Legendary Fights: Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman

The Battle of the Ages

I remember watching this fight as a teenager. There is one thing about this fight that I've never forgotten. The amount of punishment that these two men inflicted on each other was like something from a Rocky movie. Holyfield later said, "It felt like I was being hit by railroad ties." The fight went the 12 round distance and incredibly neither man ever went down. Even as a youngster I knew I was watching greatness. It was everything you could hope for when watching a fight for the heavyweight title. 

Foreman was considerably slower than Holyfield, but when Big George hit him the effects were undeniable. The two men continued round after round to rock each other. Normal fighters would have gone down, but these two guys and this fight, was far from normal. Fights such as this one can take years off of a fighter's career. Both Foreman and Holyfield would go on to rewrite the record books. 

The Fight

Evander Holyfield 

This was Holyfield's first defense of the heavyweight championship. Holyfield had taken Mike Tyson's belts away from Buster Douglas. Holyfield didn't have to take on Big George, but I think he wanted to take on a big heavyweight to prove all doubters wrong. Holyfield had moved up to heavyweight and he was legit. Michael Dokes had hit him with some hard shots in their fight, but it was nothing compared to the punches he'd take against Foreman. There were some good possible heavyweight matches that weren't being made. Holyfield wanted to be a great champion that took on all comers. He always fought the next man up and took on the toughest opponents. Most fighters would not have taken Big George as their first title defense, but Evander did and gave us one of the best fights in boxing history 

George Foreman

Big George was never going to get his title shot as long as Mike Tyson was champion. Tyson was not going to fight Foreman. His handlers had been told upon George's comeback not to fight him. It was a horrible match up for Tyson. It wasn't just Mike Tyson. Big George had trouble getting guys to fight him. At one point a decade earlier George was thought to be unbeatable. He'd find out against Muhammad Ali that he was invincible. That did something to him at that point in his career, but it made him what he'd become in the second part. Holyfield was giving him what he wanted. He had another shot to become heavyweight champion again. George had beaten everyone he'd faced, and that list of names wasn't all-world-beaters. None of them were on the same level with undefeated Evander Holyfield. Finally Foreman had a quality opponent in front of him. That made for one helluva fight. 

Broner Wants Another Shot at Porter - Porter Wants His Shot at Money

Floyd Mayweather wants Broner vs Porter 2 on his September card. He also wants Keith Thurman to take on Errol Spence on it too. Broner went to Twitter and Instagram saying the fight was on. According to Ken Porter there is not going to be a rematch. Shawn Porter just beat Adrien Broner and Team Porter wants Floyd Mayweather. Marcos Maidana beat Broner and got his shot. Beating Broner isn't an automatic bid for Mayweather, but I think Porter has done enough for a shot.

It appears that Floyd will be fighting either Andre Berto or Karim Mayfield in the main event. Floyd has two guys in Thurman and Porter that want to fight him. Yet he wants them to fight on his September card. The card would be a great one, but the best card would be him fighting Thurman or Porter in the main event. Both men have earned a shot and so has undefeated Kell Brook, but that fight is not going to happen. 

There is no doubt that Floyd will get it his way, or so close it will be considered his way. He has won every fight he's been in and has punched his own ticket. He can fight whoever he wants, and if it's a loaded card and people buy it he can brag about how he sold a fight against Andre Berto or Karim Mayfield. History won't necessarily point out that the viewers wanted to see the under card fights. Mayweather fights, who he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. 

I know Floyd fans will be happy with whoever he fights. Boxing fans in general want more. The people who've paid for his fights deserve to see him fight someone who can at least challenge him. I truly believe that both Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman could both give him a fight that fans could appreciate. There is no reason to fight the two irrelevant fighters that Floyd has his sights on. He needs to fulfill the Showtime contract with a bang.  

Keith Thurman Doesn't Want Mayweather to Duck Him

Why Would Floyd Mayweather Duck Keith Thurman?

There doesn't seem like there would be a reason for TBE to duck anyone. Floyd has beaten every fighter he's faced and only a couple of his 48 fights were even close. Not only has he not been beaten, but he's barely even been tested. From a pure boxing standpoint there'd be no logical reason to assume Floyd would duck anyone. He beat the fighters that we expected him to beat, and he beat fighters that were thought to have a chance against him. Those we weren't sure about. Floyd was either too fast or too strong for everyone he faced.

So there doesn't seem to be any reason why Floyd shouldn't fight Thurman. Except... Floyd thinks that Errol Spence should fight Thurman, or that Shawn Porter should fight him. Why does Floyd not fight the next man up? Keith Thurman has done nothing but prove he's worthy of a shot at TBE. There are those who say it would be too early in Thurman's career for such a great fighter, but he's earned the shot. Both fighters are ranked in the P4P Top 10. The next fight should be Thurman, but it appears Floyd doesn't want to fight him.

If Not Thurman, Then Who's Next?

Floyd's style is not crowd pleasing. Only the die hard fans seem to be able to appreciate his style. He does hold a lot on the inside, but make no mistake about it he does fight. Selling the next fight might not be that easy. The possible names he's thrown around for his September fight are not fighters I'd pay for. I've bought every fight since the Oscar fight. Following the Porter-Broner fight Floyd said he was going to fight one of two guys, Andre Berto or Karim Mayfield. I would not pay to see him fight either one of those fighters.How does he expect to sell a fight against either of them?

Floyd is a business man and he knows what makes sense. To fight Berto or Mayfield, neither fight makes any sense. What has either of those fighters done to deserve a shot. There are only three fighters that have earned the shot to face Mayweather, and they're probably the only fights I'd buy at 147.

1. Keith Thurman

2. Kell Brook

3. Shawn Porter

These are the only three guys in my opinion that have earned a shot. I know some want to see him fight Khan, but there's another half that doesn't and I'm in that group. Mayweather would have a better chance of selling Khan than Berto or Mayfield.


Maidana Got a Shot After He Beat Broner - What About Shawn Porter? 

Shawn Porter earned the chance to fight Mayweather. There are those who believe Mayweather will give Porter the fight, despite saying he'd only fight Berto or Mayfield. Amir Khan knows how Floyd doesn't always do as he says. Mayweather is on top and could fight whoever he chooses, but he has to realize people are not going to pay for a 12 round sparring session. There are other fights out there if he doesn't want to give Porter his shot, but make no mistake Porter is a viable opponent that he could sell.

Porter was humble and understanding that Mayweather might want to fight someone other than him, but when he found out Karim Mayfield was one of Floyd's possible opponents his demeanor changes. He wants that next fight if Floyd is going to Mayfield or Berto. Shawn Porter just came off a big win over Broner, but he lost to Kell Brook so how could he argue if Mayweather went there next. We all know he won't be fighting Brook. He's not even on the radar. It would clearly be an acceptable fight that would sell.

Broner vs. Porter: Taking the Next Step

A Fight for the Next Level

Adrien Broner thinks he's a next level fighter, but the truth is that he isn't on the elite level yet. Sure he talks himself up. He says he's the best. However, he's never beat anyone to prove his point. Broner failed the last time he got this chance against Maidana. Now he has the opportunity to get to that level again. He'll be looking to cash in the same way that Maidana did last time.

Shawn Porter failed in his fight for elite level status too. He lost a tough fight to one of the toughest welterweight fighters in the game. Kell Brook hasn't made anything out of his win over Porter yet, but you can bet he soon will. If Porter can win against Broner he'd be right there with Brook waiting for a title shot.

They're fighting for a shot at being elite. The winner of this fight cannot be denied a shot at the title. Floyd Mayweather himself couldn't deny a shot to the winner. I'd rather see Maweather fight the winner of this fight than see him fight Amir Khan. If Mayweather isn't going to give the winning fighter a shot, well then I think a fight with Keith Thurman is automatic.

The Prediction

It's easy to root for Porter because he's humble. Broner gives boxing fans every reason not to root for him. He comes across as a cheap knockoff of Floyd Mayweather. Only Floyd has big wins in his career to hang his hat on, but Broner hasn't done anything to gloat about. Porter isn't one of the mid-level fighters that Broner was smashing for knockouts. Porter has been in there with better competition than Broner has.

Broner has quick hands. They won't be the fastest hands that Porter has seen. Broner has knockout power, but Porter has faced harder punchers. Broner will be the a combination of power and speed that Porter hasn't seen, On the other hand Porter will attack Broner like he's never been done before. I think that Porter hits harder than Broner. I think Broner has faster hands, but overall quickness is closer to even. I think the fight will be close and tightly contested.

Porter by split-decision.