Holyfield vs Qawi for me. Holyfield with what, something like twelve or thirteen pro fights in a 15 rd war, with a formidable and still hungry ATG in Qawi. A grueling fight, and possibly one of the ten best fights of the 80's. Spinks vs Holmes was a boring fight in comparison. Holyfield's performance was far more impressive against Qawi, than Spinks against the ageing and unmotivated version of Holmes he faced.
Qawi vs Holyfield I is crazy for both, Qawi drained Holyfield a ton that night,yet something in Holyfield made him able to push thru tons and tons of punishment,it has the drama and action that's not as much in Spinks vs Holmes I,but if we're talking about boxing masterclass, there's a fact that Spinks vs Holmes I takes the cake.
Spinks because it was his first fight at Heavyweight and he was fighting against a considerably bigger opponent and a long reigning champion. I also think Spinks was the first fighter to really legitimately beat Holmes. Witherspoon, Norton, were close fights but I thought Holmes done enough in both fights, Williams fight was controversial but I had it a draw and it could've gone either way. The 1st Spinks fight though I don't think there is any argument for Holmes winning. Holyfield vs Qawi 1 was also a very good win for Holyfield considering he was green but Cruiserweight wasn't Qawi's best weight plus I think there is an argument for Qawi winning even though I had Holyfield winning by a few points.
Holy As a big Holmes fan I can honestly say Holmes was on the fast slide for a few yrs and was well past his best by then. Braxton on the other hand was slightly past it IMO
