Unlike many of his contemporaries, his appearances might be far and few. However, as one of the greatest boxers in the sport’s history, what Evander Holyfield says means a lot to a lot of fans and followers. It’s been over a decade since he retired. But the die-hards still look forward to his views on present-day boxing. He was in Riyadh recently to watch the crossover blockbuster between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. Many other legends joined him at the mega-event.

Like everyone else, the luminaries also saw the post-Ngannou fight face-off between ‘The Gypsy King’ and Oleksandr Usyk. The era’s most successful heavyweights are expected to meet early next year. A winner between the two becomes the first undisputed heavyweight champion after Lennox Lewis. Looking forward to the much-vaunted fight, Evander Holyfield has his own favorite to win. Talking about his pick of choice, the former world champion even went down memory lane when he used to fight the likes of Mike Tyson.

Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk: Evander Holyfield goes in time for an answer

Catching up with ‘The Real Deal’ at the airport, Elie Seckbach asked him for Oleksandr Usyk’s chances against Tyson Fury. After all, the trajectory of their careers is similar. Both Holyfield and Usyk were undisputed cruiserweight kings before jumping into the heavyweight cauldron. “How does he do with the Fury? Alexander Usyk, how does he do against Fury if they fight in February?” Seckbach asked. Evander Holyfield explained that this is just how boxers fight.

But the bigger question is whether the Ukrainian is capable of defeating Tyson Fury. If it does, then there’s nothing else bigger than that. Soon after, perhaps on a comparative note, ‘The Real Deal’ reflected how the competition between other greats such as Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis used to be in his era. He said, “…I’m talking from that, you know. But he’s the best guy in this era, but you gotta understand, like in the game of boxing, you know, it’s just like in the 90s. No doubt that [the] 90s [were] the best group because you had so many competitors.”

The boxing great further added how the amateur boxing scene back in his days was fantastic. It consistently produced a larger pool of skilled boxers.

Holyfield acknowledges a heavyweight boxing novice’s prowess

Earlier, Evander Holyfield shared how Francis Ngannou impressed him. Even to him, it was surprising that a pro boxing debutant fought so well. Tyson Fury was definitely the winner, he stressed. However, for Ngannou to have pushed the reigning heavyweight champion to the limit was a great accomplishment. According to the former heavyweight champion, it is highly likely that Fury might not have been in the best of shape. The Mancunian is one of the few boxers who stood up after receiving some of the meanest punches from Deontay Wilder. Though he managed to outpoint Ngannou, it was apparent that he barely made it through the fight.