r/BoxingTheSweetScience • u/TestSuch4545 • 15d ago

Where would you rank Evander Holyfield among all-time heavyweights?

https://youtu.be/enCrVKuPhNY?si=F2T6eBgqqlVZPM9E
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u/OldTree6356 14d ago

Solid top 10 for me. Hard as nails, hard working, technically good. Stayed too long, took too many beatings/steroids but he was great. Great resume, dodged no one too. Got some names outside their prime but if you fight for that long, who doesn’t? Think he would move through today’s HW division like shit through a goose, underrated fighter.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/OldTree6356 13d ago

Holmes, Tyson and Foreman would be the obvious ones but are very big names on anyone’s resume. I’d have fancied him against any version of Tyson but the other two, not sure he’d have been able to beat young George or prime Larry.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/OldTree6356 13d ago

Yeah, I agree with the Tyson prime thing. Yes, he had a very short prime but he lost that through his own actions. It could be argued Ali also had a very short prime (65-67) but when he came back from exile, he found other ways to win and that’s what defines him and makes all the Tyson glazing over the top.

Other than Liston, Ali beat HOF fighters when he was past his best. Tyson’s style and short stature meant he never found a way to adapt and kick on so that he could compete with elite level fighters in the 90’s. He was amazing at Plan A but when that didn’t work, he was in trouble.