Prime Holyfield vs Wlad Klit

And a "Prime" Evander for that matter.

 

Thank you. That's the funniest thing I've read all day.

 

When I saw it the first time I was sure Holy one. I recenlty rescored it and had it a draw and 6 round a piece. I think the point was Lewis was at least given the wide scoring margins as a sort of pay back for the first fight. The fight was very close.

In any event, Holy was not at his peak then and I believe a Prime version gets the job done versus
Lewis.

 

Whether the prime version gets it done or not is a different discussion. I
still believe Lewis won that fight on it's own merits.

Personally look at it this way. They fought a total of 24 rounds, of which I would give Lewis in the neighourhood of 17 of them and I'm not sure you can look at the second fight in isolation of the first because the scoring of the first may have influenced the style of Lewis in the second.

Prime for prime, it's a tough call, I think Lewis might have the style to win ugly, but it's also possible Holyfield out works him and gets a decsion.

 

I agree Lewis could win. He is a great champion in his own right. I just thought the 2nd fight Holy had the right tactics but lacked some of the speed and endurance he had earlier that would have won him a majority of the rounds.

Alot of people actually thought Holy won the second fight anyway.

"It [the decision for Lewis] sure surprised me, because I had Evander Holyfield winning the fight by a point. A six-point win for Lennox Lewis seems almost as ridiculous as some of the scores that we had from the Garden. I don't think it was a one-sided fight. Will there be enough controversy to bring the fans to call for a third fight? It's very possible."

-Steve Farhood, CNN/SI Boxing Analys

Here's a link to SI from that time.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mo...eld/news/1999/11/13/fight_story_ap/index.html

 

Prime Holyfield was never stuck on the end of anyones jab. He would have definitely gotten inside and been able to make Wlad fight. Wlad has absolutely no infighting skills, so I suspect Wlad would be beaten early.

 

True,

Klitschko might have a chance at out pointing Holyfield, but I think a stoppage over a prime Evander isn't likely going to happen. Also, as you say for Wlad to engage in slugfest with Holyfield would not be in his best interest. My guess is that the later version of Wlad has a better chance than say a pre-Steward version. The man who fought Corrie Sanders would be a matchup.

 

Well you got three judges and the Associated Press all scoring it for lewis. The fact you found one guy to see it your way doesn't make it true. Just as the draw in the first fight is pretty much regarded as bogus by anyone who seen the fight.

As mentioned if you look at the two fights in their totality Lewis clearly won the battle, winining approximately 17 rounds out of the 24 by most people's estimation.

Prime for prime is a different story.

 

You picked Holy earlier in the week

 

I can find more than one guy if you want, but my point was the 2nd fight was much closer than it was scored. I can totally see how you'd have it for Lewis but not by a large margin. That's all.

 

Wlad's recent performance has me re-evaluating him. He has won 11 in a row, and seems to have canceled out the other guy's in-fighting with his dominant outside skills, footwork, power, and vise like clinching skills.

As I said before Holyfield failed to even stun Lewis or get inside of Lewis to in-fight.

Bowe who is not considered as good as Lewis or Holyfield, beat Holyfield badly in his prime.

As competitive as Holyfield was, he struggled too much. Morrer out boxed him the first time. Ruiz out boxed Holyfield. I don't think Holyfield ever had Ruiz in trouble. Even Holmes had his share of moments and cut Holy. Copper floored him and Holy recived some home cookin'. Byrd out boxed Holy. Holy defeated Bean, but he looked lacklucter doing it.

Holy has the better chin and in-fighting here, but the way they match up in this fantasy fight I'll go with Wlad, who has been on a 11 fight roll. If Holyfield hit harder, or didn't gas out late as he often did in the 1990's, I'd pick him.

 

To be honest, Ruiz won against 38 y.o. shot Holyfield. Holy was a shot fighter back in 2001.

And Ruiz was badly hurt in 3 and 12 rd during the 1st Holyfield fight.

 

Interesting fight, for several reasons.

Holyfield did have problems with Lewis' size, stating that normally he'd need only two steps to get in range, but against Lewis he need three, and that was a problem for his timing.
Not a prime Evander no, but the size difference would be the same prime or not. Wlad is a little bigger than Lewis (and about as mobile) so I'd imagine Evander would encounter a similar issue with him.

Also, Wlad is not going to brawl with Evander like Bowe did. Bowe gave Holyfield opportunities for Holy to fire back and land, but Klitschko probably won't do that. He'll stick to the (rather boring) jab and right hand combo, giving Holyfield not a lot to work with.

Strangely, I think Wlad's style would diffuse much of Evander's normal effectiveness. Holy would always fire punches in bunches, but against such a tall guy many of those flurries would be ineffective - Wlad just won't be there to be hit.

Evander was happy engaging in spirited rallies because he had quick hands, was a great counter-puncher, had excellent timing and was tough enough to absorb most punches. So despite not being a heavy puncher, he could do well in spirited slugfests or even brawls with bigger guys. He often shined when he could let his punches go, yet looked ordinary when things developed into more of a chess match.

So Evander needs to put pressure on Wlad and look to counter at every opportunity, because if Wlad is allowed to find his comfort zone and fight his fight, Holyfield loses.

 

Good analysis, fists of fury.