After he won the cruiserweight belt against Dwight Qawi in July of 1986, Evander fought once more that year. He traveled to Paris, France in December, and knocked out Mike Brothers in three rounds, a non-title bout.
His first defense came in February of 1987 against Henry Tillman. They were teammates on the 1984 Olympic team and good friends, so much so that Evander was the best man in Henry’s wedding. The fight itself was all business, and as I watched it live on NBC, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Tillman. Holyfield overwhelmed him, and stopped him in the seventh round in Reno, Nevada.
He then added the IBF belt to his collection with an easy three round knockout of Rickey Parkey in May at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. It was obvious every time you saw Holyfield fight, that he was special boxer, and would be a champion for many years.
His next bout saw him travel to St.-Tropez on August 15, 1987 to take on the challenge of Ossie Ocasio. It was no quick KO, but Evander did stop him in the eleventh round to retain his title.
A rematch with Qawi took place in December in Atlantic City. Evander had signed a contract with Showtime, and I had no means to see this one live. It was no war the second go round, with Holyfield knocking him down and out in the fourth. His last goal now as a cruiserweight was to unify all three belts, and his eyes were on Carlos DeLeon, who held the WBC version of the championship.
Evander went back to Caesar’s Palace on April 9, 1988 to take on DeLeon. Another Showtime telecast, meant I didn’t see it live, but Holyfield got the job done, even if I wasn’t watching. He stopped Carlos in the eighth, and was now unified Cruiserweight Champion of the World.
It would in fact be his last fight in that division, and moved up to heavyweight in July to take on James Tillis. There is no doubt in my mind, that if you look at boxing history, Evander Holyfield was the best cruiserweight that ever lived.
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