REAL DEAL āSmartā and āhumbleā Evander Holyfield was like a āwalking tigerā in the ring, lauded by Mike Tyson and other legends as the best they ever faced.
Boxing legends Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe and Michael Moorer all consider Evander Holyfield to be the greatest fighter they ever fought.
For some reason, Holyfieldās name isnāt mentioned as much in the same conversations as Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, and Tyson ā but heās right up there with the best ever.
Perhaps itās his humble, quiet demeanor, or maybe because we remember him as the guy who had a chunk of his ear bitten off by Tyson in 1997.
Holyfield won both of his fights against Tyson in the 1990s. He beat Foreman and Larry Holmes, too.
The 57-year-old is the only four-time heavyweight champion in history, and the only boxer ever to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes.
As talk of a remarkable third fight against Tyson gathers pace, itās no surprise that most of the spotlight has fallen on āIron Mikeā, being the character that he is.
But, thereās a reason why Holyfield was nicknamed āThe Real Dealā. Hereās what some of the biggest names in heavyweight boxing had to say about himā¦
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Mike Tyson
For years, Tyson claimed he bit Holyfield in protest against relentless headbutting during both fights.
However, the world knew it was actually frustration at being outfought, and Tyson eventually admitted that to Oprah in 2009: āI was so pissed off that Holyfield was such a great fighter and wanted to desperately beat him.ā
In a recent interview with Holyfield on his podcast āHotboxinā, Tyson said: āHeās a good guy, I always knew he was a good guy. I want people to react and get in their heads, but he never reacted.
āHe was an awesome counter-puncher. Iād say the best ever.
āI always wondered how he could be so good and so humble.ā
And in an interview with Ring Magazine, Tyson described Holyfield as his best ever opponent. He said āGreat champion: chin, heart, determination, work ethic, demeanor.ā
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Lennox Lewis
Lewis was one of the few men to overcome Holyfield, although it took 24 brutal rounds.
Their first fight in 1999 was called a split-decision draw, before Lewis got the decision in the second bout, even though Holyfield still insists he won.
āPeople seem to be genuinely surprised when I tell them [Holyfield] was my toughest opponent, not to be confused with my toughest fight, which was [Ray] Mercer, but when you really dive into why that is, it actually makes a lot of sense,ā the 54-year-old wrote on Instagram.
āHolyfield, like me, has an extensive amateur pedigree that has served him well throughout his professional career. He started boxing at eight years old and was an Olympic bronze medalist in 1984. Before he moved up to the heavyweight division, heās a man that cleared out the cruiserweight division to become the undisputed champion, and arguably the best ever, in that weight class.
āThatās a lot of experience and itās safe to say that by the time we met for the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1999, he had seen it all. When you combine Evanderās amateur and professional experience, you would be hard pressed not to see the kind of success heās had in the ring.
āI may tease him a bit on our two fights, he knows I won both fights even though he wonāt admit it, but in all seriousness, heās the only man that has gone 24 rounds with me.ā
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George Foreman
A 42-year-old Foreman was punching his way back to the top before he met Holyfield in 1991.
Nobody gave Foreman a chance against Holyfield in his prime, but he managed to go the distance before losing via unanimous decision.
Big George tweeted in 2017: āNo one ever had as much heart, you hurt him you get 15 shots, like waking a Tiger.ā
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Riddick Bowe
Bowe did something nobody else could manage and beat Holyfield TWICE during their epic trilogy of fights.
Holyfield considers Bowe his toughest ever opponent, and it turns out the feeling is mutual.
Bowe told Ring Magazine: āHe was better than anyone I ever fought. He could think, he could match wits with you. Our fights were so good because he could match me in the thinking aspect. He was always in such great shape.
āHe had the best defence, the best offence. I mean hands down he made you work. If you werenāt in shape, it wasnāt going to happen.
āI could shake Evander and heād come back with four, five shots. And if you werenāt in shape, thatās when he was going to get you. He was always going to come back at you.
āHereās a guy, you hit him with a left hook, he would keep his guard up, get close to you and turn his body. He was very smart in that aspect.
āEvander was smart, he was a thinker, he was in great shape, he had all the attributes to make him a great champion. Thatās why he and I fought against each other so hard and so well.ā
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Larry Holmes
One of the reasons Holyfield isnāt always included in conversations about the greatest ever is because he carried on too long.
Having suffered only three defeats between the age of 22 and 37, he lost three in a row when he was 40 and carried on until he was 48.
Speaking at the time, though, Holmes explains why Holyfield was able to continue deep into his forties.
He said: āTodayās fighters donāt have the dedication and the dicipline to come out and be a champion. Thatās why Evanderās still fighting.
āYou canāt blame them for fighting when thereās nothing out there. You can keep giving him opponents, heās going to keep fighting and keep winning.
āThese guys still need to learn how to fight, Evander is the only one I see with the discipline. He dedicates himself and still weighs the same thing he did ten years ago.ā
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Michael Moorer
Moorer is the only other man, alongside Bowe, to beat Holyfield in his prime.
And like Bowe, Moorer has nothing but respect for āThe Real Dealā.
He told Ring Magazine: āEvery time he fought someone a second time, he was better, except maybe against Lennox Lewis.
āHe was a student of the game and then he perfected it. Iāve always respected his smarts.
āI feel that Evander was the best that I faced, because he was always at his peak.
āWhen you are at your peak, you are always ready for everything and anything that is put before you. Evander always came ready.
āSo I feel that he would have to be the best one that I fought, because he would always get himself in the best shape possible for any fight.
āHe was always that guy. If he did not beat you the first time, he would beat you the second time.ā
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