BoxRec

Just wondering. I would have thought Tyson would have had a rematch clause in all his defenses.

He probably didn't want it.

Because Don King had ducked Holyfield for quite some time, he was supposed to get the fight with Mike after Dokes. Don, like myself and Tyson, knew that Evander was the kryptonite and his shot was long overdue.

Quite simply, Steve Wynn made the Douglas camp a ridiculous offer of $24 million to fight Holyfield and took a huge loss on the fight. That, along with the fact that King wasn't involved in this promotion (he had tried to invalidate Douglas's win, remember) made it an easy decision to take the Holyfield fight.

gilgamesh wrote:He probably didn't want it.

This is what I'd heard, that he wanted to end on top.

Holyfield had been the mandatory challenger for about a year before Tyson lost to Douglas and accepted step-aside money from King while Tyson defended against other opposition. He was willing to to the same to allow an immediate rematch between Douglas and Tyson before Douglas announced he wouldn't be fighting until September, which would have most likely resulted in Holy having to wait at least another year before he got his title shot.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Because Don King had ducked Holyfield for quite some time, he was supposed to get the fight with Mike after Dokes. Don, like myself and Tyson, knew that Evander was the kryptonite and his shot was long overdue.

Thats bullshit. After the Alex Stewart fight Lou Duva was interviewed about having Holyfield fight Tyson and Duva said they werent ready yet. When Tyson lost to Douglas he already had a defense against Holyfield scheduled for the following June. Nobody picked Holyfield to beat Tyson prior to the Douglas fight and most didnt pick him to beat AFTER the Douglas fight. Hell, Holyfield was still only a NARROW favorite to beat Douglas AFTER everyone saw how fat Douglas got after the Tyson fight. Nice monday morning quarterbacking and revisionism... In reality Douglas was such a long shot that King didnt have a rematch clause put into the contract. Tyson tried to get an immediate rematch but as another poster stated Steve Wynn threw gobs of money at a Douglas-Holyfield fight. Don King, who you think had a high opinion of Holyfield, made a backroom deal to allow the fight to go on (even though he held a promotional contract with Douglas) in order to promote a Tyson-Douglas rematch AFTER the Holyfield fight. Doesnt sound like someone who had a ton of faith in Holyfield being able to beat Douglas, much less Tyson.

klompton wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Because Don King had ducked Holyfield for quite some time, he was supposed to get the fight with Mike after Dokes. Don, like myself and Tyson, knew that Evander was the kryptonite and his shot was long overdue.

Thats bullshit. After the Alex Stewart fight Lou Duva was interviewed about having Holyfield fight Tyson and Duva said they werent ready yet. When Tyson lost to Douglas he already had a defense against Holyfield scheduled for the following June. Nobody picked Holyfield to beat Tyson prior to the Douglas fight and most didnt pick him to beat AFTER the Douglas fight. Hell, Holyfield was still only a NARROW favorite to beat Douglas AFTER everyone saw how fat Douglas got after the Tyson fight. Nice monday morning quarterbacking and revisionism... In reality Douglas was such a long shot that King didnt have a rematch clause put into the contract. Tyson tried to get an immediate rematch but as another poster stated Steve Wynn threw gobs of money at a Douglas-Holyfield fight. Don King, who you think had a high opinion of Holyfield, made a backroom deal to allow the fight to go on (even though he held a promotional contract with Douglas) in order to promote a Tyson-Douglas rematch AFTER the Holyfield fight. Doesnt sound like someone who had a ton of faith in Holyfield being able to beat Douglas, much less Tyson.

You're confusing me with someone that cares what you think. I picked Evander to beat Mike then and when it happened. He was simply a better fighter.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Because Don King had ducked Holyfield for quite some time, he was supposed to get the fight with Mike after Dokes. Don, like myself and Tyson, knew that Evander was the kryptonite and his shot was long overdue.

Do you really think that?

I’m a Holy fan…but I never thought he could beat Tyson. I thought it would be one of those hyped up big fights that wasn’t really a big fight. yes, the names were there but I thought Tyson would crush him.

I truly take my hat off to you and BoxBuzz who backed Evander going in. but do you really think DK thought the same?

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

klompton wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Because Don King had ducked Holyfield for quite some time, he was supposed to get the fight with Mike after Dokes. Don, like myself and Tyson, knew that Evander was the kryptonite and his shot was long overdue.

Thats bullshit. After the Alex Stewart fight Lou Duva was interviewed about having Holyfield fight Tyson and Duva said they werent ready yet. When Tyson lost to Douglas he already had a defense against Holyfield scheduled for the following June. Nobody picked Holyfield to beat Tyson prior to the Douglas fight and most didnt pick him to beat AFTER the Douglas fight. Hell, Holyfield was still only a NARROW favorite to beat Douglas AFTER everyone saw how fat Douglas got after the Tyson fight. Nice monday morning quarterbacking and revisionism... In reality Douglas was such a long shot that King didnt have a rematch clause put into the contract. Tyson tried to get an immediate rematch but as another poster stated Steve Wynn threw gobs of money at a Douglas-Holyfield fight. Don King, who you think had a high opinion of Holyfield, made a backroom deal to allow the fight to go on (even though he held a promotional contract with Douglas) in order to promote a Tyson-Douglas rematch AFTER the Holyfield fight. Doesnt sound like someone who had a ton of faith in Holyfield being able to beat Douglas, much less Tyson.

You're confusing me with someone that cares what you think. I picked Evander to beat Mike then and when it happened. He was simply a better fighter.

uh huh... sure, regular idiot savant you are...

Ezzard wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Because Don King had ducked Holyfield for quite some time, he was supposed to get the fight with Mike after Dokes. Don, like myself and Tyson, knew that Evander was the kryptonite and his shot was long overdue.

Do you really think that?

I’m a Holy fan…but I never thought he could beat Tyson. I thought it would be one of those hyped up big fights that wasn’t really a big fight. yes, the names were there but I thought Tyson would crush him.

I truly take my hat off to you and BoxBuzz who backed Evander going in. but do you really think DK thought the same?

Yup, I was betting friends before he even moved to heavyweight. Got calls from people I hadn't talked to in years after the actual fight. I was more nervous in 96 then I would have been when he was younger.

I absolutely think Don King didn't want to risk Evander, same with Foreman. Mike was a financial dynamo against anyone but after Evander's war with Dokes that fight would have been much bigger than anything else. He just wanted to rack up money with easier fights. I don't think Mike feared anyone, but he knew Holyfield had no fear of him.

klompton wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:

klompton wrote:
Thats bullshit. After the Alex Stewart fight Lou Duva was interviewed about having Holyfield fight Tyson and Duva said they werent ready yet. When Tyson lost to Douglas he already had a defense against Holyfield scheduled for the following June. Nobody picked Holyfield to beat Tyson prior to the Douglas fight and most didnt pick him to beat AFTER the Douglas fight. Hell, Holyfield was still only a NARROW favorite to beat Douglas AFTER everyone saw how fat Douglas got after the Tyson fight. Nice monday morning quarterbacking and revisionism... In reality Douglas was such a long shot that King didnt have a rematch clause put into the contract. Tyson tried to get an immediate rematch but as another poster stated Steve Wynn threw gobs of money at a Douglas-Holyfield fight. Don King, who you think had a high opinion of Holyfield, made a backroom deal to allow the fight to go on (even though he held a promotional contract with Douglas) in order to promote a Tyson-Douglas rematch AFTER the Holyfield fight. Doesnt sound like someone who had a ton of faith in Holyfield being able to beat Douglas, much less Tyson.

You're confusing me with someone that cares what you think. I picked Evander to beat Mike then and when it happened. He was simply a better fighter.

uh huh... sure, regular idiot savant you are...

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:
Yup, I was betting friends before he even moved to heavyweight. Got calls from people I hadn't talked to in years after the actual fight. I was more nervous in 96 then I would have been when he was younger.

I absolutely think Don King didn't want to risk Evander, same with Foreman. Mike was a financial dynamo against anyone but after Evander's war with Dokes that fight would have been much bigger than anything else. He just wanted to rack up money with easier fights. I don't think Mike feared anyone, but he knew Holyfield had no fear of him.

What was it that made you so sure?

Holyfield's balls and counter punching. He's always in position to land, a guy coming at him with big power is right in his comfort zone. His footwork was so superior to Mike's, I always believed in him. Not that it always works, I picked Ricky Hatton over Floyd too.

Ezzard wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Because Don King had ducked Holyfield for quite some time, he was supposed to get the fight with Mike after Dokes. Don, like myself and Tyson, knew that Evander was the kryptonite and his shot was long overdue.

Do you really think that?

I’m a Holy fan…but I never thought he could beat Tyson. I thought it would be one of those hyped up big fights that wasn’t really a big fight. yes, the names were there but I thought Tyson would crush him.

I truly take my hat off to you and BoxBuzz who backed Evander going in. but do you really think DK thought the same?

If the fight would have been fought fairly, Tyson would have crushed Holyfield, and Lewis for that matter. They both held and hugged Tyson constantly, not allowing Tyson to unlead on the inside. In my book, Evander and Lennox both would have been DQ'ed by the 5th or 6th round. I want to see exciting fighting, not a bunch of holding and hugging.