The Boxing History Blog

Mike Tyson Hiatus Two weeks after the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson rematch, Lennox Lewis made the first defence of his second tenure of the WBC heavyweight crown. He took on his number one contender Henry Akinwande. Akinwande was a former WBO champion, who vacated the belt to get a shot at Lewis. Two-thousand fans watched a disappointing encounter which saw Akinwande get disqualified in the fifth round for excessive holding. Lewis was back in the ring on 04th October the same year, this time taking on Andrew Golota from Poland. Golota's previous two meetings were with Riddick Bowe. He lost them both by disqualification due to low blows, but he had the former two-time heavyweight champion in all sorts of trouble before the fouls. Lewis only needed 95 seconds to dispose of his challenger. On 08th November 1997 WBA heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield stepped into the ring with IBF counterpart Michael Moorer. Even though Moorer outpointed Holyfield in Apr

Mike Tyson Finally With Mike Tyson's easy win over WBA champion Bruce Seldon, the world was looking forward to Tyson squaring off against WBC top contender Lennox Lewis. Don King had already paid Lewis $4,000,000 step aside money so the Seldon contest could go ahead, as a New Jersey court ruled earlier in the year that Lewis must be faced before the WBA champion. As the two camps couldn't agree on a deal for the fight, the World Boxing Council, following the court ruling, stripped Tyson of the WBC belt on 24th September 1996. "We are disappointed and surprised that Tyson decided to give up the title instead of fighting Lennox," said Lewis' promotor Dino Duva. Now as WBA champion, Tyson put his belt on the line against Evander Holyfield. The bout was billed as Finally, as these two were originally pencilled in to face off in June 1990, but James 'Buster' Douglas put pay to that in Tokyo. The pair were also due to meet for Holyfield

Mike Tyson Tyson looking in top condition for his first fight back Vs Peter McNeeley As Mike Tyson sat in his prison cell, the heavyweight division continued without him. Evander 'Real Deal' Holyfield defended the undisputed championship against another forty-something opponent, former champ Larry Holmes. Holmes retired after his fourth round destruction at the fists of Tyson in January 1988, only to come back again on 07th April 1991. His opponent was Tim Anderson and it took him two-minutes and 03 seconds to secure his first win since beating Carl Williams on 20th May 1985. He won four more fights before taking on the former WBO heavyweight champion Ray Mercer. Holmes put on a masterclass and humiliated his younger opponent, wining by a twelve round unanimous decision, which earned him a shot at Holyfield. Evander Holyfield the undisputed heavyweight champion 1990 - 1992 The bout took place on 19th June 1992 and the forty-two year old grandfather o