Personally I rank him at number 2, though a lot of people think I'm crazy ranking him in the top 5!!
My explanation is at my blog page here:
http://www.boxingmeetsmma.com/
I wonder how many poeple, if any, are remotely with me here. And no, a ban is NOT in order
I think Holy is a top ten heavy, I cant think of ten that are better. Granted, I haven't seen them all but Evander was the #2 heavy of my era, below Lennox Lewis--and even that old version fought Lewis fairly tough in the rematch.
Yeah #2 is way too high for Holyfield, maybe #2 in the last 20 years? When I think of Holyfield I put him just above a guy like Ken Norton. Great fighter, entertaining, but not a dominate champion the likes of Ali and others.
Yea, there are many HW ahead of Holyfield who dod this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLjs77jMMD0
Noone is disputing that Holy was a great fighter or a great warrior, but if you believe he is the second best HW ever to have fought you are just dellusional I am afraid. There is no criteria that you can select that would place him up there. He is just inside the top 10 at the very highest.
Lewis beat Holyfield. Twice. That proves he was better than him.
I like Holyfield, even if he really REALLY needs to retire, but Top 2 HW of all time? I'll have some of those Class A's ....
Holyfield was past his best by that point, watching Holyfield in the late 80's early 90's he was way better he throwed amazing combos in his prime.
Lewis beat Holyfield. Twice. That proves he was better than him.
I like Holyfield, even if he really REALLY needs to retire, but Top 2 HW of all time? I'll have some of those Class A's ....
Personally I rank him at number 2, though a lot of people think I'm crazy ranking him in the top 5!!
My explanation is at my blog page here:
http://www.boxingmeetsmma.com/
I wonder how many poeple, if any, are remotely with me here. And no, a ban is NOT in order
I dont have an all time list, but i would say he was one of the best heavyweights of his time.
Holyfield lost to Bowe, Moorer and Lewis. His biggest wins were over Bowe and Tyson.
Great fighter but not a top 5 HW by any means.
To be fair, in Bowe III and Moorer I there were external circumstances in relation to his health that played in to those two defeats, and he went through with both bouts regardless. He unified at CW, then moved up and as a small HW ducked no one in the division. He was past his best by the time of Lewis, though still a formidable challenge for most fighters. While I find him a fairly boring personality, his heart is unquestionable.
Anyone else loving this guy's use of "dismantled"?
Apparently so as they have not challenged it.
What's your story?
Still waiting ... though I gotta be at work in the morning. Will check back tomorrow or next week-->leaving to D.R.:boxing:
peace
Lewis beat Golota, Mercer, McCall, Tucker, Bruno, Tyson, Holyfield twice, Vitali, Ruddock, Morrison, Briggs, Tua and Rahman, among others. almost all of those guys were champs at one time or another and pretty much all of them were top fighters when Lewis beat them. and yea, he avenged both his loses very dominantly, beating all the fighters he ever faced. not to mention Bowe openly ducked the guy.
he has a hell of a record, even if he doesnt have any superstar type of names on his record.
the Golota win does mean a lot. Golota was coming off of his asskickings of Bowe, and I think it was his first loss too. that was big.
no offense to Holyfield, but he doesnt have the heavyweight record that Lewis does. p4p, I certainly rate him higher.
I already dismantles many of the names on that list. No doubt Lewis was great.
But he did not fight to win fights decisively as Holyfield did. And,mind you, Holyfield was 20-30 lbs lighter than Lewis.His win over Mercer was thisclose.
Holyfield beat him soundly.
Golota also took a huge beating in the Bowe rematch. Remember his lip?? He was tenderized for Lewis and Golota was never the same after that fight. Remember, Golota used to spar w/Holyfield as well. They were all under the Duva banner.
I'll always give Lewis props for beating Tua (though safety first and he was Holyfield's ex-sparring partner) and Michael Grant, who was undefeated at the time then fizzled out.
Lewis had bad timing--no fault of his own. He fought Tyson and Holyfield well after their best years. And in the rematch with Holyfield, some ringside experts thought Lewis lost. Lewis was ROBBED the 1st time.
Lewis beat Golota, Mercer, McCall, Tucker, Bruno, Tyson, Holyfield twice, Vitali, Ruddock, Morrison, Briggs, Tua and Rahman, among others. almost all of those guys were champs at one time or another and pretty much all of them were top fighters when Lewis beat them. and yea, he avenged both his loses very dominantly, beating all the fighters he ever faced. not to mention Bowe openly ducked the guy.
he has a hell of a record, even if he doesnt have any superstar type of names on his record.
the Golota win does mean a lot. Golota was coming off of his asskickings of Bowe, and I think it was his first loss too. that was big.
no offense to Holyfield, but he doesnt have the heavyweight record that Lewis does. p4p, I certainly rate him higher.
17y ago
Where do you guys rank Evander Holyfield? | BoxingScene Community