Evander Holyfield: Boxing
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is a retired legendary, undisputed world champion boxer. He made the U.S. Olympic team in 1984 held in Los Angeles and experienced a great disappointment in the ring. Evander Holyfield moved to heavyweight in 1988, winning six fights then knocked out James “Buster” Douglas claiming The Ring, WBC, WBA and IBF Heavyweight titles. In 1996, he defeated Evander Holyfield by eleventh round technical knockout in 1996 after returning one year later from forced retirement in 1994. In 1997, Holyfield became the first Heavyweight to win the World title three times and did a rematch with Tyson but on the third round Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ear. He faced other famous boxers like Dwight Qwai (Holyfield won the World Cruiserweight title, 1986), Lennon Lewis (split draw) and John Ruiz ( but seven months later they did a rematch and Holyfield lost).
Greatest Sporting Achievements
Nicknamed, “The Real Deal”, Evander Holyfield had 57 total fights, 44 wins, 29 wins by knockout, 10 losses, 2 draw and 1 contests. He is the only four-time World Heavyweight Champion winning the WBA, WBC and IBF titles in 1990, WBA and IBF titles in 1993 and WBA title in 1996 and 2000.
In 1984, he won the bronze medal after a questionable call by the referee.
Why Was He So Good?
- Holyfield is passionate and driven. He is also a spiritual man, spending several of the late rounds praying to God to give him strength. His faith was also responsible for each of his victory, as well as his fists.
What You May Not Know - As a child, he took boxing lessons in Atlanta, Georgia where he grew up and competed as amateur in the Golden Gloves competitions in the 80s.
- An epic 15-round battle against WBA champion Dwight Qawi was considered to be the Fight of the Decade in the 80s.
- Evander Holyfield won over $230 million in the ring, giving millions to church and supported various causes including the Evander Holyfield Foundation.
Related Pages
- More Boxer Profiles
- About Boxing
- Athlete Database home
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