Man, Evander Holyfield's 'Real Deal' Boxing on Genesis hits harder than you'd expect. The first thing you notice is how weighty the punches feel—none of that floaty arcade stuff. You pick your stance, adjust your guard, and suddenly you're trading jabs with some seriously tough opponents who actually dodge and counter.

Holyfield's in there as the obvious main attraction, but the real surprise is how tactical it gets. You can't just button-mash; timing hooks and managing stamina matters way more than in most boxing games from that era. The crowd noise and referee animations give it this gritty, late-night HBO fight vibe.

It's not perfect—some of the movement feels stiff now—but landing a perfect uppercut after baiting the AI into overextending? Still stupidly satisfying decades later.