Evander Holyfield believes he is the greatest heavyweight in the history of the sport, but he was candid when discussing the moment he knew it was ‘all over.’
Holyfield became undisputed at cruiserweight before moving up to boxing’s top division, eventually achieving the same feat. Along the way he faced the likes of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe and George Foreman.
As with many of the sport’s biggest stars, particularly heavyweights, Holyfield fought on well past his prime.
Speaking to Pro Boxing Fans, ‘The Real Deal’ cited a sparring session with Andy Ruiz Jr as the moment he realised his career ‘was over.’
“When I sparred that guy Ruiz and when he was 19 years old he was able to tag me, I knew then [it was over]. I don’t pass my age range where it no longer makes sense to get hit like that by somebody you think you should be able to beat, because experience and all this, but he had speed and I was losing speed….
When we were sparring, every day he did the same thing … He was aggressive then. It kind of embarrassed me a little bit. I thought, ‘I’m a champ and you chasing me like this?’”
If the sparring session was when Ruiz was 19, it happened in 2009, and Holyfield fought on just two more occasions professionally before hanging up the gloves.
Ruiz made his debut that year and went on a run of 29 fights undefeated before losing on points to Joseph Parker in a razor thin contest. Three wins thereafter saw him in a position to step in on late notice to face Anthony Joshua in 2019, shocking the world with a seventh round stoppage to become the unified heavyweight world champion.
