How well does Holyfield do in this era of heavys?

[Rustyjaguar]

I think he would beat everybody but Wlad. Fury and Haye would have a chance to beat him but I favor Holyfield. In his prime he threw 100 punches a round and had a very good chin plus speed and skill and power. Wilder is too sloppy and clumsy and Mr. bomb squad would get bombed out. Holyfield would be a hard fight even for Wlad.

really he said Fury? Holyfield would work Fury. Take his heart.

[Rustyjaguar]

Vitali's chin is good but let's not get carried away. He didn't fight much good opposition during his career. His chin did hold up when he was hit by a couple guys with power but he wasn't fighting a murder's row of punchers were his chin was being constantly battle tested.

You only know if a chin is good or not is when it gets tested
Wlad's has proven his chin is complete glass when it was tested vs punchers

Hasim Rahman took everything Sanders could throw for 3-4 rounds and then came back to KO him. Wlad's chin shattered on contact from Sanders fists.

The guy has only gone on so long because he fights stiffs and the few dangerous guys he refuses to engage with and jumps all over their backs when they get close to him.

exactly. Vitali never fought a sharp combo puncher like Holyfield. He would eventually wear down Vitali too.

[beez721]

I remember Bowe touching the canvas in Holy's last stand and then getting splattered on the ropes taking sledgehammers.

Maybe you need to rewatch the fight a few more times to see what really happened.

holyfield looked like a shot fighter that night. bowe looked sloppy as well. holyfield did drop and hurt bowe but didn't have the energy to stop him. he was only fighting in spurts and was dead exhausted when bowe caught him walking into a shot. I believe he overtrained for that fight

[deanrw]

Fantastic fighter, he would have done very well now. The Evan Fields controversy taints him though, which is sad.

[mick1303]

That jaw doesn't matter when you're getting roughed up on the inside for 12 rounds. Holyfield would use his head also... could cause a tit head like in the Rahman fight. Vitali stands a better chance than Wlad but I'd still ride with Holyfield in that fight. Holyfield could get a Chris Byrd stoppage also lol.

In order to use his head on Vitaly, Holyfield would have to jump ))

[KnockoutNed]

well,,,,rahman didn't walk into that straight left as wlad did. wlad also caught sanders head as well. I don't think rahmans chin was any or much better than wlads and his defense certainly wasn't as good. wlad was purely an offensive fighter when he fought sanders before steward got him to fight tall

Rahman took far more hard clean blows from Sanders than Wlad did. His chin simply held up were Wlad's chin shattered. This is pretty much irrefutable evidence that Rahman's chin was better.

[billeau2]

Holyfield is a guy that doesn't get as much respect as he deserves. From 1984-2001 he had a victory or a draw over every fighter he had faced which included the like of: Qawi 2x, Bowe 3x Tyson 2x, Lewis 2x, Moorer 2x Foreman, Holmes etc. Wins over 16 world champions and had 11 fights vs hall of famers.

Imagine Prime Holyfield vs 39 yr old Wlad, Wilder, Fury, Povetkin, Joshua, Stiverne, Jennings, Pulev, Glazkov, Cunningham etc..

He would have beaten all those guys very easily and would have become undisputed.

When he first entered the big boys division for years everyone referred to him as a blown up cruiser.

If one looks at Evander objectively he has speed, a first rate chin, but his greatest asset that would really make him dominant is his activity level. Holyfield was able to swarm in Armstrong like fashion. He wore down opposition consistantly. I can't see most of this era able to deal with this level of activity because even if Evander gets cracked occasionally he has those whiskers of stone.

There is one more interesting thing about Holyfield. He is a very aggressive fighter who prefers to mix it up, but....when he wanted to make a statement he also showed that he is one of the most coachable, adaptable fighters: In beating Bowe he was told by his corner to box and not engage, which is how he won the fight he took from Bowe. When he fought Tyson he was also instructed to proceed a certain way in pushing Tyson back on his heels, which he was able to do despite the desire to just mix it up.

[SeekDaGreat]

Holyfield could box you up, or sit in the pocket with you and slug it out. He would own this era. He damn near owned this era in his 40's, when he was shot to bits.

[billeau2]

Evander would knock Haye out on the way to the ring to beat the hell out of either Klitz brother!
His work rate alone would leave them bewildered, he isn't like their "tradiontional" opponents who just stand in front of them and try to reach out to them. A prime Evander used a double and triple jab and would move off Wlads shoulder then step in with combinations. Wlad would fold likre a bad book and that glass glittered chin would be spread all over the canvas.

There is NOTHING Wlad does better than Evander did, except be tall!!!!

I'm talking about a PRIME Evander not the guy picking up the pennies who fought the "circus" strongmen that Wlad made a career fighting.
This is THE worst era for heavies, the talent wasn't any better in the 50's but atleast those men came to win, the guys today want to survive so their happy that the clinching and holding goes on and on........A young in prime Evander has a clear view at the top and after about 3 years
would be bored out of his mind.
Imagine the sound that these oversized slow motion heavies would make as they topple to the canvas floor......... by Holyfield.

Ray.

I actually found a clip of Evander going through the Klits and the rest of the comp....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSaDPc1Cs5U&feature=related

[beez721]

Rahman took far more hard clean blows from Sanders than Wlad did. His chin simply held up were Wlad's chin shattered. This is pretty much irrefutable evidence that Rahman's chin was better.

I don't recall rahman walking into the straight left?? I'll have to watch it again but I doubt very much that rahman would have dealt with that shot/clash of heads any better than wlad. wlad was done after that shot and the other kd's were a reflection of that big first shot. he never recovered