While many believe his signature wins came against Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield believes his “greatest night” arrived against a different opponent.
‘The Real Deal’ became a two-division world champion in 1990, dethroning James ‘Buster’ Douglas with a third-round finish to claim the WBC, IBF and WBA heavyweight titles.
He then made three successful defences before losing to ‘Big Daddy’ Bowe, who won their first encounter by unanimous decision in 1992.
The following year, Holyfield exacted his revenge by majority decision but would suffer an eighth-round stoppage defeat in their trilogy showdown two years later.
As for his two clashes with Tyson, Holyfield proved the more measured fighter on both occasions and won by 11th-round stoppage and a third-round disqualification in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
But while these victories over Bowe and ‘Iron’ Mike were defining moments of his career, the American has suggested that he was at his very best against Dwight Muhammad Qawi.
The pair collided for Qawi’s WBA world cruiserweight title in 1986, with Holyfield winning by split decision in a closely-contested 15-round battle.
Speaking with Boxing News, Holyfield placed this particular win ahead of those against Bowe and Tyson.
“I feel my greatest night in the ring was my fight against Dwight Muhammad Qawi. That was 15 rounds and, at the time, I had not gone past eight-rounds. And geez, that fight was like a marathon.
“To be tired in the fourth round, when there were still 11 rounds to go [laughs], it was a stressful time. And that guy [Qawi] was so cagey. He had a great defence and he threw lots of punches as well. That made it a really difficult fight.”
The two cruiserweights locked horns again in 1987, with Holyfield scoring a fourth-round finish to retain his WBA and IBF titles.
