When did a Holyfield start to get more public respect?

It happened after he allegedly killed off his doppelganger Evan Fields.

 

The second Bowe fight was the turning point, he worked on his movement and exposed Bowe`s bad mobility and huge bulk, Holy sights this as the fight that showed him how to beat Tyson (which was the fight where he had the most exposure) The 2nd Bowe fight was also the first bout where Holy had really bulked up, part of the reason he lost the first Bowe fight was because he was too small and light against the massive Bowe, the tag of the blown up cruiser who couldn`t punch like a genuine heavy followed him until he matched Bowe and dodged a hand glider!

 

Evan Fields.

 

I always had respect for Holyfield but feel like his reign at Heavyweight was overrated.. wish that he would have not fought Holmes or Foreman.. and should have fought some of the younger guys.. can't remember their names at the moment ... but he always came prepared... never overweight and fought like hell... He is a true example of guts... but still thought he fought dirty...

 

Ibeabuchi would have whooped Evan Field's roided up arse.

 

He got the respect of the Boxing world after his victory over Bowe, but on a global level, it was definitely after he beat Tyson. That's when he became insanely popular.

 

I think it was after the 2nd Bowe fight.

But for me the guy has always been the extreme example of a mixed bag. On one side he represents everything great on boxing, with his style, heart and ability to overcome size difference. Resulting in some of the greatest fights I've seen. On the other hand he represents everything wrong with boxing, with obvious steroid use, dirty fighting (his trademark headbutt lowblow combo is infamous) and one of the worst robberies in modern day boxing.

 

I think he had respect after the Qawi fight. Qawi was not a cakewalk for anybody.

 

Frickin Evan "Roidmaster" Fields. Trying to besmirch Holy's good name LOL.

 

I think the first Bowe fight got him a lot of respect. Before that people just saw him as a blown up cruiser who was holding onto the belt until Tyson took it back. The fact he went toe to toe with such a big heavyweight and wasn't blown away and in fact gave Bowe a hell of a fight told people he belonged at that weight.

Then winning the rematch told everyone he wasn't just a genuine heavyweight but an elite heavyweight.

But the Tyson fight is what took him to the next level he wasn't just a good heavyweight anymore he was a great one.

But as others have said the Evans Field debacle has tainted his legacy, that with the head butts and the clearly corrupt draw with Lewis. There will always be people who will question his standing and I believe he went from being regularly being ranked top 5 in peoples ATG list to being ranked a lot lower down as hind sight and the possible doping has changed peoples view of him.

 

For me personally, when he danced the Foxtrot on Dancing with the Stars.

 

He was able to overcome the size difference due to roids. Didn't one of his physicians stated that Evan Fields' testicles were the size of peas?

 

As others have articulated, he got a lot of respect for the losing effort against Bowe, but he became a superstar after finishing Tyson. People forget that he was a truly massive crossover figure for years after that. He was a major commodity years into his slide into his long run as a shot fighter. It wasn't until he lost to Byrd and Toney that he really faded from the mainstream.