Boxing history was made when Michael Moorer became the first left-handed heavyweight champion, wresting the crown from the courageous Evander Holyfield on a majority decision.
Moorer, a 2-1 underdog, and Holyfield staged a fistic war, with Moorer rallying from a second-round knockdown to battle back, keeping Holyfield off balance with a powerful right-handed jab that was backed up with a dominating left. The 12th and final round was a slugfest of grueling and grim proportions, with Moorer prevailing for those three minutes and for just enough of the bitter battle.
Two judges scored the fight for Moorer, one called it a draw. Chuck Giampa had it 116-112, Jerry Roth 115-114. Dalby Shirley scored it even at 114.

 

The undercard featured a stunning upset, when John Michael Johnson of San Antonio, a heavy underdog, stopped previously unbeaten "Poison" Junior Jones of Brooklyn, N.Y., at 1:21 of the 11th round to take Jones's WBA bantamweight title.
The 22-year-old Jones had been regarded as one of the best American small boxers, having rung up 32 straight victories, 22 by knockout. But Johnson, who once lost a four-round decision to Jones, fought back for his 11th straight victory with knockdowns in both the fourth and 11th rounds.

 

In another undercard title fight, John John Molina of Puerto Rico (35-3) pounded out a unanimous decision over Gregorio Vargas of Mexico (29-5-1) to retain his IBF junior lightweight championship.