Another super great to almost legendary heavyweight boxer during the golden age of boxing (1964 – 1995) was Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield….who fights for his 2nd of 6 different world boxing titles that he won in his career….as seen in this video herewith ….which was a 12 round IBF Cruiserweight Championship Fight against then champion Rickey Parkey on May 15, 1987 at Caesars’ Palace in Las Vegas.
Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2011….during which time he reigned as the undisputed champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions….being the first and to date only boxer in history to do so….which earned him the nickname of “The Real Deal”….as Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion by having held the WBA, WBC, IBF, and Lineal titles from 1990 to 1992….along with the WBA, IBF, and Lineal titles again from 1993 to 1994….the WBA title from 1996 to 1999…..the IBF title from 1997 to 1999….and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.
As an amateur, Holyfield represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics…. where Bone Daddy saw him fight live while at the L A Summer Olympics….and eventuallywinning a bronze medal in the light heavyweight division. He turned professional at the age of 21….then moved up to cruiserweight in 1985 and won his first world championship the following year by defeating Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA title….then went on to defeat Rickey Parkey for the IBF Cruiserweight title….and Carlos de León to win the WBC, IBF, and lineal titles….thus becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion. He moved up to heavyweight in 1988….and then defeated Buster Douglas in 1990 to claim the undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF, and Lineal heavyweight titles….after Douglas had surprisingly taken the titles as a result of knocking out Iron Mike Tyson.
He successfully defended the undisputed heavyweight title three times by scoring victories over former champions and now boxing legends George Foreman and Larry Holmes….before suffering his first professional loss to Riddick Bowe in 1992. Holyfield regained the crown in a rematch one year later by defeating Bowe for the WBA and IBF titles….since Bowe had relinquished the WBC title beforehand….as Holyfield later would lose these titles in an upset to Michael Moorer in 1994.
Holyfield was forced to retire in 1994 upon medical advice….but returned a year later with a clean bill of health….so, in 1996 he went on to defeat Mike Tyson and reclaim the WBA title…..in a fight that was named by The Ring magazine as the Fight of the Year and the Upset of the Year. This made Holyfield the first boxer since Muhammad Ali to win the world heavyweight title three times….then Holyfield won a 1997 rematch against Tyson…. which saw the latter disqualified in round three for biting Holyfield on his ears….when during this reign as champion….The Real Deal also avenged his loss to Michael Moorer and reclaimed the IBF title.
In 1999 he faced Lennox Lewis in a unification fight for the undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF, and Lineal titles….which ended in a controversial split draw….which led to Holyfield being defeated in a rematch eight months later….but in the following year, he defeated John Ruiz for the vacant WBA title….thus becoming the first boxer in history to win a version of the heavyweight title four times. Holyfield lost a rematch against Ruiz seven months later and faced him for the third time in a draw in 2001…..as The Real Deal retired in 2014, and is ranked number 77 on The Ring’s list of 100 greatest punchers of all time…. while also being ranked by BoxingScene as the greatest cruiserweight of all time
Holyfields’ opponent in this video was Rickey Parkey….who is an American former professional boxer from Morristown, Tennessee…..who turned pro in 1981 and won the IBF Cruiserweight Title with a TKO win over Lee Roy Murphy in 1986. He defended the belt once before losing the title to Evander Holyfield via TKO the following year in a title unification bout…who retired in 1994\ with a record of 22 wins and 20 losses.
Any time a boxing fan gets to watch a legendary cruiserweight and heavyweight champion like Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield fight….especially for a world title….it becomes imperative that any boxing fan click and enjoy….and this fight is no exception.
