Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II In an effort to unify the three titles, the WBA and IBF organizations announced a unification bout between Holyfield and Moorer set for November 8, 1997. The two men had previously fought each other on April 22, 1994 for Holyfield's WBA, IBF and "Lineal" Heavyweight championships. In a close fight, Moorer earned an upset victory over Holyfield to become the first southpaw to win a major Heavyweight title. However, his reign would not last long as he was defeated by 45-year-old George Foreman via 10th-round knockout in his first defense of the titles. Foreman, however, would eventually be stripped of
Michael Moorer IBF belt vacant instead. South African Francois Botha travelled to Germany instead and beat Schultz with another close decision to claim the title, but he was stripped of it when he tested positive for illegal substances shortly after. Moorer was then given the opportunity to fight Schultz for the vacant crown in Berlin. On June 22, 1996, Moorer won the IBF heavyweight crown once again, beating Schultz by a 12-round split decision. He thus technically became a three-time heavyweight champion; WBO (1992), WBA/IBF (1994) and IBF (1996–1997). It should be noted that when Moorer held the WBO heavyweight title, it