Evander Holyfield explains why he believes he edges Muhammad Ali as greatest heavyweight of all-time
Evander Holyfield believes he is the greatest heavyweight to have ever graced the ring. During an illustrious professional career stretching from 1984 to 2011, Holyfield achieved undisputed supremacy at cruiserweight and heavyweight. GettyHolyfield is a four-time heavyweight champion[/caption] In boxing’s glamour division, he holds the distinction of being the only four-time champion in boxing history – a record he claims gives him the edge over consensus heavyweight GOAT Muhammad Ali. “I’m the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world but they’re still talking about Ali when I broke his record,” Holyfield told Seconds Out. “I’ve been the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world for 24 years. “You can’t talk about it till you break somebody’s record and they’ve not even said nothing about me. “How do you cut somebody out of history? They keep saying Ali is the best fighter, no I am. He was three times, I’m four.” There is no denying that Holyfield’s heavyweight run was the stuff of legend. But to surpass Ali, a man who defeated 40 top 10 rated opponents and a multitude of Hall of Famers including George Foreman, Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier takes some beating. After overcoming the fearsome Cuban cruiserweight Carlos de Leon at Caesars Palace in 1988, Holyfield moved up to heavyweight where he unified the three major belts by blasting out Buster Douglas inside three rounds in 1990. Wins over Foreman, Bert Cooper, and Larry Holmes followed before he was eventually dethroned by Riddick Bowe in 1992 to kick off their legendary trilogy. A year later the American dynamo regained the heavyweight title by beating Bowe in an all-action rematch. Ali is widely considered to be the greatest heavyweight of all timeGETTY Then, Michael Moorer became the first southpaw to hold a major title in boxing’s marquee weight class by dethroning Holyfield for a second time. Yet, remarkably, the incredibly resilient Holyfield bounced back again. This time, knocking out Mike Tyson to become a three-time heavyweight champion before winning their infamous rematch via disqualification when ‘Iron Mike’ took a chunk out of his ear in what would later become known as the ‘Bite fight’. In his next important title defence, he drew with then-WBC champion Lennox Lewis before the Brit re-wrote the wrong in a stunning rematch. This defeat had boxing journalists writing Holyfield’s boxing obituary but the 37-year-old rose up like a phoenix from the ashes to claim the vacant WBA heavyweight title against John Ruiz in 2000. This marked him down in the annals of the sport as the first, and to date only, four-time heavyweight champion in the history of the sport. Follow talkBOXING on social media talkBOXING is now on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us on social media for big breaking boxing news, exclusive interviews and the best bits from our talkBOXING YouTube show. Like our Facebook page HERE Follow us on Twitter HERE Sign up for our WhatsApp channel HERE
Evander Holyfield believes he is the greatest heavyweight to have ever graced the ring.
During an illustrious professional career stretching from 1984 to 2011, Holyfield achieved undisputed supremacy at cruiserweight and heavyweight.
In boxing’s glamour division, he holds the distinction of being the only four-time champion in boxing history – a record he claims gives him the edge over consensus heavyweight GOAT Muhammad Ali.
“I’m the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world but they’re still talking about Ali when I broke his record,” Holyfield told Seconds Out.
“I’ve been the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world for 24 years.
“You can’t talk about it till you break somebody’s record and they’ve not even said nothing about me.
“How do you cut somebody out of history? They keep saying Ali is the best fighter, no I am. He was three times, I’m four.”
There is no denying that Holyfield’s heavyweight run was the stuff of legend.
But to surpass Ali, a man who defeated 40 top 10 rated opponents and a multitude of Hall of Famers including George Foreman, Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier takes some beating.
After overcoming the fearsome Cuban cruiserweight Carlos de Leon at Caesars Palace in 1988, Holyfield moved up to heavyweight where he unified the three major belts by blasting out Buster Douglas inside three rounds in 1990.
Wins over Foreman, Bert Cooper, and Larry Holmes followed before he was eventually dethroned by Riddick Bowe in 1992 to kick off their legendary trilogy.
A year later the American dynamo regained the heavyweight title by beating Bowe in an all-action rematch.
Then, Michael Moorer became the first southpaw to hold a major title in boxing’s marquee weight class by dethroning Holyfield for a second time.
Yet, remarkably, the incredibly resilient Holyfield bounced back again.
This time, knocking out Mike Tyson to become a three-time heavyweight champion before winning their infamous rematch via disqualification when ‘Iron Mike’ took a chunk out of his ear in what would later become known as the ‘Bite fight’.
In his next important title defence, he drew with then-WBC champion Lennox Lewis before the Brit re-wrote the wrong in a stunning rematch.
This defeat had boxing journalists writing Holyfield’s boxing obituary but the 37-year-old rose up like a phoenix from the ashes to claim the vacant WBA heavyweight title against John Ruiz in 2000.
This marked him down in the annals of the sport as the first, and to date only, four-time heavyweight champion in the history of the sport.
