Tyson-Holyfield I

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Poster publicizing the 9 November, 1996, Holyfield-Tyson I fight, dubbed Finally.
Poster publicizing the 9 November, 1996, Holyfield-Tyson I fight, dubbed Finally.

Tyson-Holyfield I or Tyson vs Holyfield I, also billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson on November 9, 1996 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The referee officiating the fight was Mitch Halpern. The bout was the first fight pitting the two boxers against each other and it would be followed up with a subsequent rematch.

Tyson was defending his Undisputed World Heavyweight Boxing Champion title against Holyfield, who was in the fourth fight of his comeback to boxing after retiring in 1994 following the loss of his undisputed championship to 24-year old Michael Moorer, by a 12-round unanimous decision. It was said that boxing promoter Don King and others saw Holyfield, the former champion, who was 34 at the time of the fight and a huge underdog, as a washed up fighter.[1]

[edit] The Fight

As usual, Tyson came out fast, and when he sent Holyfield reeling with his first solid punch, it seemed the fight would end quickly. Holyfield kept his composure, though, at the end of the round Tyson threw a punch after the bell, Holyfield retialiated at the end of the round with a punch of his own showing no intimidation from Tyson. In the second, Holyfield drove Tyson into the ropes and stung him with a hard combination, and his strategy for the match began to become clear. As Tyson mainly threw one punch at a time, Holyfield blocked the first attack, then used his strength to clinch, and shove Tyson backwards. Keeping Tyson on the back foot minimized his power and affected his balance, and gave Holyfield the opportunity to come forward and score with combinations to the head.

As the rounds passed, Tyson was unable to adjust, and found himself being thoroughly outboxed. In the fifth round, Tyson landed a fierce combination, his best of the match, and Holyfield did not stagger. In the sixth, a headbutt from Holyfield (judged accidental by Halpern) opened a cut over Tyson's left eye, and Tyson also suffered a knockdown, as Holyfield caught him off balance coming in. Tyson was hurt. Tyson was being slowly broken down and demoralised, and he had no answer to Holyfield's dominance. At the end of the tenth round, a punch from Holyfield sent Tyson staggering across the ring. Holyfield chased him into the ropes and landed a series of devastating blows. By the sound of the bell, Tyson was out on his feet and defenseless, but his corner allowed him out for the eleventh. Holyfield quickly landed another brutal extended combination, sending Tyson back into the ropes.

Halpern had seen enough, and he stopped the fight, giving Holyfield one of the most famous upset victories in the history of boxing. [2] Holyfield also became the first person since Muhammad Ali to win a heavyweight championship belt three times, although, unlike Ali, Holyfield's third championship win had not been for the "lineal" heavyweight title,[3] which was at that time held by George Foreman.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cohen, Andrew., Evander Holyfield: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves, What is Enlightenment Magazine, Issue #15 - 1999, Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  2. ^ Shetty, Sanjeev., Holyfield makes history, BBC Sports, 2001-12-26, Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
  3. ^ A lineal champion is a champion who defeats the previous holder of the championship in a title fight; giving a clearcut line of succession of the championship title. - The Cyber Boxing Zone Lineal World Champions,Cyberboxingzone.com, Retrieved on 2007-04-17.

[edit] External links

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