In what will forever be etched in the annals of heavyweight lore, Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield turned back the clock and turned the tables on Mike Tyson, scoring a stunning 11th-round TKO at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in front of a capacity crowd of 16,103 roaring fans.

The bout, dubbed Finally, marked Tyson’s first defence of the WBA heavyweight crown—a title he seized with brutal efficiency from Bruce Seldon just two months prior. Pundits dismissed Holyfield as a shadow of his former self, assigning him underdog odds as high as 25-1 in early betting. But by the time the first bell rang, Holyfield’s odds had shrunk, and so too would Tyson’s aura of invincibility.

Tyson, ever the aggressor, charged out in his signature style, unleashing early blows that sent the crowd into a frenzy. But Holyfield, undeterred, absorbed the early heat and began to dictate the rhythm. With clinical precision, he stifled Tyson’s bursts, used his superior reach, and physically muscled the champion in the clinch—something few had dared, and even fewer had succeeded at.

By the second round, Holyfield landed a decisive left that visibly shook Tyson. From there, the tide turned. Holyfield, often dismissed as the smaller man, became the bully in the ring—countering, crowding, and confounding the once-feared brawler.

The sixth saw Tyson dropped for only the second time in his career—first since Buster Douglas—in a moment that would reverberate through the division. A clash of heads opened a cut above Tyson’s eye, ruled unintentional, but the mental toll was evident. Tyson, increasingly desperate, began swinging wildly, his combinations devolving into single shots, his timing lost in the relentless press of Holyfield’s attack.

In the tenth, the former cruiserweight kingpin unleashed a flurry that left Tyson staggered and dazed. The eleventh opened with Holyfield swarming his rival once more. With Tyson slumped against the ropes, referee Mitch Halpern had seen enough.

In a seismic upset, Holyfield became a three-time heavyweight champion. The crowd erupted. Bettors rejoiced. And history had a new chapter.

This wasn’t just a win. It was a resurrection. And for Tyson, it was a reckoning. Boxing had witnessed not just a fight, but a turning point.