Why Holyfield Always Believed He Would Beat Tyson

By Scoop Malinowski

Evander Holyfield somehow ALWAYS knew he had Mike Tyson’s number.

As far back as 1983, when both were still amateurs and before Holyfield won the Olympic bronze medal at 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Mike Tyson and Holyfield had a little-known sparring session.

“Mike was 17 Evander 21 . They wanted to see Mike under pressure. Cus D’Amato, Tyson’s manager wanted Holyfield, knowing he would give Mike some trouble. Mike told Evander, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t go all out old man…’ That is from Evander’s mouth to my ears at a lunch. Evander got pissed off. When the bell rang Holyfield hit Mike with a three-punch combination. Mike legs buckled in the corner. Kevin Rooney stopped the 30-second sparring session. This stayed in Mike’s head. And he was not scared but petrified of Evander. The only reason he fought Evander in 1996 was because Bowe stopped Evander in their last fight and Evander looked mediocre vs Bobby Czyz in his most recent fight. Evander looked washed up. However he was sick with hepatitis A which drained him early. But $30 million is $30 million. Big Mike mistake! When Evander took off his robe in the ring Mike looked at a corner man and said what the fuck is going on?”

Holyfield’s low-key humility and quiet confidence did not convince the media which were captured under the spell of Tysonmania.

In late 1987, while still a cruiserweight champion and fresh off a win vs Ossie Ocasio – and Tyson was at the height of his powers terrorizing the heavyweight division (he just KOed Tyrell Biggs) – Holyfield was asked in a Ring Magazine interview for his thoughts of his future arch-rival and revealed respect but also some profound flaws he knew he could exploit. “Tyson has proved that he is rugged and tough. He fights with everything he has. As a fighter with a heart, he shows me a lot. However, as far as boxing ability is concerned, he doesn’t show me much. But he comes to win. I think he would be a good fight for me because I know my heart would be into the fight. I just hope nobody else don’t bust his bubble before I get a chance.”

By 1996, not many ring observers took Holyfield’s analysis of Tyson seriously and when their long awaited showdown was set, oddsmakers calculated Holyfield as a 22-1 underdog.

Holyfield made it clear how confident he was as the long shot underdog, even advising boxing fans at the final press conference “to bet their mortgage” on him.

Another Holyfield reasonable and persuasive analysis of Tyson at the press conference actually enraged Mike. “Tyson might frighten you (media) but he doesn’t scare me. This is my game, my trade. I’ve been everywhere he has… except prison. You can’t just outbox him, you have got to be prepared to fight. The point is, to beat a guy like that, you’ve got to fight him to get his respect, and then box him. If he puts you in a corner, you have to fight, if you have space, then you can box. You have to do both. And if a guy can’t fight, he’s not going to win. I’m ready for November 9th, I want to be champion of the world again. Everybody hypes Tyson up to be the man. We all know what fear is but Tyson knows he’s going in with a guy who isn’t afraid of him. He knows I’ve been through a lot of adversity, same as him. But all big punchers are affected then they get hit. They’re used to doing the hitting and I don’t think  Tyson’s the sort of guy to get up when he goes down.” At this point, Tyson, seated on the same dais just a few yards away, got up and raged at his challenger. “You got nothing coming on Nov. 9, nothing! I’m going to enjoy this fight. I can’t wait till Nov. 9th.”

Holyfield beat Tyson twice and established his heavyweight supremacy.