Featured Articles
The Last Golden Age of the Heavyweights
With Riddick Bowe’s recent nomination to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, it seems like a perfect time to reassess the extraordinary era in which he fought. Not since the time of Ali, Frazier, and Foreman has there been such a superior group of fighters in the heavyweight division at one time. From the moment Mike Tyson blitzed Michael Spinks in 91 seconds on June 27, 1988 to Lennox Lewis’ very technical knockout of Vitali Klitschko on June 21, 2003, the marquee division in boxing was blessed with extraordinary depth.
Even the lesser lights of the era held genuine merit. Fighters like Rahman, Golota, Mercer, Morrison, Moorer, Douglas, Bruno, Ruddock, and remarkably, George Foreman (again!) are worthy of mention. If we’re being honest though, when the boxing time capsule gets opened in 100 years, there will be four men who will dominate the discussion by a deep and wide margin. The aforementioned Lewis, Tyson, and Bowe as well as the fearless Evander Holyfield.
So let’s get down to it. How do we sort them out? What shall follow in the remaining body of this article will probably induce fits of anger and potential hate mail–or at least some nasty comments for me to read later in abject terror—by those that should peruse what they find below.
But what the hell. Here we go. Let’s (and by “let’s” I mean “me”) rank the four standard bearers of the last golden age of the heavyweights.
Here. We. Go.
1) Lennox Lewis
This should be the least controversial choice. The massive ( 6’ 5, 245 pounds) and ridiculously skilled Brit had a remarkably dominant record sullied only by two shocking knockout losses to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman—both later avenged. Lewis became the WBC heavyweight champion in December of 1992 when then titleholder, Riddick Bowe, refused to face him. Aside from the two upset defeats to McCall and Rahman, Lewis wasn’t just winning fights during his peak, he was outclassing and surgically brutalizing his opponents. Blessed with a long left arm that housed an anvil on the end of a pristine jab and a massive right hand that could shake foundations, Lewis went 19-2-1 after becoming a belt holder with 13 wins by knock out.
While Bowe ducked Lewis, Tyson and Holyfield did not. Both paid for it.
In their first bout, Lewis out landed Holyfield 348 to 130. Somehow, in a decision so egregious it makes Pacquiao-Bradley 1 look like it was judged by sages—the fight was scored a draw. Oddly enough, when the two fought again just eight months later, Holyfield acquitted himself better, but lost a well-reasoned unanimous decision. In truth, neither fight was particularly close statistically or by the eye test. Holyfield’s indomitable will may have kept him upright, but it didn’t keep him from getting beat up. Holyfield was never the same after their rematch, finishing his career 8-6-1, against often less than stellar competition.
Tyson fared even worse. After seven rounds of what commentator, George Foreman (he’s everywhere!), called “batting practice,” Lewis finally dispatched Tyson in the final minute of the 8th round with a vicious right hand up the middle. With that menacing blow, Lewis didn’t just end the fight, he extinguished Tyson’s relevance. Tyson became a shot fighter as soon as he hit the canvas.
Lewis didn’t just beat two great fighters, he effectively ended them.
While Lewis may have been the best of the four fighters, he may have been the least popular. His often gentile English manner seldom played well in the most macho of athletic endeavors, and his occasional passivity could frustrate even the most dogged of skill loving fight fans. Who can forget his trainer, the late, great Emanuel Steward, all but threatening to put a hit on Lewis if he didn’t exit his stool in the 4th and knock Rahman out in their rematch? Which Lewis did, with malice.
Still, as bland a personality—if you don’t believe me, just recall his days commentating for HBO (better yet, don’t)—as he may have been and the lack of aggression he at times exhibited in the ring, Lewis is the clear, if not personally popular, top of a very impressive heap. Bowe dodged him, Holyfield was well handled, and Tyson was crushed by him. Throw in a number of exceptional performances against next tier fighters and there is no logical argument I can think of to counter his pole position. It’s also worth noting that of the four champions on this list, Lewis was the only one who left the game at just the right time. Holyfield and Tyson undoubtedly stayed too long and Bowe most certainly left too early.
2) Evander Holyfield
Perhaps the biggest heart and the truest warrior of the bunch. Evander Holyfield is the only one of these great heavyweights to fight all of the other three. Besides Holyfield’s two bouts with Lewis, he had an epic triptych with Bowe and two memorable—and how—skirmishes with Tyson.
The least physically imposing of the four, Holyfield actually began his career as a light heavyweight before moving up to cruiserweight—perhaps the greatest ever at that class—and finally to heavyweight in his 19th professional bout against James “Quick” Tillis, which Holyfield won when Tillis refused to get off his stool after the 5th.
Holyfield took the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles by vanquishing Buster Douglas with a 3rd round KO in Douglas’ first fight after his all-time upset of Mike Tyson just eight months earlier. Holyfield then took two less than impressive unanimous decisions over the aging Foreman and a near shot Larry Holmes with a 7th round TKO of journeyman Bert Cooper wedged in between. There were many who questioned Holyfield’s bona fides as a world champion when he entered the ring against Riddick Bowe on November 13, 1992. He would answer those questions, and then some.
In an extraordinary 12 round slugfest where Holyfield was out landed, out skilled, and at times nearly out period, the champion withstood a brutal barrage from the challenger. The fight is perhaps best known for a 10th round that rivaled Ward-Gatti (pick a round) in its ferocity and momentum shifts. Bowe dominated the early portion of the round and seemed as if he had Holyfield out on his feet. Then in what can only be described as a full force gale of will power and spirit, Holyfield rallied and had Bowe in deep trouble when the bell rang. While Bowe would go on to win a clear decision, no one you could ever take seriously would again doubt Holyfield’s mettle.
Their rematch just one week shy of a full year later was nearly as good, and better if you were Holyfield. Their second fight was also a classic, going the distance once again, this time with a bit of the bizarre thrown in when a parachutist descended onto the ring in the 7th round and a melee ensued. Bowe’s wife passed out at ringside and the “Fan Man”–as he became known–took a serious beating in Bowe’s corner from fans, security, and a member of Bowe’s entourage. It’s still the strangest thing I’ve ever seen while watching a sporting event of any kind. Perhaps understandably, Holyfield kept his composure better than Bowe and then fended off a late rally from the champion to take a majority decision and hand Bowe the only loss of his career.
As one would hope, there was a rubber match between the two well-matched pugilists a year and a half later. In the interim, Holyfield had suffered an upset loss by majority decision to Michael Moorer before taking a unanimous decision over Ray Mercer. Their final fight would be the only one to not go the distance. Suffering from hepatitis, Holyfield appeared gassed going into the 6th when in another incredible moment in their trilogy, he summoned from some ocean deep well of reserve and knocked Bowe off his feet. Unfortunately, Bowe got up and when he did, he took over the fight, closing the show in the 8th by knocking Holyfield down twice and forcing the hand of referee, Joe Cortez, who stopped the fight after Holyfield just beat the ten count. It was a fine stoppage and one hell of a way to end their journey together.
After three such punishing fights, one might have expected Holyfield to fade. One would be wrong.
A Holyfield-Tyson match was made once Tyson completed his three year sentence from a rape conviction and got back in the ring. Tyson fought four times after his incarceration, going just eight rounds in the process, scoring three early knock outs and one victory by disqualification. Nearly six full years after defeating the only man to beat Mike Tyson–Buster Douglas—Holyfield got his shot at the man himself. Billed as “Finally,” the fight began with Tyson roaring out of his corner and pressuring Holyfield from the outset. There were still many who assumed Tyson would roll through Holyfield. I still recall Sylvester Stallone on Late Night with David Letterman saying Holyfield was “made” for Tyson. Rocky Balboa was not the only one who thought so. Again, one would be wrong.
By the second half of the fight, Holyfield began to dominate in a way that few would have expected–with his strength. Holyfield pushed Tyson all over the ring, seemingly sapping the shorter man of his stamina. While Tyson had his moments through the first 6 rounds, Holyfield owned all that came after. Holyfield put Tyson down in the 6th and had him reeling in the 10th when the bell rang. The 11th offered more of the same and the fight was correctly stopped as Holyfield began to pour it on an increasingly defenseless Tyson. It may be hard to believe this now, but at the time it was considered an upset of historic proportions. It was perhaps Holyfield’s finest moment. Their follow up would be history making as well, just not in the way anyone might have expected.
When the two took to the ring seven months later, what followed was both shocking and embarrassing to the sport of boxing. Frustrated by an accidental head butt in round two, Tyson came out of his corner enraged in round three. He spat out his mouth piece and once in a clinch with the champion, he bit into his ear, taking off an inch of cartilage which he then expelled onto the ring floor. As wild as that moment was, what came next was even stranger still. Referee Mills Lane halted the bout and instead of disqualifying Tyson immediately, he called over the ring doctor who ruled that Holyfield could continue. For his part, Holyfield was basically okay with continuing. Alright, I take it back. I’ve convinced myself. This was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen watching a sporting event. To hell with the parachute.
When the fight resumed, Tyson doubled down on his cannibalistic tendencies and bit Holyfield again. Seeing that Tyson’s hunger for Holyfield’s lobes would continue unabated, this time Lane stopped the fight and disqualified Tyson. They would not fight again, but in two bouts, Holyfield had not only removed Tyson’s aura of invincibility, but accelerated a descent into madness and increasingly extreme behavior.
Holyfield would then go on to avenge his loss to Moorer before his two fights with Lewis ended his peak. Holyfield was by no means the most skilled of the four fighters. Nor was he the biggest puncher. But during his first 11 years as a heavyweight he fought an amazing 23 times against top flight competition and almost never was a second of it boring. He was the toughest of customers. I cannot think of one other real life fighter who better fit Ivan Drago’s description of Rocky Balboa in Rocky 4, “He’s not human, he’s like a piece of iron.” Indeed, he was.
3) Riddick Bowe
4) Mike Tyson
And here’s where I get into trouble. I’m sure there are many out there who think I’m insane for picking Bowe over Tyson. However, I think the important thing to do when making this judgment is to remove how one might feel about the reign of “Iron” Mike Tyson and examine the record with cold investigative efficiency. For me, it comes down to this, give me the name of the one great heavyweight Mike Tyson ever beat?
I’ve scoured his record and I’ve got nothing. Oh sure, he blitzed Michael Spinks in 91 seconds, delivering unto him the only loss of his career. Spinks was a great fighter…at light heavyweight. Spinks smartly picked just the right time to go up a weight class to fight a fading Larry Holmes, whom he defeated in two close—and in the case of the second fight, highly questionable—decisions. Spinks fought two more times as a heavyweight against the less than memorable, Steffen Tangstad, and “The Great White Hope,” Gerry Cooney. While he scored knock out wins against both, those two victories don’t do much to burnish the legacy. Nor does his deer in the headlights performance against Tyson. No matter how you look at it, Spinks was the smartest match making, puffed up light heavyweight until Roy Jones Jr. fought John Ruiz.
Tyson’s other great “name” victory was over an all but fully calcified 38-year-old, Larry Holmes, whom he quickly and appropriately dispatched in the fourth round.
That’s it. There is no one else. An over the hill champion and a light in the shorts Michael Spinks. Beyond that, we do have a number of wins against world class B+ level fighters like Trevor Berbick, Pinklon Thomas, the Tony’s Tucker and Tubbs, Frank Bruno, “Razor” Ruddock, and Bruce Seldon. Good fighters, one and all. Not one great one. Not a single one.
Tyson did fight two great fighters. Lewis and Holyfield. He went zero for three, not even seeing the final round in any of the bouts.
This is where the argument for Bowe begins to take shape. Bowe also had a number of wins against B+ fighters as well. Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, and Bruce Seldon were all common opponents. Bowe retired Thomas in the 8th, defeated Tubbs by unanimous decision, and knocked Seldon out in the first. He also TKO’d former champ Michael Dokes in a single round. Tyson TKO’d Thomas in the 6th, Seldon in the 1st, and Tubbs in the 2nd. You can give Tyson a slight advantage there.
As well, Tyson had more total quality wins over B+ level fighters. So for the moment, Tyson would seem to be in the lead. However, there are two places where Bowe separates himself. First, he has no bad losses in his career. Only Holyfield’s majority decision in their second bout stains his record. Whereas Tyson at his most formidable, lost to Buster Douglas. A highly skilled big man (the type who always gave him trouble), who for one night put his hands into his gloves and discovered magic residing within. As talented as Douglas was, no one will ever confuse him with greatness. Although I will concede he had a great night in Tokyo on February 11, 1990 when he pulled off what was then considered the greatest upset in heavyweight history.
I don’t want to make too much of Tyson’s losses in his final two bouts against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. He was but a carcass then. They do exist though.
More importantly, when making the decision between Bowe and Tyson, I come back to the main point. Who did they beat? And when it comes to A+ guys, Tyson has nothing and Bowe has two legendary wins over Evander Holyfield. A man that Tyson fought twice, got hammered by once, and left the ring in disgrace on the other occasion. I simply can’t square away taking a fighter with a loss to Buster Douglas and no truly great wins in his career over a man who has no underwhelming losses and two genuinely special victories against an all-time great.
Obviously, it would be helpful if they had fought each other. While that is not the case, is there anyone who saw Tyson get manhandled by Lewis, strafed by Holyfield, and knocked out by a journeyman named Buster Douglas who would want to place a bet on Tyson against Bowe? I wouldn’t. Not a chance.
I’m sure there are many who would. So many of us (I know, I was one of those guys) got caught up in the Tyson comet that came through burning hot and cleaned up a porous division until other, better fighters came along. But come along they did. They had names. They were called Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, and yes, Riddick Bowe. If you remove emotion and sentiment, I simply don’t know how you order the list any differently. In fact, I’m sure you can’t.
Featured Articles
The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
PRESS RELEASE — CANASTOTA, NY – DECEMBER 5, 2024 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum is thrilled to announce the newest class of inductees to be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend June 5-8, 2025 in “Boxing’s Hometown” Canastota, NY.
The Class of 2025 includes Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Paz and Michael “Second To” Nunn in the Men’s Modern category; Yessica “Kika” Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis and Mary Jo Sanders in the Women’s Modern category; Cathy “Cat” Davis in the Women’s Trailblazer category; referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous) and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous) in the Non-Participant category; broadcaster / journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg in the Observer category; Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category.
Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians.
“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2025 and are very much looking forward to honoring the newest class of inductees to earn boxing’s highest honor,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8th in “Boxing’s Hometown.” Many events will take place in Canastota and nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino throughout the four-day celebration including ringside talks, fist casting, fight night, 5K race / fun run, boxing autograph card show, banquet, parade and induction ceremony.
For more information on the 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, please call (315) 697-7095.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta
The annals of boxing abound with iconic rematches, and there’s a good chance that list will get longer after this Saturday in Phoenix’s Footprint Center with Top Rank’s ESPN card featuring Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) versus Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) and Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs, against Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs).
Valdez’s ties to the local area and multiple Arizona appearances give his bout against Navarrete top billing, but WBO featherweight titlist Espinoza’s initial encounter with Ramirez was the better bout the first time around, deemed Fight and Upset of the Year by many observers.
That’s not to say Navarrete-Valdez 1 didn’t hold plenty of drama as Navarrete captured the WBO junior lightweight belt with a relatively widespread unanimous decision. Valdez got himself into an immediate bind in the first fight by walking into Navarrete’s jab, enabling Navarrete to score early with looping right leads from his six-inch reach advantage. Valdez’s corner implored him to stay patient but it seemed there was no avoiding a firefight that played into Navarette’s always busy hands.
By round 3 Valdez’s face was heavily marked and often on the defensive, waiting to establish an offense that never fully arrived. Though he scored with some big shots down the stretch, his swollen right eye closed by the 9th frame and the eventual outcome seemed obvious.
“I know there’s a lot of pride at stake in a Mexico versus Mexico battle,” said Navarrete. “I believe this will be an even better fight than before because we’re familiar with each other. I know I have to push Valdez to his limits.”
“I made mistakes the first time, the biggest one was trying to knock him out,” reflected Valdez. “I still have a few fights left in me, not everyone gets a second chance. I know what I needed to train for (this time) and I’ll make the most of it.”
Offense was never a problem for either Espinoza or Ramirez, who traded knockdowns in a give-and-take affair that might have gone either way. It was the gloved-up version of mongoose versus cobra as two time Olympic gold medalist Ramirez charged in behind blurring punches up the middle while the much taller Espinoza fired shoulder level combinations. In this case, it was the underdog cobra who triumphed.
Three days from first bell an unofficial consensus of online odds listed the previous winners as favorites, Espinoza by a hair and Navarrete by a solid margin. While the initial winners may still have an edge, that all disappears after the bell, and previous action indicates a pair of pick-em contests isn’t unlikely.
Boxing history is also full of tie-breaking trilogies, too. It wouldn’t be a big surprise if that’s what we’re looking at again in both these cases.
Adding to the electric atmosphere in Phoenix are a solid batch of undercard extras featuring multiple first-rate performers that should get the audience more than ready for the night’s headliners.
Top Rank junior welterweight prospect Lindolfo Delgado, 21-0 (15) from Nuevo Leon, meets skilled Dominican Jackson Marinez, 22-3 (10) in a contest that could qualify as main event worthy in many locales.
Undefeated southpaw heavyweight Richard Torrez, Jr, who earned the silver medal in that division for the USA at the 2020 Olympics faces off against Mexican big boy Issac Munoz Gutierrez, 18-1-1 (15) who reportedly packs a respectable wallop. None of Torrez’s pro opponents have made it to the final bell.
San Diego’s highly ranked welterweight title challenger Giovani Santillan, 31-1 (17) faces Fredrick Lawson of Ghana, 30-5 (22). Lawson has dropped his last two outings but that was against good opposition and he won’t be an easy test.
21 year-old DJ Zamora, a hot prospect at 13-0 (9) from Las Vegas meets experienced Roman Reynoso, 22-5-2 (10), from Argentina and emerging new stablemate Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, 11-0 (7), who recently signed a long term Top Rank contract faces Gerardo Antonio Perez, 12-6-1 (3).
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
R.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46
Israel Vazquez, a three-time world champion at 122 pounds and one of the most crowd-pleasing prizefighters of any era, has passed away at the age of 46. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed the bad news today (Dec. 3) on his social media platform.
Born on Christmas Day 1977, Vazquez began his pro career in his native Mexico City at age 17. He was 16 fights into his pro career when he made his U.S. debut in El Cajon, California, under the management of Frank Espinoza.
Vazquez is most remembered for his four-fight rivalry with fellow Mexico City native Rafael Marquez.
The first two meetings were contested before small crowds in Carson, California, and Hidalgo, Texas.
Marquez won the first meeting thanks to a left hook that broke Vazquez’s nose in the opening round. The nose swelled to the point that Vazquez, who was making the fourth defense of his WBC super bantamweight title, could no longer breathe and he was all done after seven rounds.
Vazquez won the rematch (TKO 6), setting the stage for a rubber match that would be a fight for the ages. The bout, contested on March 1, 2008 at the soccer stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, was a shoo-in for Fight of the Year, earning that accolade from the BWAA, The Ring magazine and others.
Vazquez pulled that fight out of the fire in the final round, knocking Marquez to the canvas to win a split decision. Ron Borges, writing for this publication, wrote, “they knocked pieces off each other that could never be fully reattached.”
That was true of the detached retina in Vazquez’s right eye. It would require multiple surgeries before Vazquez, nicknamed “El Magnifico,” fought again and the eye would eventually be replaced by a prosthetic.
Their fourth meeting, contested before a celebrity-studded crowd at LA’s Staples Center, was anticlimactic. Vazquez, damaged goods, was stopped in the third round and never fought again.
All four meetings were televised on Showtime which celebrated the rivalry in 2015, airing highlights from all four fights on March 7 of that year. TSS West Coast Bureau Chief David A. Avila, looking back at the series, wrote, “[It was] 28 rounds of the most scientifically brutal and awe-inspiring prizefighting at an elite level.” Avila would also call Israel Vazquez one of the sport’s greatest gentlemen, a class act, as evinced in his energetic handshake whenever meeting a new fan.
Vazquez used his ring earnings to open a boxing gym in the Greater Los Angeles City of South Gate.
Vazquez’s passing wasn’t unexpected. Mauricio Sulaiman announced last month that Vazquez had been diagnosed with Stage IV Sarcoma, a particularly virulent strain of cancer and along with Oscar Valdez and Top Rank, established a GoFundMe account to defray his medical expenses. Today, Sulaiman wrote, “Israel Vazquez is finally resting in peace. May God give strength and support to his wife Laura, their children, family and friends during these difficult times.”
We here at TSS share that sentiment and send our condolences.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Remembering the Macho Man, Hector Camacho, a Great Sporting Character
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
The Hauser Report: Some Thoughts on Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Avila Perspective, Chap. 304: Mike Tyson Returns; Latino Night in Riyadh
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Boots and Bam Win in Philly
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Golden Boy in Riyadh Results: Zurdo Ramirez Unifies Cruiserweight Titles
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Boxing Odds and Ends: Oscar Collazo, Reimagining ‘The Ring’ Magazine and More
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Say It Ain’t So: Oliver McCall Returns to the Ring Next Week
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
The Davis Brothers Hit the Trifecta in Their Norfolk Homecoming