Holyfield vs Tyson I: 20th Year Anniversary

[elmersalsa]

It was a day like today, a Saturday night of November 9th, 1996 in Las Vegas, NV that the greats Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield "finally" squared off for the WBA World Heavyweight Championship. It was not just a great fight, but a MONUMENTAL UPSET. Holyfield, The Real Deal from Atlanta, GA, was a 25 to 1 underdog and considered that at 34, was over the hill because of his previous outings. One of those outings, was a loss by knockout of all sorts to former American and champion Riddick Bowe in their rubber match. He lost 2 out of 3 with Bowe, barely bested top American heavyweight contender Ray Mercer. And also looked very tired in which he could not blow out a blown up light-heavyweight in Bobby Cyz. He was finished according to some critics. To make matters worse, Holyfield suffered a year earlier, an ailing heart condition. But according to his view and beliefs, he was "healed" by a "miracle" by his lord and savior Jesus Christ by one of his pastors. He was examined in a Mayo Clinic, and the physicians cleared him that he was "fit to fight" again. And that nothing was wrong with his heart. Interesting!

Many believed at the time that it was going to be a feast for Tyson, a seemingly invincible champion that returned winning his 4 fights after coming back from prison for rape. Tyson, 31, Catskills or Brooklyn, NY (wherever you want him to be claimed where he's from), regained part of the heavyweight crown months earlier dispatching former victim and then champion Frank Bruno of England. Then, Tyson proceeded destroying WBA champ, American Bruce Seldon, a scared stiff, in one round in August, 1996. Tyson unified two-thirds of the heavyweight crown. But relinquished the WBC belt and paid former champ Lennox Lewis of England $2 million dollars to step aside to fight Holyfield. Lewis was the number one contender. Some believed that Tyson was better than ever. Lewis questioned Tyson "invincibility" status. In Lewis' eyes, Tyson was given an EASY ROAD to recapture the title. The promoters, did not care, of course. Tyson was the cash cow and biggest attraction in boxing since the great Muhammad Ali. Plus, coming back from the three-year layoff stint in an Indiana State penitentiary or correction facility, boxing, in a much needed star power attention, welcomed him back.

To my dismay, I never thought that Holy would dominate the fight like he did with much ease. I knew that he could beat Tyson, but not as he dominated him in that fashion. This was in no doubt, one of Evander's greatest battles. He showed that he was in control, was not scared of the monster, and gave us an everlasting memorial performance of the ages!

The fight was even in my book the first 5 rounds. In round 5, an uppercut by Iron Mike shook Holyfield. But Holyfield did not give in nor was hurt. Like in the message of his purple trunks in the waistline, that said "Warrior", he showed that indeed was one. It seemed to me that that was THE TURNING POINT OF THE FIGHT. Tyson got worried after dishing that shot in my view. His confidence went lower when he was down in amazement of many, by an off-balanced shot in the belly by The Real Deal in round 6. The crowd roared wildly! Tyson was in a REAL FIGHT this time! And after that, he suffered a barrage from Holyfield and one of his eyelids suffered a cut. Maybe it was a punch. Maybe it was the clash of heads that he instigated out of frustration. From that round on, until the knockout moment, it was all Holyfield's! He controlled the inside exchanges beautifully. Did not let Tyson get set most of the time, and was fresher and stronger as the fight progressed. In round 10, Tyson almost got knocked out and was rescued from further punishment by American referee Mitch Halpern. It was over in the 11th when Tyson was still in queer street and could not take the shots and vicious combinations from Evander that started from a perfectly timed right hand to the jaw. Tyson was helplessly in trouble and Holyfield went for the final kill. Halpern said it was enough, and the new WBA World Heavyweight Champion was indeed Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield! A stunning upset in boxing happened! The crowd cheered like if America has won a war on terror. Just like Ali, Holyfield became champion for the third time!

It was The Real Deal's greatest win. One of boxing's top 20 greatest wins due to the circumstances. His dream of beating Tyson , The Baddest Man in the Planet, was complete. A STIGMA that he had for years to prove that he could beat him. In 1991, they were supposed to fight. It would have been one of the most anticipated bouts ever, but, Tyson suffered an injury in training and was jailed for rape. This time, 5 years later, Holyfield proved to the whole world, that he was indeed The Real Deal!

What a fight by Holyfield! Comments.

[elmersalsa]

What is happening to you guys? Ain't nobody wants to comment about this great upset? I can't believe you guys!

[elmersalsa]

What is happening to you guys? Ain't nobody wants to comment about this great upset? I can't believe you guys!

Sorry to disappoint you but I got 12 - 1 on Holyfield and bet £100 on him to win. I fully understand the so called " experts " choice, but I just saw Holyfield as another Douglas, a guy who came to fight because he " could " fight. And despite the hype mental Mikey could never come through adversity, unless you count the one punch at a time throwing Ruddock.

You probably made a lot of money that night?

[Syntax Error]

I'm staggered that anyone thought Holyfield could beat Tyson in '96.

Holyfield stank leading up to the Tyson fight & didn't look to have anything left.

Tyson was looking fresh & resurgent, although, the terrified bums, Frank Bruno & Bruno Seldon virtually handed their belts over at the pre-fight stare-down & made Tyson look better than he actually was at that stage.

I never thought for one second that Holyfield could win this fight, but I changed my mind after round 2 as I saw that that Evander looked resurgent himself & I knew that was bad news for Tyson.

[elmersalsa]

After I saw The Real Deal fight Bobby Cyz that year, I said to myself that he was going to get killed by Iron Mike. There was no way that Holyfield would have won if he would have climbed the ring like that.

When Tyson destroyed a petrified Bruce Seldon, Holyfield was in attendance. I remember how confident he told reporter Jim Gray "I know what I can do!" I said then, Holyfield is going to beat Tyson. Something told me to root for Holyfield. I felt at the time, that he was the better boxer. The ONLY THING THAT I WAS WORRIED was about Holyfield's heart condition. Will he feint in the middle of the fight throwing punches in bunches against this monster? Will his work rate hold up? I never questioned his grit and determination. I knew that he wasn't going to be a scared stiff.

What happened Tyson received the second greatest beating of his life. Some people made serious money that night. Even The Ring Magazine predicted a first round knockout in favor of Tyson

[Kalan]

To me, Ring Magazine writers were a bunch of idiots. I thought Holyfield looked good against Czyz. He never looked like he could lose and Czyz always looked like he was going to quit. They even discussed the excuse for quitting in the Czyz corner. The fight was a joke -- a fraud on the public. I laughed out loud. I couldn't believe they were talking about what excuse they would use for quitting. You get that down before you come out.

Holyfield was 3 inches taller than Tyson. That's not a lot but it's a definite edge. He was just as big and strong as Tyson. He was just as tough. Mike probably had an edge in punching power but not a lot. Mike was a very small Heavyweight. They were both small Heavyweights. I figured the edge came down to mental preparation. Holyfield had nothing but disdain for Tyson prior to their 1st fight. Just like Buster Douglas, he knew Mike was a bully and full of bullcrap...

Holyfield wasn't some fan out there eating up Tyson's long line of BS.. In "Undisputed Truth" Tyson is still slinging it.. He's been a BS artist all his life in the mode of Donald Trump. I like Mike. Underneath all the bluster he's a decent guy. He's no rapist I swear. He was a bit of a sexual predator, but everyone has their faults. The thing is he was full of gas. Holyfield saw right through Tyson like a piece of glass. Holy looked right at Mike and sneered at him, like "We both know you're full of crap and you're going to get knocked out." ... It was a little like George Foreman coming face-to-face with Joe Frazier. Frazier was scared to death. Joe could fool everybody else -- but he wasn't fooling George.

[Ezzard]

Sorry to disappoint you but I got 12 - 1 on Holyfield and bet £100 on him to win. I fully understand the so called " experts " choice, but I just saw Holyfield as another Douglas, a guy who came to fight because he " could " fight. And despite the hype mental Mikey could never come through adversity, unless you count the one punch at a time throwing Ruddock.

You probably made a lot of money that night?

Yes sir, I did 1,200 pounds sterling.

I salute you Mr Oldie.

I thought Holy had no chance. It just seemed like a classic scenario we've seen over and over...

The promoters money machine needs big fights. So they build up guys at lower weights. The two get matched in a superfight but the promoter's meal ticket has all the natural advantages. Little great guy gets fed to bigger great guy.

Add to this that unlike a Tunney or a Charles or even the Spinks who beat Holmes...Holy was not a pure boxer. He liked to fight. And that to me seemed like the worst thing he could do.

I was wrong. You were right.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I won a few hundred betting even up. Never a question he would beat Mike to me. Called it in 87 and never wavered. It is an overrated fight.great event, but it was one sided.

[elmersalsa]

I wanted to see them fight back originally in 1991. It would have been one of the most anticipated fights ever. I think if they would have duke it out then, the fight would have had the same aura of Ali-Frazier I fight twenty years before that. I was rooting for Holyfield then. I thought at the time that he could beat Iron Mike then. After the Buster Douglas beating, I thought that Tyson didn't had the same skills like when he came out in the 80s decade.

I put it like this:
Before Buster Douglas fight, Tyson wins
After Buster Douglas fight, it would be all The Real Deal in my view.

[Ezzard]

Thing is Holy was put in serious trouble by Cooper. Of course, we didn't know just how stout Evander's chin was at that point. But the Cooper fight made it seem like Tyson held all the aces.

Holy had never looked great at HW. Hot and cold.
It was clear that Holy was a great fighter. I just doubted he was a great HW. And that was the beauty of his career...every time we wrote him off he would do something fantastic.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Thing is Holy was put in serious trouble by Cooper. Of course, we didn't know just how stout Evander's chin was at that point. But the Cooper fight made it seem like Tyson held all the aces.

Holy had never looked great at HW. Hot and cold.
It was clear that Holy was a great fighter. I just doubted he was a great HW. And that was the beauty of his career...every time we wrote him off he would do something fantastic.

The cooper fight really solidified my opinion that he'd kick Mike's ass. Perfect, nasty performance that Mike could never deal with.

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Thing is Holy was put in serious trouble by Cooper. Of course, we didn't know just how stout Evander's chin was at that point. But the Cooper fight made it seem like Tyson held all the aces.

Holy had never looked great at HW. Hot and cold.
It was clear that Holy was a great fighter. I just doubted he was a great HW. And that was the beauty of his career...every time we wrote him off he would do something fantastic.

This is an astute observation.

I still thought Holyfield had the edge in 1991, as I thought Tyson looked a shell of himself against Ruddock & I knew that Evander wouldn't be stupid enough to stand there & trade single shots with Iron Mike, although he could be lured into a brawl if necessary.

1996 was a different story altogether.

I admire anyone who had the balls to bet on Evander in '96, because his recent vintage had been so poor leading up to the first Tyson fight.

To me, he looked shot, but he proved within two rounds that he wasn't.

The only time I wouldn't have been so unequivocal about the outcome is if they'd fought in '89.

Evander was chasing the fight from '88 & a fight between him & Tyson in late '88 or sometime in '89 would have been a barnstormer that I could not have called.

[Ezzard]

Agree. People forget that now. But he looked as if Bowe had ruined him. But he hadn't. Evander and not Mike was considered damaged goods going into their fight.

In many ways Holy was like Duran. Just when you thought his career was over he'd put in another unbelievable performance.

[lazboy]

All I remember of this fight was that it was frustrating, Tyson couldn't get off, Holyfield coundnt get off until very late and lots of clinching.

[Kalan]

I wanted to see them fight back originally in 1991. It would have been one of the most anticipated fights ever. I think if they would have duke it out then, the fight would have had the same aura of Ali-Frazier I fight twenty years before that. I was rooting for Holyfield then. I thought at the time that he could beat Iron Mike then. After the Buster Douglas beating, I thought that Tyson didn't had the same skills like when he came out in the 80s decade.

I put it like this:
Before Buster Douglas fight, Tyson wins
After Buster Douglas fight, it would be all The Real Deal in my view.

You know...before the Douglas fight Mike DID look good in many of his fights... But not against big, tall, fast, strong, skilled, smart Heavyweights.. The Tony Tucker and James Smith fights kind of foreshadowed the Douglas fight.. They weren't that good, but Tyson looked hittable and stuck in the mud a bit in those fights.. The Tucker fight for sure gave both Douglas and Holyfield the idea they would have the better of Tyson if they could get him into a ring.