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 Moorer also won a bronze medal at the Goodwill Games, and finished his amateur career with a record of 48-16. Moorer had a fast rise through the professional boxing ranks. He debuted on March 4, 1988, knocking out Adrian Riggs in the first round. Before the year's end, he was undefeated in eleven bouts (winning all by way of early round knockouts) and fighting for the world title for the first time. He acquired the newly created WBO light heavyweight title with a five-round knockout of Ramzi Hassan. In 1989, he retained the title six times, beating Freddie Delgado, Frankie