Holyfield vs Qawi #1 Though I've seen damn near every fight Holyfield had as a pro. It was the 1st Qawi fight that demonstrated he was more than just a skilled boxer. But a true warrior, every fight that came behind it just put an exclamation point on it.
It's between Bowe 1, Qawi 1, Dokes, Cooper, or Tyson 1 for me. Hard to pick since they're all amazing fights but I choose the first Qawi fight as my favorite fight from Holyfield.
For me it´s the Tyson I fight. There are other more action packed fights but I remember thinking that Holyfield had the whole hole in the heart thing after the Moorer loss. Even though he knocked Bowe down in the 3rd fight he just couldn´t let his hands go. Thought he was shot, what with the Moorer fight, Bowe ko loss and hadn´t looked that great against Mercer or Bobby Czyz. I had been asked out by Spanish girl from Uni (in London) to a party that night, was not best impressed when I declined so I could watch Holy-Tyson I. Had never heard of either boxer. My friends thought I was nuts but since I ended up marrying another Spanish girl I think I made the right decision. Seeing Tyson being slowly taken apart by Holyfield was just brilliant.
Now this is a thread I can get behind. Too many classics. Foreman fight is criminally underrated. Qawi 1 is nasty. Cooper is a savage banger. Come on, I can't decide. I'll go with Bowe I. The real heavyweight title. Two pound-for-pound heavyweights. The consensus best guy vs the consensus best guy. The real heavyweight fight of the 90s as Bowe broke the titles up after. Great fight as well. For re-watching, I've probably seen Qawi I and II, Cooper, Foreman and Bowe I the most. His fight vs. Dokes is really good as well and Dokes let his hands go like a maniac in that fight--what Evander took and gave during his career cannot be understated. No other heavyweight has this many great fights and especially no other great heavyweight.
It's between Cooper & Foreman for me. Cooper may be the best in terms of pulse-pounding action, but Foreman was such a historically significant fight on top of also being an action-packed thriller as well.
Bowe 1 for me…it’s my favorite heavyweight title fight. I remember watching it live on TV and the rounds flew by….the way he survived the late onslaught and came back was amazing. So many great fights in his career, I always rooted for him, what a fighter. Looking back, he fought so many styles, had sagas with other fighters (Bowe three times, Lewis twice, Tyson twice, Moorer twice etc), won fights where he was a huge underdog too. Only other one who did anything like that was Ali.
Always loved the Foreman fight. Fight holds a special place w me as my pops was a big Foreman fan. I always yell at the tv or my phone in the fourth round when foreman had hurt and think what could have been if he just went all out.
