Boxing legend Evander Holyfield went toe-to-toe with formidable opponents like Larry Holmes, Lennox Lewis, and Mike Tyson during his illustrious career. However, he claims that none of them - even 'Iron Mike' packed a punch quite like George Foreman.
Regarded as one of the all-time greats, Holyfield, 62, held the undisputed cruiserweight title in the late 1980s and the heavyweight title in the early 1990s. He remains the only four-time world heavyweight champion, boasting a record of 44-10-2 upon his retirement.
Throughout his journey, Holyfield faced some of the toughest boxers in history, including a unanimous decision win over Holmes in 1992 and a TKO victory against Tyson in 1996, which earned him the WBA title. Although he suffered a loss to Lewis in their 1999 rematch, Holyfield has revealed that Foreman's punches left a lasting impression.
In a 1991 bout, Holyfield faced Foreman, who was in the midst of a remarkable career resurgence. In an interview with ESNEWS, Holyfield confessed: "The guy that hit me the hardest was George Foreman. He hit me one time in the eleventh round, and I came back to the corner and I said 'did he knock all my teeth out? '" Despite Foreman's valiant effort, Holyfield emerged victorious via unanimous decision.
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Foreman would go on to achieve his goal of becoming the oldest champion in history just three years later. Despite the formidable punching power of Foreman, Holyfield managed to maintain his unbeaten record. However, he was knocked out a year later by Riddick Bowe. He managed to avenge this defeat in 1993 but had inconsistent results as he faced some of the most challenging fighters of his era in subsequent years.
In 2021, Holyfield came out of retirement for a one-off exhibition match but was shockingly knocked out in the first round by Vitor Belfort. Now, it seems he might be considering following in the footsteps of his old adversary Tyson and coming out of retirement once more.
Tyson, aged 58, is set to fight YouTube sensation Jake Paul in his first professional bout since 2005. The contentious match against Paul, who has a 10-1 record, is slated for November 15 and will be broadcast live on Netflix from the AT&T Stadium, with an expected audience of up to 90,000 fans.
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Holyfield, who infamously had a piece of his ear bitten off by Tyson during their 1997 rematch for the WBA title, reportedly expressed interest in participating in one of boxing's most unexpected rematches. Mams Taylor, co-president of Misfits boxing, revealed in a talkSPORT interview that Holyfield had explored the possibility of facing KSI (4-1), another YouTube star who has been at the forefront of influencer boxing.
However, Taylor stated that the promotion declined a fight with the 62 year old. "I know Holyfield contacted us about fighting KSI," he revealed.
"Again, we wouldn't do that. It needs to be two evenly-matched fighters at an even age. If it was Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield for all the money in the world we wouldn't do that. I think it's ironic because the cornerstone of Misfits Boxing is on a higher moral ground than some parts of traditional boxing."
