WATCH: When Evander Holyfield Knocked Out Buster Douglas to Become the Unified Heavyweight Champion

Published 10/26/2020, 12:13 PM EDT

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Thirty years ago, the boxing world witnessed a stellar heavyweight title unification matchup between Evander Holyfield and Buster Douglas, where the latter faced a crushing KO defeat.

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It could have been like any other heavyweight title contest if Douglas wasn’t relishing his win against Mike Tyson before the fight.

That said, Douglas entered the ring against Holyfield with huge attention. Being the first man to dismantle Mike Tyson, he was the new rising superstar of the division. However, Holyfield curbed his prominence in a one-sided contest. It was a matter of three rounds until ‘The Real Deal’ knocked out Douglas for the WBA, WBC, and IBF world titles.

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It was Douglas’ first title defense, and he failed miserably before Holyfield. Three decades later, the fight is still fresh in the fans’ minds and they recall it like an event of yesterday. Here’s a look at the blockbuster contest from the past.

Evander Holyfield busted Buster Douglas in fashion

Holyfield looked sharp from the beginning of the fight. He constantly put pressure on Douglas and dominated the first round with clean strikes. The second round was no different.

Although Douglas tried to outclass Holyfield by working on the body, it didn’t prove to be beneficial. Meanwhile, Evander Holyfield required just one perfect shot to seal the win. The duo was involved in a heated exchange in the third round. And Holyfield landed a flush right hand on Douglas.

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The champion landed clean on the canvas and couldn’t get back on his feet. Holyfield became the new unified heavyweight champion of the world in one of the biggest fights of his pro career.

While it has been thirty years since the contest, a 58-year-old Holyfield wants to get back inside the boxing ring again. He has already started his training. If things go per plan, we can see him in an action by next year. However, it is still too early to predict that.

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Written by:

Raj Sarkar

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A senior boxing writer at EssentiallySports, Raj Sarkar is a mass media graduate who is currently pursuing his master’s degree in broadcast journalism. In addition to his current role, he has worked with the MMA team at EssentiallySports and has interviewed prominent fighters such as Ritu Phogat and 'The Red King' Rory MacDonald. He combined his bachelor's degree with his adoration for combat sports and has a combined 2000 plus bylines in MMA and boxing over the last two years.
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