After his knockout loss to Riddick Bowe in November of 1995, he had to find someone to fight to regain his confidence with. He found the perfect opponent in Bobby Czyz, the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, but certainly a small heavyweight at best, standing at only 5′ 10″ and small in stature.
The bout was part of a big card at Madison Square Garden on May 10, 1996 featuring all heavyweights. Lennox Lewis, Ray Mercer, Tim Witherspoon and Jorge Luis Gonzalez all fought first, setting up the main event, Holyfield vs. Czyz.
Evander came out firing, trying to put Czyz away, but couldn’t do it. He had a hard chin, and after a few rounds, Evander’s trainer Tommy Brooks asked “Why is this guy still in here Boss? Get him out of here!” But as hard as his fighter tried, Czyz stood tough. He survived a standing eight count at one point, but never hit the canvas.
Czyz’s corner stopped the fight after the fifth round, claiming he couldn’t see. He was in obvious pain and told Larry Merchant after the fight his interview, that “His eyes were burning like crazy.”
I figured out myself why. Tommy Parks, Czyz’s trainer, put something in Bobby’s eyes to halt the bout, and keep his boxer from getting hurt. No one may ever admit, but I guarantee that’s the truth. Whatever the end result, Evander had his victory, and said after the fight “I want another title shot.” The public’s perception of him had changed however, and after this lackluster performance, no one really believed he could beat Mike Tyson, who had recaptured the title in March from Frank Bruno.
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