Just two fights after retiring Lou Savarese, and one fight removed from losing to Sultan Ibraghimov for the WBO heavyweight belt, Evander Holyfield would get his last shot at a major heavyweight belt in a matchup with the biggest man in championship boxing history, Nicolai Valuev. The big Russian measured an even seven feet in height and outweighed Holyfield by 97 pounds in the bout... it was a literal David vs Goliath matchup. Valuev was a two-time WBA champion, having won the belt by decision over John Ruiz and lost it to Ruslan Chagaev before regaining the belt with another win over Ruiz, who had been given the belt back by the WBA.
Due primarily to Valuev's size and Holyfield's age and ring wear, the Russian came in as a 10-1 favorite, but the fight would be one-sided in the other direction, with Holyfield essentially dominating a barely-active Valuev... nonetheless, in yet one more black eye for the division, the judges handed a majority decision to Valuev, depriving Holyfield of his final shot at a title.
Suffice to say, Rob and Butch have a lot to say (yell) about this bout.
