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If you ask anybody when the heavyweight division had seen it’s best days the likely answer you would receive is the 1970’s. That is hard to argue against when you had names like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes all facing one another.
But for me, the second best time was the 1990’s. The 1980’s featured Mike Tyson at his best. But let’s be honest, the competition there wasn’t all that stellar. People have been mostly impressed with the way Tyson dispatched those guys at that time. Not because of the quality of his opposition.
But the 1990’s was also a pretty exciting time for the division, even if we did not get to see all the fights that we had hoped to (yes, Riddick Bowe, I am looking at you). We saw three great fights between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis losing and then regaining what was took from him, “old” George Foreman setting new records and Evander Holyfield continuously surprising everybody.
This article is going to list boxers from most to least in terms of how much influence they had on that particular decade.
Lennox Lewis
There is no doubt that Lennox Lewis had the most effect on the 1990’s. He won the heavyweight title twice and reinvented himself after his shock loss to Oliver McCall in 1994. It was a long way back for him, but he knuckled down and finally got his shot at the title in February, 1997 after Mike Tyson vacated it after beating Frank Bruno in March, 1996. With Mike Tyson out of the picture during the first half of the decade and only having sporadic success when he made his return, Lewis was left to do what Tyson could have. Mike may be regarded as the much more exciting boxer. But Lewis took centre stage as he fought other big 90’s names like Evander Holyfield, Ray Mercer and even tried to tempt Riddick Bowe into the ring. The Brooklyn fighter wanted nothing to do with him.
Evander Holyfield
The second biggest name to have the most influence is Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield. Largely admired for his courage and strong will, Holyfield fought everybody you could have wished him to. George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Ray Mercer and Riddick Bowe all shared the ring with him. And most of them lost. Despite often being the smaller man, Holyfield wasn’t afraid to stand and trade with his opponents, always giving value for money and upsetting the odds unexpectedly. More than once!
Mike Tyson
After being imprisoned for a rape charge in 1990, Mike Tyson was finally released in 1995 and made his return to boxing that same year, beating Peter McNeeley in the first round. He got a shot at the WBC title in March, 1996 and beat Frank Bruno and later Bruce Seldon for the WBA crown. But he didn’t expect to run into a still ample Evander Holyfield before 1996 had run it’s course and shocked the world by losing by knockout in the 11th round. He was suspended and fined from boxing the next year after losing by a disqualification when he beat Holyfield on his ears in a rematch that is now one of the infamous in history.
Unfortunately for him, Tyson’s influence on the 1990’s was largely for all the wrong reasons. There are only a couple of them that are positive, most of which have already been stated.
George Foreman
Still the oldest heavyweight champion in history, George Foreman set that record in 1995 when he knocked out Michael Moorer in the 10th round in a big upset. Foreman, at the age of 45, captured the WBA and IBF crowns. While there is hardly anything of note elsewhere in the decade to point out about Foreman’s campaign throughout this time, just maybe his outstanding achievement has gone on to be a little underappreciated.
Riddick Bowe
The silver medalist, Riddick Bowe had three thrilling fights with Evander Holyfield and two decent ones when he fought Andrew Golota. Officially recognised as a two time champion, Bowe had a penchant for being a bit lazy which let himself down. His choosing to play it safe and avoid such fights with Lennox Lewis, who beat him in the amateurs, also hurts his standing as a major influence on the 1990’s.
Much like with Mike Tyson, he is a case of “what could have been” had he dedicated himself to the sport more.
Ray Mercer
Blessed with an iron chin and winning gold, Ray Mercer could really bang and take punishment from the best of them including Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Larry Holmes. Perhaps not as successful as other fighters who have won the gold medal, Mercer still managed to win the WBO title. But he often came up short when he faced the elite of the division.
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