I'll start this party. I'm just glad we finally got to see it when we did, it would have been a real shame to look back and talk about these fighters today and say "what if". The first fight was one of the best fights of the 90s and in the history of the sport. No doubt in my mind though that '91 would have been a better fight, but I still believe Holyfield would have beat him in 91 like he did in 96. Holyfield had Tysons number on speed dial for sure.
For me, this was never ever gonna be a given fight for either man at any stage of their career. The first fight I had 4 'erberts round for a curry night at my house, and not one of us would seriously commit to who would win. Even after many bevvies heading into the wee hours right upto the start of, and during the bout.
I must be the only person that has ever spotted that Holyfield stunned Tyson in the second round of their first fight, nobody else has ever mentioned it.
Tyson would've won in 1991 Holyfield was smaller then and not bulked up on PEDs and he was getting into wars vs the likes of Cooper, Stewart, Dokes, and was considerably hurt in all those fights. Tyson was still a 12 round fighter in 1991 and could win a tough fight as the 2nd Ruddock fight showed. Holyfield also wasn't as a smart as he was in 1996 I think a gung ho smaller Holyfield of 1991 tries to slug it out with Tyson and comes up 2nd best.
Perfect display of counter-punching, in-fighting and of course dirty fighting from The Real Deal. Hard to say what would've happened in "91 though. Tyson was obviously better, sharper and Holyfield wouldn't have the same ring IQ, but he'd also have a lot less wear and tear and would be faster. Would lean towards The Real Deal by close decision after gettig of the canvas a couple of times.
I’ve posted this on here before. I went to school with Holyfield’s nephews. Because of that he came and spoke to our class once in Middle School and once in High School. When I was in 7th grade he came and spoke this was like 1992 or 1993. One of the stories he told was about him standing up to Tyson at the Olympic trials in the rec room regarding the pool table (this was before Holyfield had ever talked about this on tv and it became a well known story) Said Tyson was a bully and mentally weak etc. that’s its all an act and deep down he will fold at adversity. Nobody believed him I sure as heck didn’t. First question of course was “when are you going to fight Mike Tyson?” Holyfield looked right at the kid who asked and said “it’s going to happen one day and when it does I’m going to knock him out”. Again, nobody believed him me included. This was when Tyson only had the loss to Douglas which most viewed as a fluke and there was still the Tyson mystique and aura etc. Well fast forward 3 or 4 years and Holyfield had lost to Bowe twice and Moorer once he had had the “heart issue” etc. Nobody (me included) thought he had a chance against Tyson who was out of prison and blowing away his opponents again. Evander shocked the world and had a relatively easy time with Tyson and bullied him just like he said he was going to do when he came to talk to my class. It was surreal to me watching that fight live and seeing it unfold. I was convinced Holyfield was not only going to lose but get beat up pretty bad. Just goes to show how much believing in yourself matters. Evander Holyfield killed off the Tyson mystique for good. He ended the whole “baddest man on the planet” narrative to people who understood Boxing and Pugilism. It was over for Tyson after that first fight and they could have fought 100 times and I’m not sure Tyson would ever win a single one. Styles make fights.
Great point and I think the bully mentality was mentioned a little even in the late 80s but everyone was so high on Tyson at the time that no one ever spoke about it properly. By the time Douglas KOd Tyson, it started to become more expected. Still, by '96, Tyson v Holyfield was a top, top level fight. Tyson wasn't quite what he was but was still 2nd best heavy on the planet. Holyfield by then was known for having his ring and life difficulties. Tyson was the favourite but the way Holyfield commanded most of that fight was spectacular.
Holyfield's defense vs Tyson was excellent. He was very disciplined in those fights. He kept that guard high and mostly to the sides of his head to stop hooks.
