Was it the atmsphere of the upset or something? It was basically Tyson ducking, getting plucked by jabs and tied up. They fought after the bell which was fun for half a second, but other than that, fight of the year? :nono Like, why is it considered a great fight? I never saw this live. Watched it on tape a few times, and yeah.
It was a huge event long in the making and a pretty big shocker, would be my guess. Not a genuinely great fight though, didn't deserve FOTY honors. Not with Barrera-McKinney and several others occurring in the same year.
Big Heavyweight event-type things will do that. Hell, Young-Foreman and Spinks-Ali I were named FOTY just because of the name & upset value.
This fight was about five years before I became a big boxing fan, but I come from a family of boxing fans and I remember the atmosphere going in. Even though it was perceived to be a rout going in, the build up was electric. In today's Klitschko era its difficult to remember just how brilliant the buzz surrounding a great heavyweight fight can be. Its difficult to explain. Its something primal in our genetic make up, and even a megafight like De La Hoya-Mayweather or Corrales-Castillo can't match the tension in the air just before the opening bell. I think that electricity and suspense made a B+ type fight seem better than it was. But, electric atmosphere or no electric atmosphere, this fight isn't a patch on Barrera-McKinney.
First of all, activity is a very important thing at an elite level of any sport. Holy had been active for years against big strong hard punching heavies, the best in the division, so he was used to fighting tough fights, going rounds, and he was never out of shape. Conversely, Tyson had been sitting in a jail cell for 3.5 years doing nothing, and had not fought for 4 years. So when he came back, he was never going to be as sharp again, because when a physical specimen takes that long of a layoff, in any sport, they are never again what they once were. When he did come back, he just had quick and easy fights and didn't go over 4 rounds, I don't think. So he never had that fight where he won but got used to going deep into the fight again in a scuffle. Furthermore, Holy was always going to be a tough fight for Mike because he had a chin, was mentally tough as all hell, he had skill, and he had enough speed to match Mike, and just enough pop to get respect. Holy had the perfect game plan. Use subtle footwork to accentuate the height and reach but then stop and pop instead of running and allowing Mike too much forward momentum. Also, instead of moving, hold ground, and roll and counter with short quick punches, and/or smother and clinch. Such a style would keep the pace slow and not allow Tyson much momentum and would give Holy the breaks he liked between flurries, and not cause Evander to wear down. Holy knew that Tyson mostly liked to lead with his hook, so he had that right hand plastered pretty high or was ready to react to the hard lead punch. Tyson fell into that plan because he no longer used combinations, threw his lead from too far away because his legs were not as good, his head movement before and after punches was no longer as short and crisp and consistent, his punches had grown wider and slower, he no longer consistently worked the body, and the jab was all but gone. Another reason is that Holy was a rock solid 218 pounds, and looked even bigger and more muscular than Mike. So the question remains, did he have some extra illegal help? My strong suspicions towards the affirmative remain.
Evander got going well before the sixth, infact he stunned Mike pretty bad in the 2nd round, squashing the myth that you had to take him late to have him hurt
