I Fought Riddick Bowe And Lennox Lewis And Know Who Would Have Won If They Had Faced Each Other

Evander Holyfield is one of only two fighters in boxing history to capture the undisputed championship at cruiserweight and heavyweight.

Shortly after his victory over Carlos de Leon in 1988 to capture the undisputed cruiserweight championship, ‘The Real Deal’ began his campaign at heavyweight which culminated in him defeating James ‘Buster’ Douglas in October 1990 to claim the WBC, WBA and IBF titles.

Holyfield made three successful defences of his crown, including wins against George Foreman and Larry Holmes, before he was eventually dethroned of his undisputed championship by Riddick Bowe in 1992. He went on to get his revenge over ‘Big Daddy’ exactly 1-year later, although their rematch was only contested for the WBA and IBF straps. The two would meet once more in 1995 where Holyfield would suffer his first ever stoppage defeat.

In an attempt to become a two-time undisputed champion, Holyfield clashed with Lennox Lewis in March 1999. After a cagey 12-rounds, the fight was declared a draw which meant ‘The Real Deal’ kept a hold of his WBA and IBF titles, setting up a rematch against Lewis that took place 8-months later. After another close encounter ‘The Lion’ prevailed to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Lewis and Bowe never met in the ring. It looked set to happen in 1992 when Lewis was made number one challenger for Bowe’s WBC belt, however, rather than take the fight, Bowe ‘binned the title’ for ‘business reasons’ and the clash never materialised.

In an interview with Boxing Social, Holyfield predicted what would have happened if they had faced each other and backed ‘Big Daddy’ to the get win.

“If they fought before got Emmanuel Steward, I think Riddick Bowe would’ve got him.”

Lewis partnered with the late-great Steward in 1994 shortly after ‘The Lion’ was defeated by Oliver McCall in a shock upset. The British legend got his revenge over McCall 3-years later, knocking him out in the 5th round to capture the vacant WBC heavyweight title.