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
George Foreman vs. Tommy Morrison title against little-known Michael Bentt in what was perceived to be a warmup before facing Lewis. However, Bentt would unexpectedly score three knockdowns over Morrison en route to a first-round knockout victory that cost Morrison his title match against Lewis. Foreman initially stuck with his retirement plans and spent a year and a half without participating in a boxing match. However, Foreman decided to challenge the newly crowned WBA and IBF heavyweight champion Michael Moorer for his titles to which Moorer accepted. Moorer was having little trouble with Foreman and was ahead on all three scorecards when Foreman hit him