On November 13, 1992, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield fought Riddick ‘Big Daddy’ Bowe in the first of what would become a trilogy of not-to-be-forgotten bouts between the pair. Holyfield, 30, came into the fight as undisputed world heavyweight champion – having won the WBC, WBA and IBF titles with a third-round knockout of James ‘Buster’ Douglas at The Mirage, Las Vegas two years earlier – and unbeaten in all 28 professional matches. Bowe, 25, was similarly unbeaten, boasting 27 knockouts in his 31-fight professional career, but stood 3″ taller and weighed in 30lb heavier than Holyfield.
Unsurprisingly, granted his height, weight and reach advantage, Bowe landed the harder and more significant punches throughout the first nine rounds. Nevertheless, despite being outgunned, Holyfield refused to yield kept coming forward. Early in the tenth round – later hailed as ‘The Round of the Year’ by ‘The Ring’ – Bowe hurt his opponent with a right uppercut and, sensing blood, unleashed a flurry of punches which, at one point, Holyfield seemed unlikely to survive. Survive he did, though, and finished the round strongly.
In the eleventh round, Bowe hurt Holyfield again, with a left hook, and followed up with powerful right hand that knocked the champion off his feet. Holyfield survived that round, too, but by that stage the result had gone beyond recall; Bowe used his jab to good effect for the remainder of the contest and won, comfortably, by unanimous decision, 115-112, 117-110, 117-110.