Despite triumphing over several all-time heavyweight greats, including Mike Tyson and George Foreman, it was actually down at cruiserweight where Evander Holyfield believes that his best victory materialised.
His dominant 11th-round finish over Tyson, in particular, made for a striking spectacle in 1996, especially with Holyfield entering their clash as a sizable underdog.
It was in the following year that the infamous ear biting incident saw ‘Iron Mike’ suffer a second defeat to ‘The Real Deal’, this time via a third-round disqualification.
But while many favoured Tyson to knock him out the first time around, Holyfield had already established himself as a worthy contender after having claimed previous victories over the likes of Foreman and Riddick Bowe.
Foreman was, of course, coming towards the end of his illustrious career, but nonetheless became the oldest ever world heavyweight champion after losing to Holyfield in 1991.
According to Holyfield, though, it was just over seven years earlier that he secured a career-best victory over Dwight Muhammad Qawi. He cited it, in a column for The Guardian, as his greatest ever achievement.
“I have no idea how I got back to my hotel after beating Muhammad Qawi over 15 rounds – a fight I still consider the best victory of my career.
“My next memory was being in the shower and getting socked with a series of intensely painful cramps. Not just in my legs and back but my arms and even my neck. My head hurt, too, so bad I thought it was going to explode.”
Back in 1986, the two cruiserweights engaged in 15 rounds of non-stop action — one of the division’s greatest fights ever, with both men relentless in their pursuit of victory. The pair locked horns for a rematch one year later, when Holyfield engineered a fourth-round finish.
Qawi was a two-division world champion, winning titles at light heavyweight and cruiserweight, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest pressure fighters of his era. He was inducted into International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.
