Heavyweight Boxing Championship History

Copyright (C) 1994 by Don Sibrel

October 2, 1980 In Las Vegas:  Larry Holmes, in a very one-sided 
match, KOed Muhammad Ali in the 11th round to become what should 
have been the new heavyweight champion.  WBC, WBA, and IBF all at 
one time or another had their own champions.  Nevertheless, 
Holmes was clearly the best heavyweight fighter. 

April 11, 1981 in Caesar's Palace at Las Vegas:  Holmes defended 
his title for the 9th time against the heavyweight champion of 
Canada, Trevor Berbick.  Holmes won the 15 round match with a 
unanimous decision.  The brawling challenger kept pressure on 
Holmes by being aggressive and rushing into Holmes a number of 
times.  This occasionally made Holmes seem off balance and 
awkward. But for the most part the champion used his superior 
left jab with a few stinging rights to carry the fight.  

In the 5th round, Berbick was able to back Holmes into the ropes 
where they traded a number of hard, short punches to both the 
head and body.  Other than that, the champion had too many boxing 
skills for the Canadian.  The officials had it  150-135, 146-139, 
and 146-140 all for Holmes. 

June 12, 1981 in Detroit:  Holmes defended against Leon Spinks.  
There was bad blood between these fighters for some time and the 
fight was no exception.  Spinks, whose record was 10-2-2, rushed 
Holmes from the start and tried to maul and bully the champion.  
Holmes in the first round landed a number of good left jabs as he 
backed away, while Spinks didn't land any good shots.  Round two 
was more of the same, but Spinks was able to land a few punches 
cleanly himself. After the bell sounded Holmes lowered his arms 
and started for his corner but Spinks kept on punching.  Holmes 
then started punching and they both continued for another 25 
seconds before the referee stopped them.  The fighters cursed 
each other for another 30 seconds after that.  

In round three the 212 lb champion quickly went to the attack 
against his 200 lb opponent.  With the fight going his way, 
Holmes launched a barrage of punches mostly to the head that 
floored Spinks.  He staggered up at the count of nine and Holmes 
was on him immediately.  Spinks beaten into his corner and 
prompted up against the ropes received another series of hard 
shots to his head before the referee stopped the bout at 2:34 
seconds of the third round. 

November 6, 1981 in Pittsburgh:  Holmes TKOed Renaldo Snipes in 
11th round.  Snipes a muscular, slow fighter took a lot of 
punches from the much quicker Holmes, but almost won the fight 
with one punch.  He caught Holmes with a solid right to the head 
as Holmes was coming in.  The champion went down, but got up 
before the count reached ten.  Holmes was badly hurt, but Renaldo 
couldn't finish him off before Larry recovered.  Outside of that 
one moment, it was a very one-sided match. 

June 11, 1982 in Las Vegas:   Holmes TKOed Gerry Cooney in 13th 
round.   Cooney, while slow and not much of a boxer, did land a 
number of hard left hooks.  A number of these were low.  Holmes, 
much the better boxer, wore him down with his fine left jab. 

November 26, 1982 in Houston:  Holmes decisioned Randy "Tex" 
Cobb.  Randy showed that he probably has the world's hardest 
head.  For 15 rounds he took a terrific pounding.  So much so 
that the fight made many people turn against boxing as being 
brutality, rather than sport. 

March 27, 1983 in Scranton, Pa:  Holmes defended against Lucien 
Rodrigeuz, a native Morroccan living in Paris.  The 31 year old 
challenger fought like he wanted to go the distance more than he 
wanted to win.  He got his wish as Holmes was given a unanimous 
decision in a dull fight.  All three officials had the champion 
winning every round.  The only excitement occurred in the 6th 
round when Rodrigeuz went down from a slip not a knockdown. 

May 20, 1983 in Las Vegas:  Holmes defended against Tim 
Weatherspoon.  As poor as the last fight had been, that was how 
good this fight was.  The 33 year old champion fought a 25 year 
old opponent who had had only 15 professional fights, and none 
for the last 11 months.  Although the challenger had a number of 
occasions when it appeared he could have done more punching in 
the early rounds, he carried the fight to Holmes in the later 
rounds. 

In the 9th round he jolted Holmes with a left-right combination 
to the head.  While in a neutral corner Holmes received another 
two punch combination that hurt him badly.  The dazed champion 
used his years of ring experience and survived the round.  Holmes 
appeared tired and not fully recovered for most of the rest of 
the fight, but still received a split 12 round decision. 

Two officials had Holmes winning 115-113 and 118-111; the third 
official had it 115-114 Weatherspoon.  The AP had it 115-113 
Holmes.  Even though Holmes had another win, he looked like an 
old fighter. 

September 10, 1983 in Atlantic City:  Holmes fought against 
undefeated and unknown Scott Frank.  The first four rounds were 
very one-sided with Holmes winning easily.  As the 5th round 
began Frank's right eye was closed.  He claimed after the fight 
that he was thumbed.  Early in this round Holmes launched a 
series of hard punches that floored the challenger.  He was up at 
four, and as Holmes rushed in to KO the wobbly Frank the referee 
stopped the fight at the 1:28 mark.  An easy, easy fight against 
little opposition. 

November 25, 1983 in Las Vegas:  Holmes KOed Marvis Frazier, son 
of the former champion, in 2:47 seconds of the first round.  The 
WBC and the WBA rejected this fight as a championship and 
declared that Holmes was no longer champion.  But few people 
cared what these organizations did.  Holmes was still the best 
fighter and everyone knew it. 

November 9, 1984 in Las Vegas:  The 35 year old Holmes defended 
against the 31 year old James "Bonecrusher" Smith in a scheduled 
12 rounds match.  Smith, an imposing, muscular challenger, had 
only 15 previous bouts as a professional.  Smith fought hard and 
gave Holmes several jarring right hand blows to the head.  But an 
experienced and a much better boxer prevailed.  Holmes was cut 
above his left eye from a butt in the 7th round.  His seconds 
prevented the injury from getting any worse during the rest of 
the fight. 

Smith wasn't so lucky.  He was cut on the bridge of the nose in 
the very first round and cut again under his left eye in the 
third.  Going into the 12th round his face was a battered mess.  
As Holmes was dishing out more punishment to a beaten fighter, 
the referee stopped the fight. 

March 15, 1985 in Las Vegas:  Holmes, 223 lbs, defended against 
David Bey, a heavy 233 lbs.  Holmes was a 4 to 1 favorite.   
Holmes controlled the fight from the first round with his 
stinging long left jabs.  In round eight Holmes connected with a 
right and a left hook to the head that floored the challenger.  
He immediately got up and the referee gave him a eight count.  
Holmes then forced the wobbly fighter into a neutral corner where 
he connected on seven shots to the head and down went Bey again.  
He was able to beat the count, but was in serious trouble and was 
saved by the bell. 

Round nine contained no more knockdowns but was another big round 
for Holmes.  He scored on a number of jarring left jabs and 
several hard rights to the head.  Round ten was more of the same 
with Holmes trying to finish the fight against a beaten fighter.  
After a  series of crunching blows to the head, the referee 
stopped the fight with two seconds remaining in the round. A very 
one sided match. 

May 20, 1985 in Reno:  Holmes seeking to make his record 48 and 0 
defended against Cal (The Truth) Williams.  The 25 year old 
Williams was 6 feet four inches tall, weighed 215 lbs and was 
undefeated in 16 pro fights.  It was youth, strength, and 
conditioning against savvy and experience.  Although at no time 
was either fighter on the verge of going down, it was a very 
good, close match. 

Williams carried the fight to Holmes in the early rounds.  Here 
his greater strength prevailed over Holmes, although the champion 
landed a number of hard left jabs and a few good rights to the 
head of the challenger, one of which cut Williams above the left 
eye.  In round five Williams landed five or six very hard blows 
to the head and body of Holmes.  Right before the bell Holmes was 
hurt from a right to his head. 

Starting the sixth round, Holmes seemed to get his second wind 
and he carried the fight.  He hurt Williams several times but 
wasn't able to follow it up.  His best round was the 9th, where 
he rallied late and scored heavily to the body and head of his 
opponent.  But after that Holmes was not so effective the rest of 
the fight.  Into round 15, Holmes's left eye was nearly closed, 
and he was clearly very tired.  Williams was easily the fresher 
fighter, but he could not penetrate the defense of the champion. 

Holmes was given a unanimous decision. Two officials had it 146-
139, and the other 143-142.  AP had it 145-140.  The better boxer 
won. 


September 22, 1985 in Las Vegas:  Holmes defended the title 
against the light heavyweight champion Mike Spinks, brother of 
Leon.  Holmes, although clearly past his prime, was the favorite.  
Spinks, undefeated as a professional, was not considered a 
legitimate heavyweight.  Spinks out-boxed the slower champion who 
did not display his past great left jab.  Spinks was now 
champion. 

April 19, 1986 in Las Vegas:  In the return bout between Spinks 
and Holmes, the ex-champion did much better.  He was in better 
shape, was the aggressor for most of the fight, and landed the 
heavier punches.  Holmes had a solid right hand but still showed 
no effective left jab, which was once his best trademark.  Spinks 
was given a controversial and unpopular decision. 

September 6, 1986 in Las Vegas:  Spinks TKOed Steffen Tangstad in 
4th round. 


On November 22, 1986 in Las Vegas:  Mike Tyson KOed Trevor 
Berbick in 2nd round.  He thereby won the WBC version of the 
world heavyweight championship.  Tyson, having won 27 straight 
fights, 25 by knockout, 15 in the first round, became the 
youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history.  Short, 
muscular, with a knockout punch in both hands, easily beat the 
experienced, strong, and talented Berbick.  Tyson displayed the 
combination of strength and quickness  that made him appear to be 
far better than any heavyweight of that time. 

February 1987:  Mike Spinks was stripped of the IBF championship 
for not defending it against their top contender Tony Tucker. 

March 7, 1987 in Las Vegas:  Tyson decisioned "Bonecrusher" 
Smith.  This fight was a disappointment for most people because 
there was no Tyson knockout.  Smith showed no aggressiveness 
what-so-ever and held Tyson for much of the fight. 

May 30, 1987 in Las Vegas:  The 218 lb Tyson defended his title 
against the 218 lb Pinklon Thomas.   Thomas had a 29-1-1 record 
with 24 KOs and was the number one rated contender.  Tyson KOed 
Pinklon Thomas in the 6th round.  This was a much better fight 
than the last one.  Round one was fast paced and full of action.  
Tyson was the aggressor.  He landed five hard left hooks to the 
head in the round and had Thomas on rubber legs at the bell.  In 
round two  the action slowed down with more clinches.  Tyson was 
still able to land five hard left hooks to the challenger's head.  
But to his credit, Thomas landed a couple of good rights and 
finished the round in good shape.  In round three the action was 
slow, with Tyson still the aggressor.  He landed the harder 
shots, but Thomas started to use an effective left jab.  An even 
round.  Round four was probably Thomas's round.  Tyson got in 
three hard rights, two of which were upper cuts.  Thomas's jab 
was even more effective in that round.  

In the first part of round six, Thomas landed a number of jabs 
and a few good rights.  Then Tyson handed a hard right uppercut, 
closely followed by a left hook to the head.  With Thomas moving 
back, Tyson landed a terrific left hook to the head that put the 
challenger in serious trouble.  The champion followed with a 
furry of hard punches and then KOed his opponent with another 
jolting left hook to the head. 

August 1, 1987 in Las Vegas:  Tyson decisioned IBF champion Tony 
Tucker over 12 rounds.  Since Tyson did not score a KO many fans 
were disappointed.  But he fought a good fight against a very 
good opponent.  Tucker landed a number a good blows, a number a 
combinations, and boxed and countered very well.  This was a much 
better fight than the Smith match.  Tyson up to that point in his 
career had never been knocked off his feet, never been hurt, 
never been hit really hard, and had never been cut.  No past 
heavyweight champion could say that.  In this fight Tyson did 
receive a jolting left upper cut to the head in the first round 
from Tucker.   The blow did send Tyson back about a foot, but he 
continued his aggressive tactics as if it hadn't occurred.  The 
decision was unanimous with Tyson landing 216 punches to Tucker's 
174.  Tyson's punches did more damage but Tucker never went down. 

October 16, 1987 in Atlantic City:   Tyson KOed Tyrell Biggs in 
7th round. The 228 lb number one contender Biggs, whose record 
was 15 and 0 with 10 KOs, took a beating.  Outside of the first 
round, when he showed a lot of movement with a good left jab, 
Biggs was hit often and hard by the champion.  Biggs was in 
trouble in rounds 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7.  Tyson put Biggs down with a 
left hook in the last round.  Biggs made it up but received a 
hard right followed by the fight ending KO from a left hook to 
the head. 

January 22, 1988 in Atlantic City:  Tyson defended his title 
against Larry Holmes.  The 21 year old champion was an 8 to 1 
favorite against the 38 year old former champion who had not 
fought for 21 months.  It was no contest as Tyson KOed Holmes in 
round 4.  In all four rounds Tyson pressed the attack.  In round 
1, Holmes backed up, pawed with his left hand, tied up Tyson when 
the champion got inside.  Holmes landed only three blows, none 
effective.  Tyson landed 12 with only two effective right hands.  
In round 2 Holmes was a little more aggressive, landing a few 
right hand blows but none affecting Tyson.  Right before the 
bell, the hard charging Tyson handed a solid right to the body 
and a hard left to the jaw.  In round 3 Tyson scored with left 
jabs while Holmes was still moving back, throwing a few rights 
that were not solid and tying up Tyson when he could.  Just 
before the bell, Tyson lands a very hard right to the 
challenger's head.  

For the first 40 seconds of the 4th round, Holmes danced and 
threw left jabs.  He then switched to his tactic of trying to 
avoid punches by holding.  Tyson then landed a quick left jab 
followed by a smashing right to the head that floored Holmes.  
Holmes make it up, but was in serious trouble.  Tyson charged the 
challenger, landed a few glancing blows, and knocked Holmes down 
a second time with a clubbing right to the forehead.  Holmes 
again make it up, but was knocked down for the last time from two 
viscous rights to the head. 

March 20, 1988 in Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo, Japan:  The 21 year 
old champion defends his title against Tony Tubbs.   Tubbs, 
former WBA champion, was 6 feet 3 inches and weighed in at 238 
lbs.  He would have received a $50,000 bonus if he had weighed 
less than 235.  The challenger's record was 25 and 1 with 16 
KO's.  His lone loss was to Tim Weatherspoon.  

The first round was a good one for Tubbs.  He displayed quick 
hands and landed some good left jabs and right uppercuts.  Tyson 
slipped a number of punches and landed good left jabs and one 
hard right to the head.  Both fighters looked sharp. 

The second round started as the first one had ended with Tubbs 
holding his own and not retreating.  Tyson at one point landed 
three consecutive solid left jabs.  Tyson landed several hard 
body blows as Tubbs was primarily protecting his head.  Tyson 
then landed a three shot volley: a solid right to the head, a 
right to the body, and a staggering right uppercut to the head.  
Tubbs clinched in desperation.  Soon after that Tyson landed a 
hard left hook to the head.  So far in this round Tubbs had 
landed some quick, hard shots of his own but none seemed slow 
down the champion.  Tyson then landed a deadly two punch 
combination: a hard right to the body followed immediately by a 
jolting right uppercut to the head.  Tubbs was clearly hurt.  
After the referee separated the fighters, Tyson nailed Tubbs with 
a vicious left hook to his right eye.  Tubbs staggered back 
against the ropes and tried to hold on to them. As he fell Tyson 
narrowly missed landing another left hook.  As soon as the 
challenger hit the canvas one of his seconds entered the ring and 
stopped the fight.  Tubbs clearly could not get up at the count 
of ten and eventually righted himself after laying on his back 
for over one minute. 

Tyson looked very quick throughout the fight and at no time 
appeared in jeopardy of losing the match. 

June 27, 1988 in Atlantic City:  The 218 lb Tyson defends against 
the 212 lb Michel Spinks in the largest grossing money fight of 
all time.  Spinks, undefeated with a record of 31 and 0, was a 4 
to 1 underdog.  Although he had never fought a top ranked 
heavyweight fighter since being awarded an unpopular decision 
over Larry Holmes, Spinks was picked by many so called experts to 
win.       
       
As is always the case, Tyson was after his opponent at the 
opening bell.  Spinks, while not backing up, was  pushed around 
the ring by Tyson's two fisted attack.  Tyson, hitting both to 
the body and head, was countered by Spinks with mainly an over 
hand right that seldom connected and was never effective.  Early 
on, Tyson connected with a right high on the challenger's head 
and several hard body shorts.  Then as Tyson had Spinks near the 
ropes, he connected with a hard left uppercut to Spink's jaw that 
sent him leaning back against the ropes.  While Spinks was trying 
to recover, the champion handed a right uppercut to the hart that 
dropped Spinks to one knee.  Spinks go up at two and took the 
eight count from the referee.  

As Tyson closed quickly, Spinks attempted an over hand right that 
missed.  As he was leaning forward, he received a hard short 
right to the right side of his jaw.  Spinks fell over backwards 
flat on this back on the canvas.  He tried to get up at the count 
of seven, but fell head first on the lower ring ropes and was 
counted out. The fight lasted just 91 seconds.  This was the 
fourth shortest heavyweight championship fight in history.  
Absolutely no contest. 

February 25, 1989 in Las Vegas:  Tyson, again at 218 lbs, wins by 
a TKO in the fifth round against the number one contender Frank 
Bruno from Great Britain.  

        First round.  Tyson quickly lands a solid left hook to 
the jaw followed by a hard right to the head that rocks Bruno.  
Bruno moves back to the ropes only to receive a grazing right 
high on the head and goes down with only 20 seconds into the 
fight.  After taking an eight count, Bruno is able to avoid the 
hard charging and wild swinging champion.  Bruno is able to hold 
with his left hand and bang away to Mike's head a number of times 
with short rights.  The referee stops the bout and takes away one 
point from Bruno for hitting Tyson twice in the back of his neck.  
While Tyson is the aggressor, Bruno does land a hard right and a 
solid left hook to the champion's jaw that rocks Mike.  Frank 
lands no more solid punches in this round but does gain Tyson's 
respect. 

        Round two.  Tyson still presses the attack, but with less 
than his usual abandonment.  Bruno lands two good lefts to the 
head and is able to land a good right in close.  Tyson is wild 
with a number of punches.  Most of the ones that do land, do not 
land solidly.  Bruno lands three lefts, two to the head.  Tyson 
then lands a solid left uppercut that jolts the challenger.  The 
champion is wild with several more punches.  With just 20 seconds 
remaining in the round, Tyson lands a vicious right upper cut and 
a few seconds later a crushing left hook that staggers Bruno.  He 
holds on for the rest of the round as Tyson is wild again with 
several punches that could have ended the fight if they would 
have connected. 

        Round three.  Tyson lands several sharp punches to the 
body.  Mike is wild again as he steps up his attack.  Bruno is 
clearly  weakening.  Most of the rounds is fought in close with 
Bruno holding on and landing a few punches that apparently have 
no effect on the champion.  Tyson lands several more solid 
punches, but can not connect with a combination.  Just after the 
bell Tyson lands a left hook to Frank's jaw. 

        Round four.  Tyson is even more aggressive in this round, 
landing a number of hard punches, but again not connecting in a 
series.  Bruno lands very little and again mostly holds. 

        Round five.  Tyson again the clear aggressor.  He lands 
all the hard shots.  With a little more than one minute remaining 
in the round, Mike lands a hard left uppercut followed by a short 
right that puts the challenger clearly in trouble.  A left to the 
body followed by a short right to the head sends Bruno to the 
ropes.  Tyson then lands a two punch combination, right to the 
body followed immediately by a right to the head.  The champion 
then lands a left right to the head as the referee stops the 
fight. 

Tyson appeared rusty, but in splendid condition for the fight. He 
beat a game challenger who in the first round, after being 
knocked down, gave Tyson all he could handle.  Bruno could not 
recover from the pounding he took in the last seconds of the 2nd 
round. 


July 21, 1989 in Atlantic City:   Tyson defended his title 
against Carl Williams.   The 219 lb champion was a 17 to 1 
favorite over the 218 lb challenger.  Tyson lands a left jab as 
the fight starts.  The referee warns Williams for holding.  
Williams holding his ground lands several good uppercuts to the 
body while staying close to Tyson.  Tyson lands a hard right to 
the body.  Many blows by both fighters are blocked.  With one 
minute and forty five seconds left in the first round, Tyson 
blocks a left jab to his chin a ducks under another left.  Tyson 
then quickly lands a hard left hook to the jaw of Williams.  As 
if shot by a cannon, the challenger is knocked over backwards, 
his head landing on the lower rope strands.  Williams attempts to 
rise but falls back into the ropes.  His rises again, completely 
this time, at the count of eight, with his back resting on the 
ropes.  The referee asks him if he is all right.  Receiving no 
answer, the referee stops the fight on a TKO.  This was the fifth 
shortest heavyweight championship fight in history. 


February 11, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan:   The 5'11'', 220 lb Tyson 
defended his title against the 6'4'', 231 lb James "Buster" 
Douglas.  Tyson was such a favorite that Las Vegas odds makers 
would not take bets. 

The first four rounds were very similar.  Douglas threw twice as 
many punches as Tyson and landed a higher percentage of them.  
For example, through round three, Tyson threw 73 and landed 28, 
while Douglas threw 152 and landed 73.   At long range Douglas 
was able to use his much greater reach, 83'' compared to Tyson's 
71'', and land many quick, stinging lefts and rights to the head.  
When Tyson tried to get inside to land his punches, Douglas was 
able to either hit Tyson, step back, or tie Tyson up.  Tyson was 
aggressive as usual, but for the most part was only able to land 
a few hard punches and no combinations.  Douglas was not afraid 
to hit Tyson.  He did so, many times, consistently beating Tyson 
to the punch.  Douglas could land very fast and hard punches with 
either hand.  His combinations were most impressive. 

The first half of round five was a repeat of the first four.  
Douglas getting off first, and Tyson landing only a few hard 
punches, never in combination, and none, so far, hurting Douglas.  
With 1:42 remaining in the round Tyson catches a hard right to 
his head.  Douglas follows this up with a three punch 
combination, left right left to the head.  The last two were very 
hard punches.  Douglas then lands another three punch combo, left 
left right to Tyson's head.  This was not as hard as the first 
combination.  But after the round, the accumulation of punches 
caused a swelling above Tyson's left eye.  An ice pack was 
applied between the fifth and sixth rounds.  Round five was 
clearly a great round for Douglas. 

Round six was similar to the first four.  Through this round, 
Tyson had landed 56 punches to Douglas's 135.   Round seven was 
more of the same.  An ice pack was again applied to Tyson's left 
eye after round seven. 

Early in round eight Tyson did throw a two punch combination, 
however the first punch was blocked.  Also early in the round, 
Tyson landed a very hard left to the body.  Douglas appeared a 
little slower in this round, possibly due to the body shot.  With 
23 seconds left in the round, Douglas launches about seven 
straight punches, most of which were blocked.  With 11 seconds 
remaining, Tyson lands a hard right uppercut to Douglas's chin.  
Douglas looses his balance and leans forward against Tyson.  With 
five seconds remaining Tyson lands another right uppercut to the 
chin and Douglas goes down on his back.  Douglas makes it up 
before the count of ten and the round is over.   A "long count" 
was claimed after the fight by Tyson and his promoter Don King, 
but a review of the fight tape clearly showed the referee 
starting the count properly.  

Douglas appeared OK as round nine started.   Early on Tyson did 
land his only combination of the fight, two light left hands to 
the body.  Shortly after that Douglas landed a four punch combo, 
left left right left to Tyson's head.  The last two were very 
hard and stopped Tyson in his tracks.  With 1:13 left in round 
nine, Douglas lands a quick, hard left right left right that 
rocks Tyson.  Douglas pursues the off balance champion and throws 
a series of blows. Tyson covering up against the ropes, does land 
a hard right uppercut to the jaw of Douglas.  Douglas throws 
another series of punches including a hard left to the jaw that 
snaps Tyson's head back.  The arm weary Douglas, was not able to 
inflict further damage in this round.  By this time Mike's left 
eye was closed.  Tyson was clearly a hurt fighter in danger of 
being knocked out. 

Tyson in round ten quickly hands a hard right lead to the head.  
Tyson was still a dangerous fighter.  Douglas appeared not to be 
hurt.  With 1:55 left in the round, Douglas lands a hard right 
uppercut flush on the champion's chin snapping his head back 
grotesquely.  Douglas then ended the fight with a four punch 
combination, right left right left.  The last punch landing on 
the chin as Tyson was leaning backwards and apparently going 
down.  Tyson made it up off the canvas at the count of ten, but 
clearly could not go on.   A great fight for Douglas.  Cinderella 
lives!!! 



October 25, 1990 at Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas:   Champion Douglas 
now weighing 246 lbs defends against 208 lb Evander Holyfield.  
The finely trained challenger was an 8 to 5 favorite against the 
over weight Douglas.  

Round 1:  Not a whole lot of fighting from Douglas.  His jabs 
were week and consistently fell short.  Holyfield landed one hard 
left hook to the head of Douglas that momentarily stunned him.  
Later in the round Holyfield landed a solid right to the head of 
the champion, and as the round ended Evander landed a fine three 
punch combination. 

Round 2:  Douglas started throwing more force behind his jabs but 
they were still falling short.  Holyfield handed one good left 
hook and later a hard right to the head of the champion. 

Round 3:  Up to this point the champion had landed not one single 
solid punch while the challenger was doing all the effective 
fighting.  Early in this round Buster threw a couple of rights 
but did no damage.  Douglas attempted a right uppercut that fell 
about a foot short and immediately Holyfield countered with an 
overhand right that caught the champion flush on the side of his 
face and down he went.  It looked like he would get up.  He 
rubbed his face three times with his gloves apparently looking to 
see if he was cut.  He wasn't, but he was counted out at 1:10 
seconds of the third round.  This was a very poor showing for the 
vastly over weight and under conditioned Buster Douglas. 


April 19,1991 in Atlantic City:  Holyfield defended title against 
the 42 year old George Foreman.  The 257 lb challenger who's 
record, including his "second" career, was 69 and 2 with 65 KOs.  

This fight to everyone's surprise went the distance.  The 
champion, while landing twice as many punches as his opponent, 
could not put the aging, slow footed Foreman away.  From the 
first bell George kept prodding slowly ahead trying to set 
Holyfield up for a one punch knockout, but was just too slow to 
do it.  The champion fought a smart, controlled fight for the 
most part.  He started by fighting in flurries on the inside, and 
then quickly retreating and moving side to side on the outside, 
trying not to let the still hard hitting Foreman set himself for 
a measured haymaker.  As the fight wore on Evander's side to side 
movements became less and less as Foreman fought exhaustion and 
the effect of getting hit by a preponderance of solid blows. 

The fight went the whole twelve rounds with the champion winning 
a lop sided unanimous decision.  Foreman did fight hard, was a 
clear crowd favorite, and brought ovations from ringside. In 
rounds two, five, seven, and ten he jolted Evander with left 
jabs, or overhand rights.  He was just not quick enough to hand 
more than at most two punches in a row.  In rounds three and 
seven Foreman was near going down, with the bell his best friend.  
To his credit, he did seem to recover each time between rounds. 

November 23, 1991 in Atlanta:  Holyfield defended title against 
lightly regarded Bert Cooper.  Bert was a late replacement for 
unknown fighter Francesco Damiami, who in turn was a replacement 
for Mike Tyson who sustained  a rib injury.  Francisco had an 
ankle injury.  Cooper, with a record of 26 and 7 with 23 knock 
outs and losing to Foreman and Ray Mercer, was a 32 to 1 
underdog.  Holyfield was 29 years old with a height of 6 ft. 2 
in. weighted 210 lbs.  Cooper, 25 years old, stood 5 ft. 11 in. 
and weighted 215 lbs. 

The fight started fast with Holyfield throwing many hard left and 
rights while using very little movement.  Cooper, throwing half 
as many punches, didn't back up and scored most effectively with 
a over hand right.  Early on Cooper missed badly with a wild left 
hook leaving himself open for several seconds.  However Holyfield 
didn't take advantage.  Midway in the first round the champion 
landed a hard left hook to the mid-section of Cooper, knocking 
him to the canvas in a seating position.  Bert got up at the 
eight count and appeared to be OK.  The round ended as it had 
began with both fighters throwing hard punches with both hands 
with Holyfield scoring two for Coopers's one. 

The second round started with Evander landing about three to 
every one of the challengers.  But in the middle of the round 
things changed.  Cooper started scoring with hard rights while 
Evander was punching less often.  The round ended with Cooper 
looking the better.  Through two rounds Holyfield had landed 80 
punches to Cooper's 31. 

The third round started with Evander again landing about twice as 
many punches as Cooper.  There was very little motion from both 
fighters, just hard punching.  Midway in the round, Cooper 
staggered Holyfield with a solid right to the jaw over a 
Holyfield left hook.  The champion was off balance and hurt 
badly.  Cooper followed up with a barrage of punches with most of 
them missing there mark.  Finally a grazing right to the top od 
Evander's head knocked him into the ropes.  The referee then 
stepped between the fighters and gave the champion and eight 
count.  This possibly saved Holyfield his title.  The fight 
resumed with about one minute to go in the round, with Cooper 
attacking and Holyfield covering up.  Later in the round 
Holyfield recovered as Cooper slowed down, but the champion still 
looked very tired at the bell. 

The fourth round started with Holyfield looking much better.  He 
was now landing many more punches than his opponent.  Cooper, 
while taking seemingly very hard shorts, scored a few hard rights 
of his own and was clearly still a very dangerous fighter.  A 
good round for Holyfield. 

The first part of the fifth round was all Holyfield.  He landed a 
barrage of mostly unanswered hard punches and staggered Cooper 
with a right hook to the head.  After receiving two right upper 
cuts, Bert looked to be going down.  But then Holyfield quit 
punching.  He had punched himself out.  Cooper was now on the 
attack when the referee again stopped the fight.  Holyfield's 
right glove was cut.  Both fighters went to the corners and 
rested as the glove was replaced. When the fight resumed both men 
were very tired and action was slow for the remainder of the 
round. 

The sixth round started with Evander for the first time bouncing 
on his feet.  But for the most part the action in this round was 
at a lower level than previous rounds.  Although it did pick up 
in the last 30 seconds of the round.  Again Holyfield scored many 
more punches, but Cooper landed several hard rights and was still 
dangerous.  Through this round Holyfield had landed 235 punches 
to Cooper's 112. 

The intensity increased in the seventh round.  Holyfield was 
pressing the attack landing many hard right uppercuts, while 
Cooper still landed some hard left and rights.  Holyfield then 
landed an overhand right that hurt Cooper.  Holyfield then landed 
23 unanswered blows and with 2 seconds remaining in the round the 
referee stopped the fight and awarded the champion a TKO in the 
7th round.  This was a very, very hard fight for the champion.  
The result might have been different with another referee. 


June 19, 1992 in Las Vegas:  Holyfield defended title against 
42 year old Larry Holmes.  Few people gave the old 233 lb ex-
champion much of a chance.  Most thought that Holmes would be 
lucky just to last the 12 rounds.  

The fight went the distance, with Holyfield winning easily.  The 
scoring was 116-112 by two officials, and 117-111 by the third.  
Evander was the aggressor the whole fight while Larry, conserving 
as much energy as possible, tried to counter with mostly right 
upper-cuts.  Larry landed 40 less punches than Holyfield.  Holmes 
spent most of the fight either on the ropes or retreating, with 
periodic counters.  Neither fighter was hurt at any time.  A 
summary is as follows: 

Round 1:  Holyfield the aggressor threw more punches, but Larry 
did land a good right to the jaw as the round ended.

Round 2:  Holmes spent the whole round on the ropes.  He did 
score a number of solid upper-cuts and won the round.

Round 3:  Holyfield landed two hard overhand rights as Holmes 
fought near the ropes.

Round 4:  Holmes scored a couple of right hand upper-cuts while 
fighting against the ropes.  Evander landed more punches.

Round 5:  Larry fought the first part of the round retreating 
near the center of the ring.  Evander scored a solid left right 
combination.  Holmes ended the round fighting on the ropes. 

Round 6:  Near the end of this round, Holyfield received a bad 
cut above his right eye after Holmes was short on a right cross 
and caught Evander with his forearm.  The cut bled for most of 
the remaining fight, but was never a factor. 

Round 7:  Holmes sensing that the cut might hinder Holyfield was 
more aggressive in this round, threw more punches, and stayed off 
the ropes.  Holyfield rallied at the end of the round with several 
effective combinations. 

Round 8:  Larry rested most of this round on the ropes.

Round 9:  Holyfield spent this round mostly circling Larry who 
was now mostly off the ropes.  A wild left by Holyfield, which 
missed by about a foot, caused him to fall to the canvas. The 
high point of the round. 

Round 10: Similar to round 9.  A very slow round. 

Round 11:  Holmes, apparently regained his wind, won this round 
highlighted by landing two very good rights to the head of Holyfield.

Round 12:   The last round was a pretty good one for Holmes. He 
finished strong and threw as many punches as Evander.

This fight did show that a 42 year old Larry Holmes had the heart 
to last 12 rounds against the well conditioned, although light 
hitting Holyfield. 


November 13, 1992 in Las Vegas:  Holyfield defended title against 
Riddick Bowe.  The 30 year old champion, now 28 and 0, weighed 
205 lbs.  Riddick, the 25 year old challenger, was 31 and 0 and 
weighed 235 lbs.  This turned out to be a great fight.  The 
champion, although taking the harder blows, being out boxed, 
having his vision reduced in both eyes, and being nearly knocked 
out in two different rounds, fought valiantly. In the end, Bowe 
landed 115 more punches than Holyfield.  It was just too much.  
Evander was just too easy to hit. 

Round 1:  In a fast paced round, Holyfield consistently beats 
Bowe to the punch.  Evander connects with right leads. 

Round 2:  Again much action.  This time Bowe moves inside and 
gives as much as he takes.

Round 3:  A third fast paced round.  Holyfield lands several hard 
left hooks, but gets cut near his right eye.

Round 4:  In first part of round Evander again lands several hard 
left hooks, but tires in middle of round.  Bowe starts landing 
more punches. 

Round 5:  Reduced action in this round as both fighters appear 
winded after first four rounds.  Through round five, Bowe has 
landed 19 more punches. 

Round 6:  Another slow round.  Bowe lands two very hard rights to 
Evander's head.  In this round Holyfield lands 15 punches to 
Bowe's 29. 

Round 7:  Bowe steps up the action and lands a hard right.  Later 
he scores with a left right combination, and hurts Holyfield with 
a right uppercut.  Evander weathers the storm, and takes the 
fight to the challenger the last 40 seconds of the round.  Still, 
a big round for Riddick. 

Round 8:  Holyfield takes charge in the early part of the round 
landing several hard left hooks.  But Bowe comes back by scoring 
two hard rights to the head.  Bowe landed several low blows and 
was thumbed in the right eye before the round ended.  Holyfield 
had blood coming from this right eye throughout the round. 

Round 9:  In a fast action round, Bowe lands two hard rights to 
the head, but Holyfield comes back with a solid left right 
combination.  Evander continues with a smashing right cross.  
Bowe takes command near the end of the round.  Evander looks very 
tired, and his vision appears to be impaired with both eyes 
closing.  Through round 9, Holyfield has landed 57 jabs, while 
Bowe landed 92. 

Round 10: Bowe lands a straight left to the jaw that hurts 
Holyfield.  Bowe follows with a thundering right uppercut that 
knocks Evander into the ropes.  Bowe seeing that Holyfield is in 
real trouble throws a furry of punches, but is not able to put 
Evander down.  With two minutes remaining Holyfield comes back 
and scores with two right uppercuts and several right leads.  
Both fighters are throwing heavy punches as the bell sounds. 

Round 11: A hard left stuns Holyfield.  Bowe then lands a clean, 
solid right uppercut to Evander's chin that spins him around into 
the ropes.  Bowe follows with a hard right to the back of the 
champion's head, and Holyfield goes down.  He gets up to be 
greeted by a torrent of punches by the challenger.  But Bowe 
tires before he can put Holyfield away.  With 1:30 remaining 
Evander comes back and scores a hard right to the head of Bowe.  
As the bell sounds, both fighters are very tired, particularly 
Holyfield.  A very exciting round.  Through round eleven 
Holyfield had landed 226 punches, Bowe 327. 

Round 12: Both fighters fought hard in this last round, but 
fatigue had set end.  The round ended with both unloading all 
they had. 

The unanimous decision went to Bowe with two officials scoring it 
117-110 and the third 115-112.  Although Evander lost the title, 
this was his best fight to date.  He went out a champion. 


February 6, 1993 at Madison Square Garden:  Bowe defended title 
against the 243 lb. overweight and apparently out of shape 
Michael Dokes.  Early in the first round Dokes was stunned by a 
hard right to the side of his head.  Bowe quickly landed two more 
right hand blows to Dokes' head, knocking him into the ropes.  
The referee gave him a standing eight count. 

Bowe then landed a left right combination, and then another solid 
right to the head of Dokes.  Michael stumbled against the ropes 
in a corner and the referee then stopped the fight.  Stokes and 
his corner complained, but he was clearly a hurt fighter. 

May 22, 1993 at JFK Stadium in Washington D.C.:  Bowe defended 
title against the lightly regarded Jesse Ferguson.  The 36 year 
old challenger weighed 224 lb and had a record of 19-9 after 
winning his first ten professional bouts.  Bowe weighed in at 244 
lbs. 

Round 1:  Ferguson was an easy target for the champion as he 
fought mainly inside with no movement.  Jesse threw some punches, 
but none hurt Bowe.  Bowe connected repeatedly with combinations.  
He stunned Jesse with a left hook to the head.  Later Bowe landed 
a solid right uppercut followed by a jarring left.  Then Bowe 
landed a hard left hook to the head that knocked the challenger 
into the ropes.  A left hook floored Ferguson who just made it up 
before the count of ten as the bell sounded.  His seconds didn't 
get the "out on his feet" fighter a stool until 30 seconds into 
the rest period. 

Round 2:  Jesse was counted out after an immediate 5 punch flurry 
by the champion.  The time was 17 seconds into round. 

Bowe looked quick and sharp against a fighter that had really no 
business in a championship bout. 

November 13, 1993 in Las Vegas:  Riddick Bowe defends title 
against former champion Evander Holyfield.  Holyfield weighed a 
very muscular and in shape 217 lbs.  Bowe weighed in at 246 lbs 
and appeared not to be in the best of shape. 

Round 1:  Bowe quickly scored with an overhead shot to the side 
of Evander's head that spun him around awkwardly.  Bowe quickly 
followed up with a flurry of punches that Holyfield mostly 
avoided.  Action slowed down for the latter part of the round. 

Round 2:  Holyfield landed a hard left right combination and 
later with a solid right uppercut.  Evander then misses badly 
with a wild left hook.  Holyfield scores with a left and Bowe 
answers with two rights.  A good round for Holyfield. 

Round 3:  Early on Evander is wild with a left hook.  Now Bowe 
dominates with left jabs and some rights to the body.  Bowe 
complains to the referee of being thumbed.  Riddick connects with 
a hard right to the jaw as the round draws to a close.  Good 
round Bowe. 

Round 4:  Bowe lands a hard left hook.  Evander a left right 
combination, Bowe a right uppercut, Evander with several rights 
to the head, and Bowe lands several low blows that the referee 
ignored.  The intensity built up as the bell rang, and both 
fighters continued firing haymakers for another seven seconds 
until broken up by their handlers and the referee.  Toward the 
end of the round Bowe sustained a cut by his left eye and another 
in the middle of his forehead. 

Round 5 & 6:  Bowe starts both rounds slowly and Evander takes 
the offense.  He lands a number of left jabs and combinations.  
He hurts Bowe in round 5, but can't effective follow it up, 
although he tries to do so.  Bowe counters mainly with rights, 
but is not effective.  Bowe's eye is bleeding at the end of both 
rounds.  Holyfield easily wins both rounds. 

Round 7:  Bowe starts this round using his left jab, and takes 
the fight to Holyfield.  Bowe initiates one short flurry of 
punches without much effectiveness.  With 1:50 remaining in the 
round a most bazaar thing occurred.  A moterized parachutist 
lands ringside with his chute caught in the lighting and his feet 
on top of the upper ring ropes.  He is taken off by the police 
and round continued after a 20 minute delay. 

Blood is no longer coming from the eye of Bowe.  But it is 
Holyfield that finishes the round with the most energy, after 
what appeared to be a good round for Riddick. 

Round 8:  This round both fighters fought hard with Evander 
seeming to outlast Bowe in sustaining a continuing barrage of 
punches.  This time they continued fighting for about three 
seconds after the bell. 

Round 9:  Bowe takes the first part of the round by landing a 
variety of punches and hurting Evander with a solid right to the 
jaw.  The challenger recovers quickly and scores a hard left 
hook.  Bowe lands a solid left hook after the bell.  Good round 
for the champion. 

Round 10:  Most of the fighting now switched to the inside.  With 
Holyfield getting the better.  Bowe appeared to be slowing down, 
but was still able to counter effectively. Bowe lost his mouth 
piece near the end of the round when hit by a left hook.  His eye 
was bleeding again. 

Round 11:  Similar to round 10, with Holyfield the aggressor and 
landing the majority of the power punches on the inside.  Bowe 
did rally as the round ended.  Two good rounds for Evander.  

Round 12:  Again the fighting was on the inside.  Now Bowe was 
the aggressor for the most part.  Obviously very tired, he 
delivered many punches, although most were not well coordinated.  
With 50 seconds left, he scored a hard right uppercut to 
Holyfield's jaw knocking out his mouth piece.  Evander was hurt, 
but Bowe just didn't have the energy to finish him off.  Again 
both fighters continued swinging after the bell and were 
separated - Bowe by the referee and Holyfield by a handler who 
tackled the challenger. 

Holyfield regained the championship with a majority decision:  
114-114, 115-114, and 115-113.  This was a hard fight to score.  
Bowe landed a majority of the punches, with Holyfield landing a 
better percentage.  Most people agreed with the decision.