reflect on him as a boxer. He could have stayed at cruiser, ruled the division for 10+ years, instead he moved up into a more difficult division for him and still had a ton of success.
I think Holyfield could of won the 3rd Bowe fight, had his energy not been effected by Hepatitis. He had Bowe really hurt in the 6th round, and on the verge of being stopped. But couldn't raise his energy levels to finish the job, because of Hepatitis effecting his energy levels.
I think Holyfield would've lost the third fight no matter what. Like Dynamicpuncher, Hepatitis really sapped Evander's energy. He couldn't finish Bowe when he was legit on his last legs in the sixth. Not only that, but Bowe really kicked his ass throughout the fight. I don't think he could've overcome all of that because the accumulation would've been too much.
Ali, Louis, Holmes, Holyfield, then either Lewis or Foreman. Holy won the title 4 times, is the only person to beat Bowe, stopped under 30 Tyson twice, never really seemed too hurt against Lewis....
No. Holyfield had a very difficult time boxing Bowe from the outside as well, as Bowe had a very good jab and used it effectively on him. Holyfield worked very hard with Steward to work on boxing and using in and out movement. They did a lot of training focusing on footwork and rhythm. Holyfield fought an excellent fight and it was still extremely close. And it wasn’t just him boxing, I thought Holyfield stole 2 rounds (and the fight on my card) with late round rallies when he caught Bowe with good shots up close. Holyfield was going to have his hands full no matter what style he fought in.
Foreman had some significant offensive & defensive skills of framing, parrying, creating angles, pushing, cutting off the ring etc. Holyfield with working out & PEDs came close to Foreman's dehydrated in ring size, but could not hit nearly as hard. Frazier was basically blinded & a bit incapacitated for a while after Manilla-Ali was not dramatically better. If Frazier got even a "far", let alone "far far" worse beating, he would be crippled for life, maybe dead. I do not know if he would have gotten more of a beating, or even as MUCH of one! Why? They set This content is protected for most HW punches EVER landed in 14 rounds. Ali landing more, & setting his feet often. He hit as hard as Holyfield. Holyfield likely never landed as many blows even as a CW. Ali's blows were overwhelmingly to the face where it causes more trouble. How would Holyfield even do This content is protected damage as Ali?
Bowe outboxed Evander in the first fight. There was nothing Holyfield could have done that night. Riddick was a sharp, skilled heavyweight with a big jab, quick hands. He could hurt you at any range.
No. He didn't just have a 1 round fight against Bowe. He had 3 full fights, the first two going 24 rounds plus fan man. If Holyfield had a startegy to win, he'd have employed it.
Personally, I think a Prime and Healthy Holyfield could take 2 out of 3 from Riddick Bowe, if he went in with the right game plans and executed them correctly, which he was capable of doing (but often didn't). (IMHO, of course.)
I don’t think that Evander Holyfield was ever going to beat Riddick Bowe THREE consecutive times. Especially not in the condition he was in for their last bout. But while he was no sweet scientist, I DO think that he was a better boxer than Riddick Bowe. And if he had fought more intelligently and conservatively in their first meeting I believe he could have taken a decision in THAT bout. If this had occurred it might have changed the trajectory of the heavyweight division of the 90s. Holyfield would have then taken on Lennox Lewis ( rather than throwing a belt in the trash ) and winning at that stage was very realistic.
Peak Bowe would have managed at least 0.5 - 2.5, no way it would have been 3-0 for Holyfield. Peak Bowe is favored over Peak Holyfield.