If Evander Holyfield stay at light heavyweight, could he be the greatest light heavyweight of all time?

Question

I mean if he stay at LHW after beating Dwight Braxton...he should be able to defend his title 20 times or more...

Answer 1

I think Evander was a great Heavyweight and a real fun guy to watch, but I don't know why everyone seems to think that his skills would have been better just because he was lighter?  He would have been a bigger puncher at that weight but not a killer like Bob Foster or Archie Moore, at Cruiserweight he wasn't really even that devastating a puncher.

Eventually he would have had to take on James Toney and Roy Jones.  James Toney's skills were too much for Holyfield when Evander had a substantial physical advantage - what would have happened if he didn't even have that on Lights Out?  Toney would have just beat him up worse- and before everyone starts pointing out that Holyfield was well past his prime when Toney beat the h**l out of him, just stop and take a look at James Toney and tell me that it was a "prime" James Toney that beat him.

Roy Jones would have beat him too, I think everyone is getting this image of a giant light heavyweight, he wouldn't look like he did as a heavyweight, he wouldn't be able to overpower guys, etc. and like I said, he wasn't even that big a puncher at 190.  Remember, that after Roy demolished Griffin in their rematch a lot of people were speculating that Roy could beat Holyfield then..at Heavyweight.  

A prime Jones and/or a prime Toney would have handled Holyfield at 175.

Answer 2

That's for sure.  There's not much talent at 175 since the 80's and Evander would've cleaned up that division in less than 5 years.

Answer 3

If there WAS a way he could have remained then that might be possible.  I knew from the beginning of his career that he would not be able to remain a light heavyweight.   If Im not mistaken, I believe he fought Qwai at cruiserweight.  They fought twice, once to the distance (Evander was very sick for making weight but still won.........That fight might have been at 175),  the second fight, Evander won.  One punch in the 4th round put Qwai on his face.  

Im pretty sure Evander would not have been able to remain a light heavyweight.  Only his competitive nature promped him to go after the heavyweights.  He could have remained a crusier as long as he wanted.  However, as long as he knows there is a bigger challenge he wouldn't stay at cruiser.

I cant say what might have happened had he remained a light heavyweight because I know it's impossible.   As for remaining at cruiser, NOT going to heavyweight, and bigger challenges, wouldn't be HIM.   He wouldn't BE Evander Holyfield, as we know him,  if he didn't seek bigger mountains to climb.  

He's a true asset to the sport.  HEART, COURAGE, DETERMINATION, WILL.  Those are the things that got him past Mike Tyson (and having more common sense than Mike, who fought a dumb fight the first time).  In those catagories, Evander is in a very small elite class along with Marciano and Frazier.

Answer 4

He is already the greatest cruiserweight of all time.  I dunno if he fought at LH in the pros.

Answer 5

Unquestionably yes.

However he was never in the Light Heavyweight Division.

He was in Cruiserweight. And he was unquestionably the best.

Entering the Heavyweight scene he was still fantastic.

I mean he was undisputed champ when he beat James " Buster " Douglas.

Then he beat Riddick Bowe to gain back two of the titles ( Bowe lost one ).

Then he got Tyson's WBA title back and gained the IBF crown yet again.

He also go his WBA title back for a 4th time after it was vacated by Lewis.

He's one of the best Heavyweights of his era!

And he's only lost 9 fights, 4 of those in his 40s.

He was of course perfect in his Cruiserweight division, all his losses came in Heavyweight class.

Answer 6

I think you mean cruiserweight, becuase he beat Dwight Muhammad Qawi (Braxton) for the cruiserweight title.  He is already regarded as the greatest cruiserweight of all time and if he stayed there, I don't think anyone would have beaten him, and it is possible that he could have defended his title for a record amount of times.  And he still went on to become the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the best of all time, even though everyone said he was too small and that he would be destroyed by someone like Tyson (look what happened there).  In my eyes, his accompishments at cruiserweight AND heavyweight make him an all-time great.

Answer 7

I have no doubt in my mind about that, he dominated that division(the cruiser weight division...he never fought in the light heavyweight) and honestly at that point in time there was no one that could beat him in that weight class, he could have stayed there and remained undisputed champ for years.....but since the big money was in the heavyweight division he decided to move up there,moreover there was no one to face in his own division anymore and he had a lot more talent than many heavyweights at the time.