Where's the Holyfield Appreciation Thread?

Put it this way, a shot to pieces Holyfield still managed to school Valuev better than David Haye managed to, despite Haye supposedly being the best HW in the world not named Klitschko. ANY boxer is going to be faster than Valuev and have higher output, shot or not. Evander had enough of his other faculties to put being shot out of the picture completely. Tactics are all important for Valuev especially for small boxers like Haye and Holy. Let's not forget Haye BEAT Valuev. And Holy LOST to Valuev.

Which episode was Holyfield on? I know Riddick Bowe was on the episode where Will, Jazz, and Carlton end up at some low way/countryside bar&gambling spot. Where Carlton gets addicted to the slot machine and Riddick Bowe is about to beat his short azz up then Will comes thru and saves his azz. A really early Christmas episode where Will decorates the house in poor decorations and all the rich neighbors complain. Will talks a bunch of sh*t on the phone to one of them, telling him to come over and say sh*t to his face and it's Holyfield.

I am open to the opinion that against Valuev, Ibragimov and maybe Ruiz, Holyfield could be called something close to shot. However it's unfair to say Holyfield was not a good boxer still right to the end, experience counts for much more than other attributes and he looked like a tough opponent to me. To say that he was "shot" against any of the others though is completely outrageous. Against Tyson he was supreme. Against Moorer, even earlier he was in his true HW "primest of prime" when he lost. He just come out of the Bowe loss and close SD win. You cannot say that Holyfield won the HW championship, fought 7 times against nobody particularly brilliant, and then as soon as he lost 1ce to a great opponent in Bowe, he was shot. That's ****ing stupid! The guy was EXCELLENT! To me he has one of the best resumes of all time! But he DID amass a lot of losses, you can't deny that! Never said he was shot. Past prime. He was past prime against Tyson as well. But I agree that at HW he was quite inconsistent at HW. I don't think he was shot against Bowe either. Bowe was just on his game that first fight. Rematch was close but Evander performed very well and I thought eked it out. And he was even better in the rematch against Moorer, which we shouldn't leave out.

You know you made it as a boxer/celeb when you do a cameo for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Which episode was Holyfield on? I know Riddick Bowe was on the episode where Will, Jazz, and Carlton end up at some low way/countryside bar&gambling spot. Where Carlton gets addicted to the slot machine and Riddick Bowe is about to beat his short azz up then Will comes thru and saves his azz.

I am open to the opinion that against Valuev, Ibragimov and maybe Ruiz, Holyfield could be called something close to shot. However it's unfair to say Holyfield was not a good boxer still right to the end, experience counts for much more than other attributes and he looked like a tough opponent to me. To say that he was "shot" against any of the others though is completely outrageous. Against Tyson he was supreme. Against Moorer, even earlier he was in his true HW "primest of prime" when he lost. He just come out of the Bowe loss and close SD win. You cannot say that Holyfield won the HW championship, fought 7 times against nobody particularly brilliant, and then as soon as he lost 1ce to a great opponent in Bowe, he was shot. That's ****ing stupid! The guy was EXCELLENT! To me he has one of the best resumes of all time! But he DID amass a lot of losses, you can't deny that! Put it this way, a shot to pieces Holyfield still managed to school Valuev better than David Haye managed to, despite Haye supposedly being the best HW in the world not named Klitschko.

Nearly all the fights you mentioned involved a past-prime Holyfield. I am open to the opinion that against Valuev, Ibragimov and maybe Ruiz, Holyfield could be called something close to shot. However it's unfair to say Holyfield was not a good boxer still right to the end, experience counts for much more than other attributes and he looked like a tough opponent to me. To say that he was "shot" against any of the others though is completely outrageous. Against Tyson he was supreme. Against Moorer, even earlier he was in his true HW "primest of prime" when he lost. He just come out of the Bowe loss and close SD win. You cannot say that Holyfield won the HW championship, fought 7 times against nobody particularly brilliant, and then as soon as he lost 1ce to a great opponent in Bowe, he was shot. That's ****ing stupid! The guy was EXCELLENT! To me he has one of the best resumes of all time! But he DID amass a lot of losses, you can't deny that!

You know you made it as a boxer/celeb when you do a cameo for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

I am somewhat lightened when it comes to Holyfield. But a close look, Holyfield LOST to and struggled with Moorer who was not a really good opponent. He never convincingly beat Bowe. Ruiz lost to ****ing Roy Jones for Christ sake! Mercer is a tough opponent not especially a skilled one! Rahman IS a great opponent but that fight was stopped on a hematoma, not a KO! And as for Holyfield being shot for Tyson? Get out of here man! Holyfield fought on for what 15 more years! I don't consider either Tyson or Holyfield shot. The guys was not that old and was roided to the gills, he looked as good as ever to me. That was a foolish comment. Nearly all the fights you mentioned involved a past-prime Holyfield.

You like to brag about Rahman, and Holyfield beat him back in 2002 when he still mattered. He also had a close fight with Lewis in the rematch that some believe he won. Ruiz Moorer You can pretend all you want, but Holyfield was the "shot" fighter going into the Tyson fight. Mercer, again someone you brag about for other fighters. Dokes You build up fighters for beating a hell of a lot worse than who Holyfield beat. I am somewhat lightened when it comes to Holyfield. But a close look, Holyfield LOST to and struggled with Moorer who was not a really good opponent. He never convincingly beat Bowe. Ruiz lost to ****ing Roy Jones for Christ sake! Mercer is a tough opponent not especially a skilled one! Rahman IS a great opponent but that fight was stopped on a hematoma, not a KO! And as for Holyfield being shot for Tyson? Get out of here man! Holyfield fought on for what 15 more years! I don't consider either Tyson or Holyfield shot. The guys was not that old and was roided to the gills, he looked as good as ever to me. That was a foolish comment. Holyfield is a great fighter and fought very strong opposition overall but even in his appreciation we should adjust it for the truth.

What really stood out to me about Holyfield was his boxing IQ and his footwork. He could dance. Would pump out that jab, circle, set up his combinations, get inside and then mug you. Underrated power, a great chin, recovery skills and the heart of a lion. Top 10 HW and one of the best fighters I ever saw in my lifetime.

one of my all time favs. Fought everybody. that first Qawi fight was awesome

Who did Bowe ever beat? Holyfield. Who did Holyfield ever beat? Bowe. :lol1: Neither Bowe nor Holyfield ever beat anybody else of note, unless you consider Hide and Donald good wins for Bowe, and faded old Tyson a good win for Holyfield. You like to brag about Rahman, and Holyfield beat him back in 2002 when he still mattered. He also had a close fight with Lewis in the rematch that some believe he won. Ruiz Moorer You can pretend all you want, but Holyfield was the "shot" fighter going into the Tyson fight. Mercer, again someone you brag about for other fighters. Dokes You build up fighters for beating a hell of a lot worse than who Holyfield beat.

At CW he has to be considered number 1 :) There is nobody else that comes close, nobody!

Followed his entire career, absolutely brilliant fighter. Its sad that he went on for so long past his sell by date because I think a lot of people forget just how good he was. The greatest cruiserweight of all time and a HW great. At CW he has to be considered number 1 :)

Followed his entire career, absolutely brilliant fighter. Its sad that he went on for so long past his sell by date because I think a lot of people forget just how good he was. The greatest cruiserweight of all time and a HW great.

Na, Holyfield is always mentioned over Bowe, I personally believe Bowe is damn overrated by some. The 90s was all about Holy and Tyson and then in the late 90s Lewis. Man, some of the wars he got himself into...when he could have boxed those guys, he was just immense. PED accusations with some quite hard to ignore evidence do let him down though. Holyfield owes his HW career to steroids, but he was still great. He never convincingly beat Bowe, was outclassed by Lewis, and would never have been able to beat a Klit. He has some good wins and fought on admirable (and stupidly). He also has some losses to good but not great opponents like Moorer. He is number 5 of my ATG list but I'm sure there would be many other opponents since he would have struggled with. His greatest achievement was against Tyson, whether he could have beaten other versions of Tyson when he was at his HW prime in say 92/93, is a good question. Still, that was one enormous achievement for a former CW, even if he was roided to the gills. The main reason he was such a tough one to beat was because not just because of his skills, athleticism and roids, but because of his solid chin. There's your appreciation!

One of the most underrated fighters ever. Lewis, Tyson, and Bowe get all the hype but Evander was the man! To stay relevant for so long at heavyweight without a hiatus like Foreman, speaks to how good he really was... Na, Holyfield is always mentioned over Bowe, I personally believe Bowe is damn overrated by some. The 90s was all about Holy and Tyson and then in the late 90s Lewis. Holyfield was a beast back in his days Man, some of the wars he got himself into...when he could have boxed those guys, he was just immense. PED accusations with some quite hard to ignore evidence do let him down though.

This is bizarre, one of the greatest fighters ever, one of the greatest and most entertaining heavyweight champions ever and...nothing. The guy just retired and there isn't even a thread, not one that I saw anyway. So let's make this the official appreciation/retirement thread for a true ATG, a term too oft used but rarely merited. Holyfield was a beast back in his days

Who did Bowe ever beat? Holyfield. Who did Holyfield ever beat? Bowe. :lol1: Neither Bowe nor Holyfield ever beat anybody else of note, unless you consider Hide and Donald good wins for Bowe, and faded old Tyson a good win for Holyfield. All they would need is each other compared to Wlad's resume. I say again what on Wlad's resume is better then Holyfield beating Bowe? Heck i'll even raise you another question. What ATG has Wlad ever even faced?