Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II was finally announced. Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II was a professional boxing match contested November 8, 1997 for the WBA and IBF Heavyweight championships. After Riddick Bowe vacated the WBC Heavyweight title in 1992 followed by George Foreman being stripped of both the WBA and IBF Heavyweight titles in 1995, the heavyweight boxing division was in limbo as three different men laid claim to each of the three major heavyweight championships in 1997. Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer held the WBA and IBF Heavyweight titles respectively, while Lennox Lewis held the WBC version
Michael Moorer their professional relationship. He replaced him with Freddie Roach. On November 8, Moorer lost his IBF title in a unification match with WBA champion Evander Holyfield. Moorer was knocked down five times before ringside doctor Flip Homansky advised referee Mitch Halpern to stop the bout in round eight. After this, he retired from boxing for three years before returning with a knockout of journeyman Lorenzo Boyd. Moorer had began drinking heavily and weighed 270 pounds. During his comeback he won three more fights, then seemingly retired again when he was knocked out only 30 seconds into round one by David