Boxing legend Evander Holyfield fought plenty of the sport’s biggest names and has now revealed who he thinks was the best of them all.
Holyfield is one of the most decorated boxers of all time. The American ended his amateur career by winning an Olympic bronze medal, then went on to become the most standout talent the cruiserweight division had ever seen.
After that, he made the remarkable step up to become a four-time heavyweight champion, despite being much smaller than many of his peers.
Until recently when Oleksandr Usyk took the undisputed heavyweight crown having done the same at cruiserweight, Holyfield was the only man to have ever achieved that feat.
‘The Real Deal’ was involved in one of the most infamous fights in history when Mike Tyson bit a chunk of his ear off. He also faced the legendary likes of Lennox Lewis and George Foreman.
Taking part in Ring Magazine’s ‘Best I Faced’ interview series, Holyfield picked out his greatest-ever opponent – Riddick Bowe.
“I would say Bowe.
I had three fights with Bowe. He was very competitive, he was always going to be in shape when he fought me.”
Bowe and Holyfield were part of one of boxings best ever trilogies. Bowe won the first fight with Holyfield taking the second. The third and final contest saw Bowe inflict the first knockout defeat of Holyfield’s career.
Holyfield also named Bowe as one of the top three strongest men he ever faced.
“Out of all the people, I would say George Foreman was the strongest. And behind him Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe. I could push anybody back, it wasn’t a problem. I couldn’t push George back. You had to go around him.”
