Evander Holyfield has revealed the greatest opponent that he ever crossed paths with during his professional career.
Known as ‘The Real Deal’, Holyfield entered the paid ranks way back in 1984 after his success at the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, walking away with a Light-Heavyweight Bronze Medal.
He would go on to become the first fighter in boxing history to win the undisputed championship at cruiserweight and heavyweight respectively, achieving this feat in October 1990 when he stopped James ‘Buster’ Douglas in the 3rd round of their clash in Las Vegas.
Holyfield shared the ring with many legendary heavyweights during the peak of his career, including the likes of Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis to name just a few.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, ‘The Real Deal’ made no mistake in naming ‘Big Daddy’ Bowe as the best fighter that he ever crossed paths with.
“Bowe. I had three fights with Bowe. He was very competitive, he was always going to be in shape when he fought me.”
Holyfield and Bowe clashed on three occasions between 1992 and 1995, providing boxing fans with one of the most memorable trilogies of all time. ‘Big Daddy’ got the better of Holyfield in their first encounter, defeating his fellow countryman via unanimous decision.
‘The Real Deal’ got his revenge in their rematch just one year on from their first meeting, outpointing his rival to re-capture the unified WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles.
Their third and final encounter took place in November 1995 and it was Bowe who put their rivalry to bed in emphatic fashion, stopping Holyfield in the 8th round of their non-title bout at Caesars Palace.
