Prime tyson beats prime holyfield, convince me.

He dumped the Duvas because he was friends with MC Hammer, a fellow Christian Evangelist and African-American multi-millionaire celebrity who for some reason thought he could be a success as Holyfield's promoter.

Steward didn't come into the equation until a lot later.

 

If I only had your rhetoric Ironchamp. Well put.

 

If I'm not mistaken I recall Duva didn't like seeing Holy take too many shots and thought it best for him to retire after the first Bowe fight. Remember Evander retired for a little bit before fighting Stewart for the second time.

 

Thanks.

 

Duva and Benton were his trainers. They were changed after the Stewart fight correct?

 

No, Steward came in for the Alex Stewart 2 fight. Holyfield had fallen out with the whole Duva promotional outfit (though they continued to hold him under contract) because he wanted to go with MC Hammer, so he got rid of Lou Duva, and George Benton, who had actually suggested to him that with the money he made and the respect he'd earned he could retire.
In fact, he did retire when Bowe beat him, but he soon recanted and came out with all the MC Hammer stuff.

Steward was hired as trainer, and declared that he'd transform Holyfield into a puncher rather than a boxer. The "strategy" for the Bowe rematch was actually just resorting to what Benton had wanted to Holyfield to do all along, after Steward had failed to turn Holyfield into a fighter who would be able to KO Bowe, (or even Alex Stewart for that matter).
I give Holyfield props for beating Bowe, and Steward props for his work in the corner. But the whole "Manny Steward as strategic genius" stuff is tripe, in this fight at least.
Holyfield fired Stewart over money soon after, although some said he fired him because he didn't trust him. Which is fair.

 

I hadnt seen that fight in a long time and forgot Steward was in the corner for that one. I would have to disagree with your assessment though. Holyfield won the fight by UD and certainly boxed a more controlled fight (especially compared to the first one). Steward has this stigma that because he worked with Hearns he tries to turn everyone into a puncher, but thats not true. With Holyfield he wanted him to use his physical attributes more, speed footwork and boxing ability. He knew Holy was outgunned by most heavies, and just watching the first few rounds of the fight they talk about how Steward was trying to dial him in more and fight a more disciplined fight.
As far as their split, Steward took a small cut of Holy's purse for Bowe 2, and wanted a bigger percentage after and Holyfield let him go. Never heard of Holyfield accusing Steward of stealing from him. The whole MC Hammer deal was a complete joke. He was probably the worst businessman himself, why Holyfield let him lead his career was crazy.

 

You make several good points. But you forget about one thing: Yes, Holy gained experience through his many tough fights at HW, but they also brought a lot of wear and tear. The Bowe trilogy alone would ruin most other fighters.

 

If they fought in 90 Tyson would have been the more experienced heavyweight.
Sitting in prison for four years doesnt do your boxing skills any good either.

 

Of course that's true. I'm just pointing out that Holyfield gathered a lot of wear and tear during 90-95 as well as experience. There was good reason as to why most thought he was washed up after Bowe III.

 

With Holyfield it was interesting in that he didnt just become completely shot. He was vastly inconsistent against top rated fighters and still is today. Part of that is stylistic matchups and part his tremendous mental fortitude, but personally I thought he started making the turn for the worse when he fought Moorer.
Conceiveably Evander could have lost to Larry Donald in 96 had it been him in the ring rather than Mike Tyson.

 

I think that Holy just like Holmes seemed to often fight up to the level of competition. They both could have a hard time with vastly inferior opponents. In Holyfield's case this became even more pronounced after the second Bowe fight. On his off nights at this stage many of the good HWs could beat him, but when he came in with his head screwed on right he was still a match for anyone.

 

The most signifigant,and brutal,trilogy since Ali and Frazier.

 

At heavyweight anyway.