Evander Holyfield is undeniably one of the greatest heavyweights of the last four decades.
‘The Real Deal’ remains the only fighter in boxing history to have won the world heavyweight championship on four separate occasions.
He became the first fighter in the sport to capture the undisputed championship at both cruiserweight and heavyweight in 1990 when he defeated James ‘Buster’ Douglas to claim the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. The feat was repeated last year by Oleksandr Usyk.
Despite tasting defeat on 10 occasions during his tenure, Holyfield boasts victories over an abundance of legendary heavyweights, including the likes of Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer and Larry Holmes amongst others.
In a resurfaced clip, Holyfield spoke fondly of former rival ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, where he claims he was ‘lucky’ to face the once formidable heavyweight icon when he was past his prime.
“Unbeatable. When you didn’t know what Tyson was gonna do, everybody was in trouble. He changed up and got into a rhythm that everybody knew and became beatable. I was fortunate enough to fight him when he was beatable.”
Tyson exploded onto the pro scene as an 18-year-old in 1985, showcasing devastating knockout power by winning his first 19 fights inside the distance, twelve of them in the very first round. This fearsome start culminated in him becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history in November 1986 at just 20 years old, after knocking out Trevor Berbick for the WBC title.
Tyson continued his dominant run, unifying the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles by August 1987, seemingly an unstoppable force in the division with a record of 37 wins and no losses. However, this aura of invincibility was shattered in a massive upset on February 11, 1990, when he was knocked out in the tenth round by the 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas in Tokyo.
Holyfield faced Tyson twice in a seven month period between November 1996 and June 1997. ‘The Real Deal’ dethroned ‘Iron’ Mike of his WBA heavyweight title in their first encounter, stopping him in the penultimate round of their bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Their rematch is widely remembered for perhaps the wrong reasons, after Tyson was disqualified after sensationally biting Holyfield’s ears during the third round, forcing the referee to call a halt to the contest in one of the most controversial heavyweight battles ever.
