After suffering the first defeat of his career and losing the Heavyweight Championship to Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield contemplates retirement but decides to make another run at the title. His first step is a retread as he again faces Alex Stewart in a battle between top contenders. Unlike their first brawl, Holyfield controls Stewart throughout the rematch by first hurting him with an uppercut at the end of the opening round and rocking him with a right hand in the second. Suffering from another cut over his left eye, Stewart offers few real efforts to win the fight and is hurt by a right hand at the end of the eighth and another uppercut at the end of the eleventh. After twelve rounds, Holyfield wins a wide unanimous decision, positioning himself for a rematch with Bowe.

Only The Strong Survive: Evander Holyfield vs. Alex Stewart II

Undefeated fighters collide for a shot at the Heavyweight Championship when Evander Holyfield faces knockout artist Alex Stewart. Holyfield comes out strong, stinging Stewart a few times in the opening round, trading bombs with him in the second and buckling Stewart's knees with a right hand near the end of it. Stewart mounts a big comeback in the fifth, dropping some huge bombs on Holyfield in the center of the ring, but Evander eats them all and comes back to trade with him again. In the sixth, Holyfield nearly takes Stewart's head off with an uppercut and turns his face into a bloody mess due to a cut over the right eye. Although Holyfield fails to put him down, Stewart has to be stopped near the end of the eighth round when Referee Tony Perez consults with the ringside doctor about the cut.

Only The Strong Survive: Evander Holyfield vs. Alex Stewart II

Undefeated: Evander Holyfield vs. Alex Stewart I

On this Day