Michael Moorer took a swipe at his critics for dwelling on his bad fights and not the good ones as he prepared to meet Evander Holyfield in a heavyweight championship unification match next month in Las Vegas.

"It just amazes me how people want to focus on past performances that I looked bad in," Moorer said from his training camp in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

In his last fight, Moorer plodded through a lethargic 12 rounds against unheralded challenger Vaughn Bean, escaping with a points decision to retain his International Boxing Federation (IBF) crown and set up a November 8th re-match with Holyfield, the World Boxing Association champion.

"I had a lot of problems before that fight," said Moorer, who raised his mark to 39-1 after his March bout against Bean.

One of those problems was an injured right shoulder that later required surgery, said Moorer's manager, John Davimos.

Moorer is also often remembered for his only loss in 40 pro fights, the IBF champion complained, referring to the stunning knockout defeat to George Foreman, when he lost the championship three years ago.

"That's all people remember about Michael Moorer, for being knocked out by Foreman," Moorer said of the 10th-round shocker, when he was floored by a Foreman right hand after being comfortably ahead in the bout.

"They just want to see the negativity. They forget that I'm a two-time world champion."

While Moorer struggled in his last fight, Holyfield, 33-3, is riding high after beating Mike Tyson in back-to-back bouts.

Holyfield knocked down and stopped Tyson in the 11th round of their first bout nearly a year ago, and then won the re-match in June when Tyson was disqualified in the third round for twice biting his ear.

Moorer, however, is not in awe of Holyfield. He beat Holyfield in their first fight three years ago and said that since that win he has gotten better. "I beat him before and I think I've improved and I don't know whether he has improved," said Moorer.