Though he had been a 7–5 favorite, Holyfield had difficulty trading punches with the bigger, stronger and younger Bowe. Bowe landed 53% of his 248 thrown punches while Holyfield only managed to land 39% of his 161 thrown.

The fight is perhaps best known for its 10th round, during which Bowe started strongly, hitting Holyfield with several powerful combinations. Holyfield, however, was able to weather the storm and dominated the second half of the round, landing several combinations of his own.

Bowe did better than Holyfield in round 11. Bowe hit Holyfield with even more combinations, eventually hitting Holyfield with a right hook before knocking Holyfield down with a right hand to the side of the head. Though announcer Jim Lampley claimed it would "seem like a miracle" for Holyfield to finish the round, Holyfield somehow managed to survive the remainder of the round.

Knowing he was behind in the scorecards and would need a knockout to win the fight, Holyfield was aggressive in round 12. Bowe was able to withstand Holyfield's offense throughout the round and won all three judge's scorecards by scores of 117–110, 117–110 and 115–112 giving him a unanimous decision victory. The Associated Press scored the bout 116-111 for Bowe.