Evander Holyfield
Encyclopedia
Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer
from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight
divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal". After winning the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics
, he debuted as a professional at the age of 21.
Holyfield moved to the cruiserweight division in 1985 and won his first title the following year, when he defeated Dwight Muhammad Qawi
for the WBA
cruiserweight belt. He would then go on to defeat Ricky Parkey and Carlos De Leon
to win the Lineal
, IBF
and WBC
titles, becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion. Holyfield moved up to Heavyweight in 1988, defeating Buster Douglas for the The Ring, WBA, WBC, and IBF titles in 1990.
Evander Holyfield holds other notable victories over fighters such as; George Foreman
, Larry Holmes
, Riddick Bowe
, Ray Mercer
, Mike Tyson
(x2), Michael Moorer
, John Ruiz
, Michael Dokes
and Hasim Rahman
. Holyfield is the only 5-time World Heavyweight champion, winning the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles in 1990, the WBA and IBF titles in 1993 and the WBA title in 1996 and 2000.
and Larry Holmes
, before suffering his first professional loss to Riddick Bowe
on November 13, 1992. Holyfield regained the title in a rematch one year later, beating Bowe by majority decision for the WBA and IBF titles. Holyfield later lost the titles to Michael Moorer
on April 22, 1994, by Majority Decision.
Holyfield was forced to retire in 1994, only to return a year later. On November 9, 1996, he went on to defeat
Mike Tyson
by eleventh round technical knockout to win the WBA title, in what was named fight of the year
and upset of the year
for 1996 by The Ring
magazine. Evander Holyfield became the first Heavyweight since Muhammad Ali
to win the World title three times. Seven months later, Holyfield won the 1997 rematch
against Tyson, when the latter was disqualified in round three for biting off part of Holyfield's ear. During his reign as champion, he also avenged his loss to Michael Moorer, when he stopped him in eight rounds to win the IBF belt.
In 1999, he faced Lennox Lewis
in a split draw, but was defeated in a rematch eight months later. The following year, he won a unanimous decision over John Ruiz
for the vacant WBA heavyweight championship, becoming the first boxer to win a version of the heavyweight title four times. Holyfield would lose a rematch with Ruiz seven months later and would face him for the third time in a draw.
In 2010 Holyfield defeated Francois Botha
by TKO to capture the meaningless WBF
Heavyweight title.
Holyfield is still an active Boxer as of 2011 and has a professional record of 44 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw and 1 no contest. He is ranked #77 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Evander Holyfield is ranked as the Greatest Cruiserweight of all time by The Boxing Scene. and is concidered one of the Greatest Heavyweights of all time by many.
. The youngest of nine children, Holyfield and his family moved to Atlanta in the summer of 1964, at the age of two. He began boxing at age 12 and won the Boys Club boxing tournament. At 13, he qualified to compete in his first Junior Olympics. By age 15, Holyfield became the Southeastern Regional Champion, winning this tournament and the Best Boxer Award. By 1984 he had a record of 160 wins and 14 losses, with 76 KO.
When he was 20 years old, Holyfield represented the U.S. in the 1983 Pan American Games
in Caracas, Venezuela, where he won a silver medal
after losing to Cuban world champion Pablo Romero
.
The following year, he was the National Golden Gloves Champion, and won a bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games
in Los Angeles, California
after a controversial disqualification in the second round of the semi-final against New Zealand's Kevin Barry
.
with a televised win in six rounds over Lionel Byarm at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 1984. On January 20, 1985 he won another six-round decision over Eric Winbush in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On March 13, he knocked out Fred Brown in the first round in Norfolk, Virginia, and on April 20, he knocked out Mark Rivera in two rounds in Corpus Christi, Texas.
, moved up to the cruiserweight division for their fight on July 20, 1985 in Norfolk, Virginia
. Holyfield won an eight-round decision over Booze. Evander went on to knock out Rick Myers in the first round on August 29 in Holyfield's hometown of Atlanta. On October 30 in Atlantic City he knocked out opponent Jeff Meachem in five rounds, and his last fight for 1985 was against Anthony Davis on December 21 in Virginia Beach, Virginia
. He won by knocking out Davis in the fourth round.
He began 1986 with a knockout
in three rounds over former world cruiserweight challenger Chisanda Mutti, and proceeded to beat Jessy Shelby and Terry Mims before being given a world title try by the WBA
cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi
. In what was called by The Ring
as the best cruiserweight bout of the 1980s, Holyfield became world champion by defeating Qawi by a narrow 15 round split decision. He culminated 1986 with a trip to Paris, France, where he beat Mike Brothers by a knockout in three, in a non-title bout.
In 1987, he defended his title against former Olympic teammate and Gold medal winner Henry Tillman
, who had beaten Mike Tyson
twice as an amateur. He retained his belt, winning by seventh round knockout, and then went on to unify his WBA belt with the IBF
belt held by Ricky Parkey, knocking Parkey out in three rounds. For his next bout, he returned to France, where he retained the title with an eleven round knockout against former world champion Ossie Ocasio
. In his last fight of '87, he offered Muhammad Qawi a rematch, and this time, he beat Qawi by a knockout in four.
1988 was another productive year for Holyfield; he started by becoming the first universally recognized world cruiserweight champion after defeating the Lineal
& WBC
champion Carlos De León
at Las Vegas
. The fight was stopped after eight rounds.
, also by knockout, in seven rounds.
Holyfield began 1989 meeting another former world heavyweight champion, Michael Dokes
. This fight would also be named one of the best fights of the 1980s by Ring magazine, as best heavyweight bout of the 1980s. Holyfield won by a knockout in the tenth round, and then he met Brazil
ian champion Adilson Rodrigues, who lasted two rounds. His last fight of the 1980s was against Alex Stewart, a hard punching fringe contender. Stewart shocked Holyfield early, with quick, hard punches, but eventually fell in eight.
In 1990, Holyfield beat Seamus McDonagh
, knocking him out in four rounds. By this time, Holyfield had been Ring Magazine's Number 1 contender for two years and had yet to receive a shot at Tyson's heavyweight title.
in ten rounds in Tokyo to become the new undisputed heavyweight champion. Instead of fighting Tyson, Holyfield would be Douglas' first title defense.
They met on October 25, 1990. Douglas came into the fight at 246 lb. and offered little in the fight against Holyfield, who was in great shape at 208 lb. In the third round Douglas tried to start a combination with a big right uppercut. Holyfield countered with a straight right hand that was lightning quick, and Douglas went down for the count. Holyfield was the new undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. At the time of the knockout, Holyfield was ahead on all three judges' scorecards, all seeing it 20–18 for Holyfield.
In his first defense, he beat former and future world champion George Foreman
by unanimous decision in 12. The fight was billed as a "Battle for the Ages", a reference to the age differential between the young undefeated champion (28 years old), and the much older George Foreman (42 years old). Holyfield weighed in at 208 pounds and Foreman weighed in at 257 pounds. Foreman lost the fight by a unanimous decision, but surprised many by lasting the whole 12 rounds against a much younger opponent, even staggering Holyfield a few times and knocking him off balance in the seventh round.
Then a deal was signed for him to defend his crown against Mike Tyson
in November 1991. Tyson delayed the fight, claiming he was injured in training, but was then convicted for the rape of Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison, so the fight did not happen at that time. They would fight in 1996 (Holyfield won by a TKO in 11) and a rematch in 1997 (Holyfield won by disqualification in 3, after Tyson bit both of his ears).
Holyfield made his next defense in Atlanta against Bert Cooper
, who surprised him with a very good effort. Holyfield scored the first knockdown of the fight against Cooper with a powerful shot to the body, but Cooper returned the favor with a good right hand that sent Holyfield against the ropes; while not an actual knockdown, referee Mills Lane gave Holyfield a standing 8-count. Having suffered the first technical knockdown of his professional career, Holyfield regained his composure quickly and administered a beating that left Cooper still on his feet, but unable to defend himself. Holyfield landed brutal power shots, culminated by repeated vicious uppercuts that would snap Cooper's head back. Referee Mills Lane stopped the bout in the seventh.
In his first fight of 1992, he faced former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes
, who was 42 years old, and had just pulled off an upset against Ray Mercer
. During the bout, Holyfield suffered the first scar of his career with a gash opening up over his eye, the result of Holmes' elbow. The fight ended with a unanimous decision in favor of Holyfield.
, who had won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics, in the Super Heavyweight division, he suffered his first defeat when Bowe won the undisputed title by a 12-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas. Round Ten of that bout was named the Round of the Year by Ring Magazine. Holyfield was knocked down in round 11. He made the mistake of getting into a slugfest with the younger, bigger and stronger Bowe, leading to his defeat.
He began 1993 by beating Alex Stewart in a rematch, but this time over the 12-round unanimous distance.
Then came the rematch with Bowe on November 6, 1993. In what is considered by many sporting historians as one of the most bizarre moments in boxing's history, during round seven the crowd got off their feet and many people started to run for cover and yell. Holyfield took his eyes off Bowe for one moment and then told Bowe to look up to the skies. What they saw was a man in a parachute
flying dangerously close to them. The man almost entered the ring, but his parachute had gotten entangled in the lights, and he landed on the ropes and apron of the ring, and he was then pulled into the crowd, where he was beaten by members of Bowe's entourage. Bowe's pregnant wife, Judy, fainted and had to be taken to the hospital from the arena. Twenty minutes later, calm was restored and Holyfield went on to recover his world heavyweight titles with a close 12 round majority decision. The man who parachuted down to the middle of the ring became known as The Fan Man and the fight itself became known as the Fan Man Fight. His victory over Bowe that year helped Holyfield being named as ABC
's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year for 1993.
, who was attempting to become the first southpaw to become the universally recognised world heavyweight champion. He dropped Moorer in round two, but lost a twelve round majority decision. When he went to the hospital to have his shoulder checked, he was diagnosed with a heart condition, and had to announce his retirement from boxing. It would later surface that the chairman of the medical advisory board for the Nevada State Athletic Commission believed his condition to be consistent with HGH use.
However, watching a television show hosted by preacher Benny Hinn
, Holyfield says he felt his heart heal. He and Hinn subsequently became friends, and he became a frequent visitor to Hinn's crusades. In fact, during this time, Holyfield went to a Benny Hinn crusade in Philadelphia, had Hinn lay hands on him, and gave Hinn a check for $265,000 after he was told he was healed. He then passed his next examination by the boxing commission. Holyfield would later state that his heart was misdiagnosed due to the morphine pumped into his body.
In 1995, Holyfield returned to the ring with a ten-round decision win versus former Olympic gold medalist, Ray Mercer
. He was the first man to knock down Mercer.
Holyfield and Bowe then had their rubber match. Holyfield knocked Bowe down with a single left hook but Bowe prevailed by a knockout in eight. Holyfield would later claim that he contracted Hepatitis A
before the fight.
1996 was a very good year for Holyfield. First, he met former world champion Bobby Czyz
, beating him by a knockout in six. Then, he and Mike Tyson
finally met.
Tyson had recovered the WBC and WBA heavyweight championship and, after being stripped of the WBC title for not facing Lennox Lewis
, defended the WBA title against Holyfield on November 9 of that year. Tyson was heavily favored to win, but Holyfield made history by defeating Tyson
in an 11th round TKO
. This was the third occasion on which Holyfield won the WBA heavyweight title. However, the fight was not recognized as being for the linear heavyweight championship, which was held by George Foreman at the time. Muhammad Ali remains the only heavyweight champion to hold the linear championship three times.
The immediate aftermath of the incident was greeted by instant bedlam. Tyson was disqualified and a melee ensued. Tyson claimed his bites were a retaliation to Holyfield's unchecked headbutt
s, which had cut him in both fights. Others argued that Tyson, knowing he was on his way to another knockout loss, was looking for a way out of the fight. His former trainer, Teddy Atlas
, had predicted that Tyson would get himself disqualified, calling Tyson "a very weak and flawed person."
In 1998 Holyfield had only one fight, making a mandatory defense against Vaughn Bean
, who was defeated by decision at the Georgia Dome
in the champion's hometown. For the first time, Holyfield's performance called into question whether age was diminishing his ability to continue as a championship fighter.
of the United Kingdom. That bout happened in March of that year. The bout was declared a controversial draw after twelve rounds, where it appeared to most that Lewis dominated the fight. Holyfield claimed his performance was hindered by stomach and leg cramps. Holyfield and Lewis were ordered by the three leading organizations of which they were champions to have an immediate rematch.
, having fought Ruiz's conqueror David Tua
, and the WBA ordered Holyfield and Ruiz to meet for that organization's world title belt. Holyfield and Ruiz began their trilogy in August of that year, with Holyfield making history by winning on a controversial, but unanimous 12 round decision to become the first boxer in history to be the world's heavyweight champion four times. Holyfield blamed his lackluster performance on a perforated (broken) eardrum.
Seven months later, in March 2001, it was Ruiz's turn to make history at Holyfield's expense when he surprisingly managed to knock Holyfield down and beat him by a 12 round decision to become the first Hispanic
ever to win the world's heavyweight title. On December 15 of that year, Holyfield challenged Ruiz for the title, in an attempt to become champion again. The fight was declared a draw, and John Ruiz maintained the WBA championship belt.
, to determine who would face Lewis next. Holyfield was leading on two of the three scorecards when the fight was stopped in the eighth round due to a severe hematoma
on Rahman's forehead that was caused by a headbutt earlier in the fight. Holyfield was ahead, so he was declared the winner by a technical decision.
The IBF decided to strip Lewis of his belt after he didn't want to fight Don King-promoted fighter Chris Byrd
, instead going after Tyson, and declared that the winner of the fight between Holyfield and former WBO heavyweight champion Byrd would be recognized as their heavyweight champion. So, on December 14, 2002, Holyfield once again tried to become the first man ever to be heavyweight champion five times when he and Byrd met, but Byrd came out as the winner by a 12-round unanimous decision.
by TKO when his corner threw in the towel in the ninth round. At age 42, Holyfield returned to the ring to face Larry Donald
on November 13, 2004. He lost his third consecutive match in a twelve round unanimous decision.
In August 2005 it had been reported that the New York State Athletic Commission had banned Evander Holyfield from boxing in New York
due to "diminishing skills" despite the fact that Holyfield had passed a battery of medical tests.
Holyfield defeated Jeremy Bates
by TKO on August 18, 2006 in a 10 round bout at American Airlines Center
in Dallas, Texas. Holyfield dominated the fight which was stopped in the second round after he landed roughly twenty consecutive punches on Bates.
Holyfield defeated Fres Oquendo
by unanimous decision on November 10, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas
. Holyfield knocked Oquendo down in the first minute of the first round and continued to be the aggressor throughout the fight, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 116–111, and 114–113 twice.
On March 17, 2007, Holyfield defeated Vinny Maddalone by TKO when Maddalone's corner threw in the towel to save their man from serious injury in the ring.
On June 30, 2007, Holyfield defeated Lou Savarese
, knocking the bigger and heavier Savarese down in the fourth and again in the ninth round, en route to a unanimous decision win. This was Holyfield's fourth win in ten months, two of them by KO. This victory finally set the stage for Holyfield's title fight, against Sultan Ibragimov
, for the WBO heavyweight title.
's Sports Weekly "I'm gonna fight, be the heavyweight champion of the world one more time. Then I'm gonna write another book and tell everybody how I did it." On December 20, 2008 he fought, at the Hallenstadion
in Zürich Switzerland, the WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev
for a paycheck of $600,000, the lowest amount he has ever received for a championship fight. At the weigh-in, he weighed 214 pounds, Valuev weighed a career low of 310 pounds.
Valuev defeated Holyfield by a highly controversial majority decision after a relatively uneventful bout. One judge scored the bout a draw 114–114, while the others had Valuev winning 116–112 and 115–114. Many analysts were outraged at the decision, thinking Holyfield had clearly won. There was talk of a rematch in 2009.
The WBA did their own investigation into the controversial decision; "As the World Boxing Association (WBA) always cares about and respects the fans' and the media's opinion, the Championship Committee has ordered a panel of judges to review the tape of the fight between Nikolai Valuev and Evander Holyfield, for the WBA heavyweight title", read a statement from the WBA. The organization also expressed that they "will give a decision accordingly in the following weeks." Many speculated that an immediate rematch would be the most likely scenario, but this never materialised. Valuev lost the WBA title in his next fight against British
boxer David Haye
.
on January 16, 2010, for the WBF World Heavyweight title; it was agreed that the venue for the fight would be the Nelson Mandela Memorial Stadium
in Kampala
, Uganda
. A few weeks before the fight, it was revealed that the bout would be postponed to February 20, 2010. The match was put in jeopardy due to economic disagreements but was later confirmed to be on April 10, 2010 at the Thomas & Mack Center
in Las Vegas
. When asked about his upcoming bout, the four-time world heavyweight champion said: "I've been hearing for a while that I can't do it. All it does is light a fire under me to prove people wrong." He also added: "I can still fight. I don't want to leave until I've become the undisputed heavyweight champion one more time. That's been my goal the entire time." The American boxer scored an eighth round knockout of Botha to win the WBF heavyweight title.
Holyfield started slowly as usual in the early going. Botha held and hit Holyfield, and took the control of the fight for the first three rounds. However, the South African could not slow down Holyfield, though he did hurt him, and the American boxer slowly began to punch him more to take control of the bout in the later rounds. In the seventh round Holyfield stunned Botha and knocked him down in the eighth round. Though he beat the count, Holyfield cornered him and landed many punches that forced the referee Russell Mora to stop the bout. At the time of the stoppage, Holyfield was behind on two judges' cards, 67–66, while the third judge had it 69–64 for the American boxer. Only 3,127 attended the fight.
, the current WBC Champion, or his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko
. Holyfield's next bout against Sherman "The Tank" Williams
on November 5, 2010 at Joe Louis Arena
in Detroit, Michigan
was then postponed twice before finally being rescheduled to January 22, 2011 and moved to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Holyfield started the bout slowly and in the second round, he was cut in the left eye following an accidental clash of heads. In round three as he took several combinations. After the end of the round, Holyfield told his corner that he was unable to see due to the cut. Consequently, the bout was ruled a no contest
.
The WBC
has allegedly agreed to match Holyfield up with Vitali Klitschko
after he gets through Williams and Nielsen.
The World Boxing Federation
, after consideration of all arguments, decided against sanctioning the proposed second title defence of its world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield against Brian Nielsen. The main reason is that 46-year-old Nielsen has been out of the ring for almost a decade, thus does not qualify to contest a WBF
world title.
The official weigh-in was held on Friday night in Denmark, with Holyfield at 225 pounds, while his opponent Nielsen, with his shorts on, weighed 238 pounds. It is to be noted that Nielsen had never been this light in his career. Neilson had said that although it would be mighty difficult for him to beat Holyfield, he promised it would not be one sided affair. Holyfield said that if he won he wwould move to next level and challenge for major titles.
Holyfield started the fight aggressively, pressing the 46-year-old Nielsen into the ropes and landing several hard jabs and hooks, knocking him down in the 3rd round. Despite getting a swollen eye in the 4th round, Nielsen kept on clowning to provoke Holyfield throughout the bout, prompting his trainer, Paul Duvill, to beg him to stop fooling around and focus on Holyfield. In round 10 Nielsen pushed a tired-looking Holyfield into the ropes with a series of combinations, before Holyfield turned it around. Holyfield pushed Nielsen into a corner and battered him with combinations until the referee stopped the contest.
It was a tough fight – he kept coming back, Holyfield said. He fought a very courageous fight.
(HGH). He denies ever using performance enhancers.
Holyfield's name does not appear in the law enforcement documents reviewed. However, a patient by the name of "Evan Fields" caught investigators' attention. "Fields" shares the same birth date as Holyfield—October 19, 1962. The listed address for "Fields" was 794 Evander, Fairfield, Ga. 30213. Holyfield has a very similar address. When the phone number that, according to the documents, was associated with the "Fields" prescription, was dialed, Holyfield answered.
On March 10, 2007 Holyfield made a public announcement that he would be pursuing his own investigation into the steroid claims in order to clear his name.
Holyfield was again linked to HGH in September 2007, when his name came up following a raid of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida.
, Signature Pharmacy is under investigation for illegally supplying several professional athletes with steroids and HGH.
, Georgia
with his third wife Candi and their two children; he has at least eleven children.
By 1992, Holyfield was already a household name, announcing multiple products on television, such as Coca Cola and Diet Coke
. He also had a video game released for the Sega Genesis and the Sega Game Gear
: Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing
. After his conversion, he started professing his Christianity
everywhere, reminding the public before and after his fights that he is a born-again Christian.
In 1996 Holyfield was given the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch when it was on its way to his hometown of Atlanta for that year's Olympics. October 4 of this year he was married to Dr. Janice Itson, with whom he had one child.
He founded Real Deal Records
which signed the briefly successful group Exhale.
On September 22, 2007 Holyfield released the Real Deal Grill cooking appliance via TV infomercials. The Real Deal Grill is manufactured by Cirtran Corp.
Holyfield's popularity has led to numerous television appearances for the boxer. His first television show appearance was the Christmas special of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990, playing himself. In 2005, Holyfield came in fifth place on ABC's Dancing with the Stars with his partner Edyta Sliwinska
. He also made an appearance on the original BBC Strictly Come Dancing
"Champion of Champions" showdown, which featured the final four teams from the 2005 edition of the British series, plus two celebrities from spinoff versions, paired with British professional dancers, one featuring Holyfield paired with Karen Hardy, and Rachel Hunter paired with Brendan Cole. Holyfield also had minor roles in three movies during the 1990s, Summer of Sam
, Necessary Roughness
, and Blood Salvage (which he also produced). He made a guest appearance on Nickelodeon's
Nickelodeon GUTS
during its third season in 1994. He appeared once in an episode of Phineas and Ferb
. In the episode he is an animated character but the producers wanted to make the most of Holyfield's ear, so his animated character was only given half an ear.
On August 13, 2007, Holyfield was confirmed to participate in a boxing match at World Wrestling Entertainment
's Saturday Night's Main Event against Matt Hardy
. He replaced Montel Vontavious Porter, who had to pull out after being legitimately diagnosed with a heart condition that was not part of a storyline.
In late 2007 and early 2008, Holyfield was among a number of celebrities to be doing television ads for the restaurant chain Zaxby's
.
In June 2008 a legal notice was placed by Washington Mutual Bank stating that Holyfield's $10 million, 54000 square feet (5,016.8 m²), 109 room, 17 bathroom suburban Atlanta estate would be auctioned off on July 1, 2008 due to foreclosure
, shortly before that bank's insolvency. Adding to his financial problems, Toi Irvin, mother of his 10 year old son, filed suit for non-payment of two months child support (he pays $3,000 per month for this child). A Utah landscaping firm also has gone to court seeking $550,000 in unpaid debt for services. Holyfield appeared as himself in the 2011 remake
of Arthur.
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|44 Wins (29 knockouts, 13 decisions, 1 disqualification), 10 losses (2 knockouts, 8 decisions), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Result
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Round
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Win
|
|align=left|
Brian Nielsen
|TKO
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#ddd;"|NC
|
|align=left|
Sherman Williams
|NC
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|
|align=left|
Francois Botha
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|
|align=left|
Nikolai Valuev
|MD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|42-9-2
|align=left| Sultan Ibragimov
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|42-8-2
|align=left| Lou Savarese
|UD
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|41-8-2
|align=left| Vincent Maddalone
|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|40-8-2
|align=left| Fres Oquendo
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|39-8-2
|align=left| Jeremy Bates
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|38-8-2
|align=left| Larry Donald
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|38-7-2
|align=left| James Toney
|TKO
|9
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|38-6-2
|align=left| Chris Byrd
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|38-5-2
|align=left| Hasim Rahman
|TD
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|37-5-2
|align=left| John Ruiz
|D
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|37-5-1
|align=left| John Ruiz
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|37-4-1
|align=left| John Ruiz
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|36-4-1
|align=left|
Lennox Lewis
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|36-3-1
|align=left| Lennox Lewis
|D
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|36–3
|align=left| Vaughn Bean
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|35–3
|align=left| Michael Moorer
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|34–3
|align=left| Mike Tyson
|DQ
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|33–3
|align=left| Mike Tyson
|TKO
|11
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|32–3
|align=left| Bobby Czyz
|TKO
|5
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|31–3
|align=left| Riddick Bowe
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|31–2
|align=left| Ray Mercer
|UD
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|30–2
|align=left| Michael Moorer
|MD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|30–1
|align=left| Riddick Bowe
|MD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|29–1
|align=left| Alex Stewart
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|28–1
|align=left| Riddick Bowe
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|28–0
|align=left| Larry Holmes
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|27–0
|align=left| Bert Cooper
|TKO
|7
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|26–0
|align=left| George Foreman
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|25–0
|align=left| Buster Douglas
|KO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|24–0
|align=left| Seamus McDonagh
|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|23–0
|align=left| Alex Stewart
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|22–0
|align=left|
Adilson Rodrigues
|KO
|2
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|21–0
|align=left| Michael Dokes
|TKO
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|20–0
|align=left| Pinklon Thomas
|RTD
|7
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|19–0
|align=left| James Tillis
|RTD
|5
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|18–0
|align=left|
Carlos De Leon
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|17–0
|align=left|
|KO
|4
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|16–0
|align=left| Ossie Ocasio
|TKO
|11
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|15–0
|align=left| Ricky Parkey
|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|14–0
|align=left| Henry Tillman
|TKO
|7
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|13–0
|align=left| Mike Brothers
|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|12–0
|align=left|
|SD
|15
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|11–0
|align=left| Terry Mims
|KO
|5
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|10–0
|align=left| Jesse Shelby
|KO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|9–0
|align=left|
Chisanda Mutti
|TKO
|3
|
|align=left| Lancaster, Pennsylvania
|
|- align=center
|Win
|8–0
|align=left| Anthony Davis
|TKO
|4
|
|align=left| Virginia Beach, Virginia
|
|- align=center
|Win
|7–0
|align=left| Jeff Meachem
|TKO
|5
|
|align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey
|
|- align=center
|Win
|6–0
|align=left| Rick Myers
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left| Atlanta, Georgia
|
|- align=center
|Win
|5–0
|align=left| Tyrone Booze
|UD
|8
|
|align=left| Norfolk, Virginia
|
|- align=center
|Win
|4–0
|align=left| Mark Rivera
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left| Corpus Christi, Texas
|
|- align=center
|Win
|3–0
|align=left| Fred Brown
|TKO
|1
|
|align=left| Norfolk, Virginia
|
|- align=center
|Win
|2–0
|align=left| Eric Winbush
|UD
|6
|
|align=left| Atlantic City, New Jersey
|
|- align=center
|Win
|1–0
|align=left| Lionel Byarm
|UD
|6
|
|align=left| New York City, New York
|
|-
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal". After winning the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
, he debuted as a professional at the age of 21.
Holyfield moved to the cruiserweight division in 1985 and won his first title the following year, when he defeated Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions...
for the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
cruiserweight belt. He would then go on to defeat Ricky Parkey and Carlos De Leon
Carlos De Leon
Carlos De León, also known as "Sugar" De Leon, is a Puerto Rican former boxer who made history by becoming the first Cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as Cruiserweight champion by regaining it twice more.- Career :De León,...
to win the Lineal
Lineal championship
In professional boxing, the lineal championship of a weight class is a notional world championship title. It is initially held at some moment in time by a boxer universally acclaimed as the best in the class. Another boxer can win the lineal championship only by defeating the reigning lineal...
, IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
and WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
titles, becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion. Holyfield moved up to Heavyweight in 1988, defeating Buster Douglas for the The Ring, WBA, WBC, and IBF titles in 1990.
Evander Holyfield holds other notable victories over fighters such as; George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
, Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
, Riddick Bowe
Riddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
, Ray Mercer
Ray Mercer
"Merciless" Ray Mercer is an American professional boxer, former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO heavyweight title holder who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina...
, Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
(x2), Michael Moorer
Michael Moorer
Michael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...
, John Ruiz
John Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
, Michael Dokes
Michael Dokes
Michael Marshall Dokes is a former American boxer in the heavyweight division, nicknamed "Dynamite."-Amateur career:...
and Hasim Rahman
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...
. Holyfield is the only 5-time World Heavyweight champion, winning the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles in 1990, the WBA and IBF titles in 1993 and the WBA title in 1996 and 2000.
Overview
Holyfield moved up to heavyweight in 1988, winning his first six fights, all by stoppage. On October 25, 1990, Holyfield knocked out heavyweight champion James "Buster" Douglas, to claim the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight belts (undisputed world heavyweight championship). He retained the Heavyweight crown three times, which included victories over former champions George ForemanGeorge Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
and Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
, before suffering his first professional loss to Riddick Bowe
Riddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
on November 13, 1992. Holyfield regained the title in a rematch one year later, beating Bowe by majority decision for the WBA and IBF titles. Holyfield later lost the titles to Michael Moorer
Michael Moorer
Michael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...
on April 22, 1994, by Majority Decision.
Holyfield was forced to retire in 1994, only to return a year later. On November 9, 1996, he went on to defeat
Tyson-Holyfield I
Tyson-Holyfield I or Tyson vs Holyfield I, also billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson on November 9, 1996 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The referee officiating the fight was Mitch Halpern...
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
by eleventh round technical knockout to win the WBA title, in what was named fight of the year
Ring Magazine fights of the year
The Ring was established in 1922 and since 1945, it has named a Fight of the Year.-1940s:*1945 - Rocky Graziano KO 10 Red Cochrane I*1946 - Tony Zale KO 6 Rocky Graziano I*1947 - Rocky Graziano KO 6 Tony Zale II...
and upset of the year
Ring Magazine upsets of the year
The Ring was established in 1922. Since 1980, it has named a fight that has resulted in an outcome that was highly contrary to general expectations as upset of the year, based on the magazine's writers' criteria...
for 1996 by The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
magazine. Evander Holyfield became the first Heavyweight since Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
to win the World title three times. Seven months later, Holyfield won the 1997 rematch
Holyfield-Tyson II
Holyfield-Tyson II is a name used to identify the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on June 28, 1997, in which Tyson bit Holyfield's ear. The fight was originally billed as Holyfield-Tyson II: The Sound and the Fury and was a follow-up rematch of the first Tyson-Holyfield...
against Tyson, when the latter was disqualified in round three for biting off part of Holyfield's ear. During his reign as champion, he also avenged his loss to Michael Moorer, when he stopped him in eight rounds to win the IBF belt.
In 1999, he faced Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
in a split draw, but was defeated in a rematch eight months later. The following year, he won a unanimous decision over John Ruiz
John Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
for the vacant WBA heavyweight championship, becoming the first boxer to win a version of the heavyweight title four times. Holyfield would lose a rematch with Ruiz seven months later and would face him for the third time in a draw.
In 2010 Holyfield defeated Francois Botha
Francois Botha
Francois Botha , also known as Frans Botha, is a South African boxer, nicknamed the "White Buffalo". Botha won the vacant IBF heavyweight title in 1995 when he outpointed Axel Schulz in Germany...
by TKO to capture the meaningless WBF
World Boxing Foundation
The World Boxing Foundation was formed in 2004 to sanction championship boxing contests but has a history dating back to 1988 via its predecessor the World Boxing Federation...
Heavyweight title.
Holyfield is still an active Boxer as of 2011 and has a professional record of 44 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw and 1 no contest. He is ranked #77 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Evander Holyfield is ranked as the Greatest Cruiserweight of all time by The Boxing Scene. and is concidered one of the Greatest Heavyweights of all time by many.
Early life
Evander Holyfield was born on October 19, 1962, in the mill town of Atmore, AlabamaAtmore, Alabama
Atmore is a city in Escambia County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 7,676. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 7,530. The city was named for Mr. C.P. Atmore....
. The youngest of nine children, Holyfield and his family moved to Atlanta in the summer of 1964, at the age of two. He began boxing at age 12 and won the Boys Club boxing tournament. At 13, he qualified to compete in his first Junior Olympics. By age 15, Holyfield became the Southeastern Regional Champion, winning this tournament and the Best Boxer Award. By 1984 he had a record of 160 wins and 14 losses, with 76 KO.
When he was 20 years old, Holyfield represented the U.S. in the 1983 Pan American Games
Boxing at the 1983 Pan American Games
The Men's Boxing Tournament at the 1983 Pan American Games was held in Caracas, Venezuela, from August 14 to August 29. The super heavyweight division was included for the first time.- Medal winners :-Medal table:-External links:*...
in Caracas, Venezuela, where he won a silver medal
Boxing at the 1983 Pan American Games
The Men's Boxing Tournament at the 1983 Pan American Games was held in Caracas, Venezuela, from August 14 to August 29. The super heavyweight division was included for the first time.- Medal winners :-Medal table:-External links:*...
after losing to Cuban world champion Pablo Romero
Pablo Romero
Pablo Romero Hernandez is a former Cuban amateur boxer best known for winning two light-heavyweight gold medals at World Championships. The dominant light-heavy of the eighties he never participated in Olympics as his country boycotted both the 1984 and 1988 games...
.
The following year, he was the National Golden Gloves Champion, and won a bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
after a controversial disqualification in the second round of the semi-final against New Zealand's Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry (boxer)
Kevin Michael Joseph Barry is a noted New Zealand former boxer, boxing trainer, manager and occasional commentator...
.
Light-Heavyweight
Holyfield started out professionally as a light heavyweightLight heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
with a televised win in six rounds over Lionel Byarm at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 1984. On January 20, 1985 he won another six-round decision over Eric Winbush in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On March 13, he knocked out Fred Brown in the first round in Norfolk, Virginia, and on April 20, he knocked out Mark Rivera in two rounds in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Cruiserweight
Both he and his next opponent, Tyrone BoozeTyrone Booze
Tyrone Booze is a former boxer who held the World Boxing Organization cruiserweight world championship.Booze became a professional boxer in 1982 and had mixed success during his early career...
, moved up to the cruiserweight division for their fight on July 20, 1985 in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. Holyfield won an eight-round decision over Booze. Evander went on to knock out Rick Myers in the first round on August 29 in Holyfield's hometown of Atlanta. On October 30 in Atlantic City he knocked out opponent Jeff Meachem in five rounds, and his last fight for 1985 was against Anthony Davis on December 21 in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
. He won by knocking out Davis in the fourth round.
He began 1986 with a knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
in three rounds over former world cruiserweight challenger Chisanda Mutti, and proceeded to beat Jessy Shelby and Terry Mims before being given a world title try by the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi
Dwight Muhammad Qawi is a former world boxing champion in the light heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions...
. In what was called by The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
as the best cruiserweight bout of the 1980s, Holyfield became world champion by defeating Qawi by a narrow 15 round split decision. He culminated 1986 with a trip to Paris, France, where he beat Mike Brothers by a knockout in three, in a non-title bout.
In 1987, he defended his title against former Olympic teammate and Gold medal winner Henry Tillman
Henry Tillman
Henry Durand Tillman is a former American boxer.-Amateur Career:Tillman twice defeated Mike Tyson as an amateur, winning both bouts via close decisions. Tillman went on to win heavyweight Gold at the Los Angeles Olympics....
, who had beaten Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
twice as an amateur. He retained his belt, winning by seventh round knockout, and then went on to unify his WBA belt with the IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
belt held by Ricky Parkey, knocking Parkey out in three rounds. For his next bout, he returned to France, where he retained the title with an eleven round knockout against former world champion Ossie Ocasio
Ossie Ocasio
Osvaldo Ocasio, , better known as Ossie Ocasio and nicknamed Jaws, is a Puerto Rican who was a boxer and world Cruiserweight champion. He got his peculiar nickname after accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session...
. In his last fight of '87, he offered Muhammad Qawi a rematch, and this time, he beat Qawi by a knockout in four.
1988 was another productive year for Holyfield; he started by becoming the first universally recognized world cruiserweight champion after defeating the Lineal
Lineal championship
In professional boxing, the lineal championship of a weight class is a notional world championship title. It is initially held at some moment in time by a boxer universally acclaimed as the best in the class. Another boxer can win the lineal championship only by defeating the reigning lineal...
& WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
champion Carlos De León
Carlos De Leon
Carlos De León, also known as "Sugar" De Leon, is a Puerto Rican former boxer who made history by becoming the first Cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as Cruiserweight champion by regaining it twice more.- Career :De León,...
at Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. The fight was stopped after eight rounds.
Heavyweight
After that fight, he announced he was moving up in weight to pursue the world heavyweight crown held by Tyson. His first fight as a Heavyweight took place on July 16, when he beat former Tyson rival James "Quick" Tillis by a knockout in five, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada (Tillis had gone the distance with Tyson). For his third and final bout of '88, he beat former world heavyweight champion Pinklon ThomasPinklon Thomas
Pinklon Thomas is a retired heavyweight boxer and former WBC heavyweight champion whose trademark pink boxing trunks and a left jab were key distinguishing characteristics....
, also by knockout, in seven rounds.
Holyfield began 1989 meeting another former world heavyweight champion, Michael Dokes
Michael Dokes
Michael Marshall Dokes is a former American boxer in the heavyweight division, nicknamed "Dynamite."-Amateur career:...
. This fight would also be named one of the best fights of the 1980s by Ring magazine, as best heavyweight bout of the 1980s. Holyfield won by a knockout in the tenth round, and then he met Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian champion Adilson Rodrigues, who lasted two rounds. His last fight of the 1980s was against Alex Stewart, a hard punching fringe contender. Stewart shocked Holyfield early, with quick, hard punches, but eventually fell in eight.
In 1990, Holyfield beat Seamus McDonagh
Seamus McDonagh (boxer)
Seamus McDonagh is a retired professional boxer and actor. He was born in Birmingham, England, and raised in County Meath, Ireland. He won the 1985 New York State Golden Gloves in the Heavyweight Division and challenged Evander Holyfield for the WBC Continental Americas Title. He lost only 3 times...
, knocking him out in four rounds. By this time, Holyfield had been Ring Magazine's Number 1 contender for two years and had yet to receive a shot at Tyson's heavyweight title.
Undisputed Heavyweight Champion: 1990–1992
Holyfield had been promised a title shot against Tyson in 1990. Before that fight could occur, in what many consider to be the biggest upset in boxing history, relatively unknown boxer, 29-year old, 231 lb. Buster Douglas defeated the 23-year old, 218 lb. Mike TysonMike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
in ten rounds in Tokyo to become the new undisputed heavyweight champion. Instead of fighting Tyson, Holyfield would be Douglas' first title defense.
They met on October 25, 1990. Douglas came into the fight at 246 lb. and offered little in the fight against Holyfield, who was in great shape at 208 lb. In the third round Douglas tried to start a combination with a big right uppercut. Holyfield countered with a straight right hand that was lightning quick, and Douglas went down for the count. Holyfield was the new undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. At the time of the knockout, Holyfield was ahead on all three judges' scorecards, all seeing it 20–18 for Holyfield.
In his first defense, he beat former and future world champion George Foreman
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
by unanimous decision in 12. The fight was billed as a "Battle for the Ages", a reference to the age differential between the young undefeated champion (28 years old), and the much older George Foreman (42 years old). Holyfield weighed in at 208 pounds and Foreman weighed in at 257 pounds. Foreman lost the fight by a unanimous decision, but surprised many by lasting the whole 12 rounds against a much younger opponent, even staggering Holyfield a few times and knocking him off balance in the seventh round.
Then a deal was signed for him to defend his crown against Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
in November 1991. Tyson delayed the fight, claiming he was injured in training, but was then convicted for the rape of Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison, so the fight did not happen at that time. They would fight in 1996 (Holyfield won by a TKO in 11) and a rematch in 1997 (Holyfield won by disqualification in 3, after Tyson bit both of his ears).
Holyfield made his next defense in Atlanta against Bert Cooper
Bert Cooper
Bertram Cooper , also known as Smokin' Bert Cooper is a heavyweight boxer, most famous for his devastating punching power and several wild brawls in the 1990s.-Pro career:...
, who surprised him with a very good effort. Holyfield scored the first knockdown of the fight against Cooper with a powerful shot to the body, but Cooper returned the favor with a good right hand that sent Holyfield against the ropes; while not an actual knockdown, referee Mills Lane gave Holyfield a standing 8-count. Having suffered the first technical knockdown of his professional career, Holyfield regained his composure quickly and administered a beating that left Cooper still on his feet, but unable to defend himself. Holyfield landed brutal power shots, culminated by repeated vicious uppercuts that would snap Cooper's head back. Referee Mills Lane stopped the bout in the seventh.
In his first fight of 1992, he faced former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
, who was 42 years old, and had just pulled off an upset against Ray Mercer
Ray Mercer
"Merciless" Ray Mercer is an American professional boxer, former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO heavyweight title holder who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina...
. During the bout, Holyfield suffered the first scar of his career with a gash opening up over his eye, the result of Holmes' elbow. The fight ended with a unanimous decision in favor of Holyfield.
Holyfield-Bowe I & II
In the beginning of a trilogy of bouts with the 25-year old Riddick BoweRiddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
, who had won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics, in the Super Heavyweight division, he suffered his first defeat when Bowe won the undisputed title by a 12-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas. Round Ten of that bout was named the Round of the Year by Ring Magazine. Holyfield was knocked down in round 11. He made the mistake of getting into a slugfest with the younger, bigger and stronger Bowe, leading to his defeat.
He began 1993 by beating Alex Stewart in a rematch, but this time over the 12-round unanimous distance.
Then came the rematch with Bowe on November 6, 1993. In what is considered by many sporting historians as one of the most bizarre moments in boxing's history, during round seven the crowd got off their feet and many people started to run for cover and yell. Holyfield took his eyes off Bowe for one moment and then told Bowe to look up to the skies. What they saw was a man in a parachute
James Miller (parachutist)
James Jarrett Miller also known as Fan Man was a parachutist and paraglider pilot from Henderson, Nevada, known for his outrageous appearances at various sporting events...
flying dangerously close to them. The man almost entered the ring, but his parachute had gotten entangled in the lights, and he landed on the ropes and apron of the ring, and he was then pulled into the crowd, where he was beaten by members of Bowe's entourage. Bowe's pregnant wife, Judy, fainted and had to be taken to the hospital from the arena. Twenty minutes later, calm was restored and Holyfield went on to recover his world heavyweight titles with a close 12 round majority decision. The man who parachuted down to the middle of the ring became known as The Fan Man and the fight itself became known as the Fan Man Fight. His victory over Bowe that year helped Holyfield being named as ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year for 1993.
Title loss to Moorer
His next fight, April 1994, he met former WBO light heavyweight and heavyweight champion of the world Michael MoorerMichael Moorer
Michael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...
, who was attempting to become the first southpaw to become the universally recognised world heavyweight champion. He dropped Moorer in round two, but lost a twelve round majority decision. When he went to the hospital to have his shoulder checked, he was diagnosed with a heart condition, and had to announce his retirement from boxing. It would later surface that the chairman of the medical advisory board for the Nevada State Athletic Commission believed his condition to be consistent with HGH use.
However, watching a television show hosted by preacher Benny Hinn
Benny Hinn
Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn הין; born December 3, 1952) is a televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities, which are later broadcast worldwide on his television program, This Is Your...
, Holyfield says he felt his heart heal. He and Hinn subsequently became friends, and he became a frequent visitor to Hinn's crusades. In fact, during this time, Holyfield went to a Benny Hinn crusade in Philadelphia, had Hinn lay hands on him, and gave Hinn a check for $265,000 after he was told he was healed. He then passed his next examination by the boxing commission. Holyfield would later state that his heart was misdiagnosed due to the morphine pumped into his body.
In 1995, Holyfield returned to the ring with a ten-round decision win versus former Olympic gold medalist, Ray Mercer
Ray Mercer
"Merciless" Ray Mercer is an American professional boxer, former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO heavyweight title holder who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina...
. He was the first man to knock down Mercer.
Holyfield and Bowe then had their rubber match. Holyfield knocked Bowe down with a single left hook but Bowe prevailed by a knockout in eight. Holyfield would later claim that he contracted Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
before the fight.
Holyfield vs. Tyson I
Bobby Czyz
Robert Edward "Bobby" Czyz is a retired American boxer. A New Jersey native of mostly Polish and Italian descent, he is both a former world light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion.Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey...
, beating him by a knockout in six. Then, he and Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
finally met.
Tyson had recovered the WBC and WBA heavyweight championship and, after being stripped of the WBC title for not facing Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
, defended the WBA title against Holyfield on November 9 of that year. Tyson was heavily favored to win, but Holyfield made history by defeating Tyson
Tyson-Holyfield I
Tyson-Holyfield I or Tyson vs Holyfield I, also billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson on November 9, 1996 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The referee officiating the fight was Mitch Halpern...
in an 11th round TKO
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
. This was the third occasion on which Holyfield won the WBA heavyweight title. However, the fight was not recognized as being for the linear heavyweight championship, which was held by George Foreman at the time. Muhammad Ali remains the only heavyweight champion to hold the linear championship three times.
Holyfield vs. Tyson II: The Bite Fight
Holyfield's rematch with Tyson took place on June 28, 1997. Known as "The Bite Fight," it would go into the annals of boxing as one of the most bizarre fights in history. The infamous incident occurred in the third round, when Tyson bit Holyfield on one of his ears and had two points deducted. Referee Mills Lane decided to disqualify Tyson initially, but after Holyfield and the ringside doctor intervened and said Holyfield could continue, he relented and allowed the fight to go on. However, Tyson went on to bite Holyfield again, this time on the other ear. Tyson, with his teeth, tore off the top of his ear, known as the helix, and spit the flesh out on the ring.The immediate aftermath of the incident was greeted by instant bedlam. Tyson was disqualified and a melee ensued. Tyson claimed his bites were a retaliation to Holyfield's unchecked headbutt
Headbutt
A headbutt is a strike with the head, typically involving the use of robust parts of the cranium as areas of impact. Effective headbutting revolves around striking a sensitive area with a less sensitive area, such as striking the nose of an opponent with the forehead...
s, which had cut him in both fights. Others argued that Tyson, knowing he was on his way to another knockout loss, was looking for a way out of the fight. His former trainer, Teddy Atlas
Teddy Atlas
Theodore A. "Teddy" Atlas, Jr. is a well-known boxing trainer and fight commentator.-Personal life:...
, had predicted that Tyson would get himself disqualified, calling Tyson "a very weak and flawed person."
Avenging the Moorer defeat
Next came another rematch, this time against Michael Moorer, who had recovered the IBF's world title. Holyfield knocked Moorer to the canvas five times and referee Mitch Halpern stopped the fight between the eighth and ninth rounds under the advice of physician Flip Homansky. Holyfield once again unified his WBA belt with the IBF belt by avenging his defeat to Moorer.In 1998 Holyfield had only one fight, making a mandatory defense against Vaughn Bean
Vaughn Bean
Vaughn Bean is a former professional boxer.Nicknamed "Shake & Bake", Bean is known for making several arguably undeserved challenges for heavyweight titles, each time coming up short. Bean began his career with 27 victories over extremely limited competition, lining up a shot at IBF Heavyweight...
, who was defeated by decision at the Georgia Dome
Georgia Dome
The Georgia Dome is a domed stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west. It is primarily the home stadium for the NFL Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division I FCS Georgia State Panthers football team. It is owned and operated by the...
in the champion's hometown. For the first time, Holyfield's performance called into question whether age was diminishing his ability to continue as a championship fighter.
Holyfield vs. Lewis I
By 1999, the public was clamoring for a unification bout versus the WBC's world champion, Lennox LewisLennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
of the United Kingdom. That bout happened in March of that year. The bout was declared a controversial draw after twelve rounds, where it appeared to most that Lewis dominated the fight. Holyfield claimed his performance was hindered by stomach and leg cramps. Holyfield and Lewis were ordered by the three leading organizations of which they were champions to have an immediate rematch.
Holyfield vs. Lewis II
The second time around, in November of that year, Lewis became the undisputed champion by beating Holyfield via unanimous decision by three American judges. Holyfield said "I haven't felt this good after a fight since I was a cruiserweight", Holyfield said. "It makes me think I should have fought a little harder against Lennox. Maybe I'd be sore and sick, but I'd have the victory."Trilogy with John Ruiz
In 2000, Lewis was stripped of the WBA belt for failing to meet lightly regarded Don King fighter John RuizJohn Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
, having fought Ruiz's conqueror David Tua
David Tua
David "Tuamanator" Tua is a New Zealand professional heavyweight boxer, fighting out of South Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.He is a former WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion....
, and the WBA ordered Holyfield and Ruiz to meet for that organization's world title belt. Holyfield and Ruiz began their trilogy in August of that year, with Holyfield making history by winning on a controversial, but unanimous 12 round decision to become the first boxer in history to be the world's heavyweight champion four times. Holyfield blamed his lackluster performance on a perforated (broken) eardrum.
Seven months later, in March 2001, it was Ruiz's turn to make history at Holyfield's expense when he surprisingly managed to knock Holyfield down and beat him by a 12 round decision to become the first Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
ever to win the world's heavyweight title. On December 15 of that year, Holyfield challenged Ruiz for the title, in an attempt to become champion again. The fight was declared a draw, and John Ruiz maintained the WBA championship belt.
Holyfield vs. Byrd
2002 began as a promising year for Holyfield: in June, he met former world heavyweight champion Hasim RahmanHasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...
, to determine who would face Lewis next. Holyfield was leading on two of the three scorecards when the fight was stopped in the eighth round due to a severe hematoma
Hematoma
A hematoma, or haematoma, is a localized collection of blood outside the blood vessels, usually in liquid form within the tissue. This distinguishes it from an ecchymosis, which is the spread of blood under the skin in a thin layer, commonly called a bruise...
on Rahman's forehead that was caused by a headbutt earlier in the fight. Holyfield was ahead, so he was declared the winner by a technical decision.
The IBF decided to strip Lewis of his belt after he didn't want to fight Don King-promoted fighter Chris Byrd
Chris Byrd
Chris Cornelius Byrd is a retired and former professional boxer. He is the former WBO and IBF heavyweight champion. His nickname is "Rapid Fire".- Early life :...
, instead going after Tyson, and declared that the winner of the fight between Holyfield and former WBO heavyweight champion Byrd would be recognized as their heavyweight champion. So, on December 14, 2002, Holyfield once again tried to become the first man ever to be heavyweight champion five times when he and Byrd met, but Byrd came out as the winner by a 12-round unanimous decision.
Consecutive losses & New York suspension
On October 4, 2003, Holyfield lost to James ToneyJames Toney
James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...
by TKO when his corner threw in the towel in the ninth round. At age 42, Holyfield returned to the ring to face Larry Donald
Larry Donald
Larry Ali Donald is a professional heavyweight boxer, who competed for the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.-Professional career:...
on November 13, 2004. He lost his third consecutive match in a twelve round unanimous decision.
In August 2005 it had been reported that the New York State Athletic Commission had banned Evander Holyfield from boxing in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
due to "diminishing skills" despite the fact that Holyfield had passed a battery of medical tests.
Comeback
Holyfield was initially criticized for his ongoing comeback; but he is adamant that his losses to Toney and Donald were the result of a shoulder injury, not of old age. Holyfield had looked better in his first four fights since Donald, and appeared to have answered the critics who say that he lacks the cutting edge and ability to follow up on crucial openings that he had in his youth.Holyfield defeated Jeremy Bates
Jeremy Bates (boxer)
Jeremy Bates is an American heavyweight boxer. Nicknamed "The Beast", Bates was a moderately successful fighter who fought several other journeyman fighters of his era...
by TKO on August 18, 2006 in a 10 round bout at American Airlines Center
American Airlines Center
The American Airlines Center is a multi-purpose arena, located in the Victory Park neighborhood, near downtown Dallas, Texas.It is home to the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, and the Dallas Stars of the NHL....
in Dallas, Texas. Holyfield dominated the fight which was stopped in the second round after he landed roughly twenty consecutive punches on Bates.
Holyfield defeated Fres Oquendo
Fres Oquendo
Fres Oquendo was born April 1, 1973 in Puerto Rico, and is a professional heavyweight boxer.He had a successful amateur background.-Amateur career:He had an amateur record of 105-51990 178 lb. Springfield Golden Gloves Champion1992 178 lb...
by unanimous decision on November 10, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. Holyfield knocked Oquendo down in the first minute of the first round and continued to be the aggressor throughout the fight, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 116–111, and 114–113 twice.
On March 17, 2007, Holyfield defeated Vinny Maddalone by TKO when Maddalone's corner threw in the towel to save their man from serious injury in the ring.
On June 30, 2007, Holyfield defeated Lou Savarese
Lou Savarese
Lou Savarese is an Italian-American boxer, and a former professional boxer from Houston, Texas, United States.-Amateur career:...
, knocking the bigger and heavier Savarese down in the fourth and again in the ninth round, en route to a unanimous decision win. This was Holyfield's fourth win in ten months, two of them by KO. This victory finally set the stage for Holyfield's title fight, against Sultan Ibragimov
Sultan Ibragimov
Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov, is a retired professional boxer and a former WBO heavyweight champion. He is of Avar Dagestani Muslim descent...
, for the WBO heavyweight title.
Holyfield vs. Ibragimov
On October 13, 2007, Holyfield was defeated by Sultan Ibragimov. Although unable to defy his critics by winning a fifth heavyweight title, Holyfield refused to be backed up by the young champion and even rattled him in the closing part of the 12th round. The fight was mostly uneventful, however, with neither fighter being truly staggered or knocked down. In most exchanges, Sultan was able to land two punches to Holyfield's one. The end result was a unanimous decision for Ibragimov, with scores of 118–110, and 117–111 twice.Holyfield vs. Valuev
He told BBC ScotlandBBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
's Sports Weekly "I'm gonna fight, be the heavyweight champion of the world one more time. Then I'm gonna write another book and tell everybody how I did it." On December 20, 2008 he fought, at the Hallenstadion
Hallenstadion
The Hallenstadion is a multi-purpose facility, in the Swiss city of Zurich.Designed by Bruno Giacometti, it opened on July 18, 1939, and was renovated in 2005....
in Zürich Switzerland, the WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev
Nikolai Valuev
Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev or Valuyev is a retired professional boxer and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. In his most recent fight , he lost the title to David Haye via 12-round majority decision...
for a paycheck of $600,000, the lowest amount he has ever received for a championship fight. At the weigh-in, he weighed 214 pounds, Valuev weighed a career low of 310 pounds.
Valuev defeated Holyfield by a highly controversial majority decision after a relatively uneventful bout. One judge scored the bout a draw 114–114, while the others had Valuev winning 116–112 and 115–114. Many analysts were outraged at the decision, thinking Holyfield had clearly won. There was talk of a rematch in 2009.
The WBA did their own investigation into the controversial decision; "As the World Boxing Association (WBA) always cares about and respects the fans' and the media's opinion, the Championship Committee has ordered a panel of judges to review the tape of the fight between Nikolai Valuev and Evander Holyfield, for the WBA heavyweight title", read a statement from the WBA. The organization also expressed that they "will give a decision accordingly in the following weeks." Many speculated that an immediate rematch would be the most likely scenario, but this never materialised. Valuev lost the WBA title in his next fight against British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
boxer David Haye
David Haye
David Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...
.
Holyfield vs. Botha
After the loss to Valuev, Holyfield took a period of inactivity. He reportedly agreed to fight South African boxer Francois BothaFrancois Botha
Francois Botha , also known as Frans Botha, is a South African boxer, nicknamed the "White Buffalo". Botha won the vacant IBF heavyweight title in 1995 when he outpointed Axel Schulz in Germany...
on January 16, 2010, for the WBF World Heavyweight title; it was agreed that the venue for the fight would be the Nelson Mandela Memorial Stadium
National Stadium (Uganda)
Mandela National Stadium often referred to as Namboole Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kampala, Uganda. It is currently used mostly for football matches, although other sports are also practiced. The stadium has a capacity of 45,202 people...
in Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. A few weeks before the fight, it was revealed that the bout would be postponed to February 20, 2010. The match was put in jeopardy due to economic disagreements but was later confirmed to be on April 10, 2010 at the Thomas & Mack Center
Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is an arena, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522, for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.-History:...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. When asked about his upcoming bout, the four-time world heavyweight champion said: "I've been hearing for a while that I can't do it. All it does is light a fire under me to prove people wrong." He also added: "I can still fight. I don't want to leave until I've become the undisputed heavyweight champion one more time. That's been my goal the entire time." The American boxer scored an eighth round knockout of Botha to win the WBF heavyweight title.
Holyfield started slowly as usual in the early going. Botha held and hit Holyfield, and took the control of the fight for the first three rounds. However, the South African could not slow down Holyfield, though he did hurt him, and the American boxer slowly began to punch him more to take control of the bout in the later rounds. In the seventh round Holyfield stunned Botha and knocked him down in the eighth round. Though he beat the count, Holyfield cornered him and landed many punches that forced the referee Russell Mora to stop the bout. At the time of the stoppage, Holyfield was behind on two judges' cards, 67–66, while the third judge had it 69–64 for the American boxer. Only 3,127 attended the fight.
Sherman "The Tank" Williams
After the Botha fight, Holyfield said he was interested in fighting either Vitali KlitschkoVitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
, the current WBC Champion, or his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
. Holyfield's next bout against Sherman "The Tank" Williams
Sherman Williams (boxer)
Sherman Alexander Williams is a Bahamian professional heavyweight boxer. For a while he was predicted to capture the heavyweight championship of the world..-Professional career:...
on November 5, 2010 at Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe and JLA is a hockey arena located at 600 Civic Center Drive in Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Completed in 1979 at a cost of $57 million, Joe Louis Arena is named after boxer and former heavyweight...
in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
was then postponed twice before finally being rescheduled to January 22, 2011 and moved to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Holyfield started the bout slowly and in the second round, he was cut in the left eye following an accidental clash of heads. In round three as he took several combinations. After the end of the round, Holyfield told his corner that he was unable to see due to the cut. Consequently, the bout was ruled a no contest
No contest (boxing)
No contest is a technical term used in some combat sports to describe a fight that ends for reasons outside the fighters' hands.-Boxing:...
.
The WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
has allegedly agreed to match Holyfield up with Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
after he gets through Williams and Nielsen.
"Super" Brian Nielsen
A fight with Brian Nielsen, the most popular Danish fighter in that country’s history, was scheduled for March 5, 2011 in Denmark, but needed to be postponed to May 7, 2011 due to a cut Holyfield received in the Williams fight.The World Boxing Federation
World Boxing Federation
The World Boxing Federation is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. Its offices are located in Luxembourg.-History:...
, after consideration of all arguments, decided against sanctioning the proposed second title defence of its world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield against Brian Nielsen. The main reason is that 46-year-old Nielsen has been out of the ring for almost a decade, thus does not qualify to contest a WBF
World Boxing Federation
The World Boxing Federation is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. Its offices are located in Luxembourg.-History:...
world title.
The official weigh-in was held on Friday night in Denmark, with Holyfield at 225 pounds, while his opponent Nielsen, with his shorts on, weighed 238 pounds. It is to be noted that Nielsen had never been this light in his career. Neilson had said that although it would be mighty difficult for him to beat Holyfield, he promised it would not be one sided affair. Holyfield said that if he won he wwould move to next level and challenge for major titles.
Holyfield started the fight aggressively, pressing the 46-year-old Nielsen into the ropes and landing several hard jabs and hooks, knocking him down in the 3rd round. Despite getting a swollen eye in the 4th round, Nielsen kept on clowning to provoke Holyfield throughout the bout, prompting his trainer, Paul Duvill, to beg him to stop fooling around and focus on Holyfield. In round 10 Nielsen pushed a tired-looking Holyfield into the ropes with a series of combinations, before Holyfield turned it around. Holyfield pushed Nielsen into a corner and battered him with combinations until the referee stopped the contest.
It was a tough fight – he kept coming back, Holyfield said. He fought a very courageous fight.
Allegations of steroid and HGH use
On February 28, 2007, Holyfield was anonymously linked to Applied Pharmacy Services, a pharmacy in Alabama that is currently under investigation for supplying athletes with illegal steroids and human growth hormoneGrowth hormone
Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...
(HGH). He denies ever using performance enhancers.
Holyfield's name does not appear in the law enforcement documents reviewed. However, a patient by the name of "Evan Fields" caught investigators' attention. "Fields" shares the same birth date as Holyfield—October 19, 1962. The listed address for "Fields" was 794 Evander, Fairfield, Ga. 30213. Holyfield has a very similar address. When the phone number that, according to the documents, was associated with the "Fields" prescription, was dialed, Holyfield answered.
On March 10, 2007 Holyfield made a public announcement that he would be pursuing his own investigation into the steroid claims in order to clear his name.
Holyfield was again linked to HGH in September 2007, when his name came up following a raid of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida.
, Signature Pharmacy is under investigation for illegally supplying several professional athletes with steroids and HGH.
Life outside the ring
Holyfield is the younger brother of actor and dancer, Bernard Holyfield, and currently lives and trains in Fayette CountyFayette County, Georgia
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 91,263. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 106,144. The county seat is Fayetteville....
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
with his third wife Candi and their two children; he has at least eleven children.
By 1992, Holyfield was already a household name, announcing multiple products on television, such as Coca Cola and Diet Coke
Diet Coke
Diet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
. He also had a video game released for the Sega Genesis and the Sega Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
: Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing
Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing
Evander Holyfield's "Real Deal" Boxing is a boxing video game that was developed by ACME Interactive and published by Sega in 1992. It was released for the Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear consoles. It was followed by a sequel that featured a number of improvements, Greatest Heavyweights of the...
. After his conversion, he started professing his Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
everywhere, reminding the public before and after his fights that he is a born-again Christian.
In 1996 Holyfield was given the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch when it was on its way to his hometown of Atlanta for that year's Olympics. October 4 of this year he was married to Dr. Janice Itson, with whom he had one child.
He founded Real Deal Records
Real Deal Records
Real Deal Records was an American recording company founded by boxer Evander Holyfield sometime in the late 1990s. The musicians signed to Real Deal Records include Saison, a popular Filipino singer, NuWine, an inspirational R&B singer, and Exhale, a trio of unique R&B singers. Holyfield emphasized...
which signed the briefly successful group Exhale.
On September 22, 2007 Holyfield released the Real Deal Grill cooking appliance via TV infomercials. The Real Deal Grill is manufactured by Cirtran Corp.
Holyfield's popularity has led to numerous television appearances for the boxer. His first television show appearance was the Christmas special of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990, playing himself. In 2005, Holyfield came in fifth place on ABC's Dancing with the Stars with his partner Edyta Sliwinska
Edyta Sliwinska
Edyta Śliwińska is a professional ballroom dancer. She is best known for her appearances on the American version of the reality television series Dancing with the Stars. Śliwińska appeared on all of the first ten seasons of the American series, but did not return for the eleventh.- Early life...
. He also made an appearance on the original BBC Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
"Champion of Champions" showdown, which featured the final four teams from the 2005 edition of the British series, plus two celebrities from spinoff versions, paired with British professional dancers, one featuring Holyfield paired with Karen Hardy, and Rachel Hunter paired with Brendan Cole. Holyfield also had minor roles in three movies during the 1990s, Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam is a 1999 crime-drama based around the Son of Sam serial murders. It was directed and produced by Spike Lee.-Plot:Summer of Sam is the story of a group of people in New York City in the summer of 1977, a time when the headlines were dominated by the Son of Sam serial killer...
, Necessary Roughness
Necessary Roughness (film)
Necessary Roughness is a 1991 comedy film starring Scott Bakula and Sinbad. The film was directed by Stan Dragoti, who has also directed the movies Mr. Mom, She's Out of Control, and The Man With One Red Shoe. In addition to Bakula and Sinbad, Necessary Roughness has an additional cast of Héctor...
, and Blood Salvage (which he also produced). He made a guest appearance on Nickelodeon's
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
Nickelodeon GUTS
Nickelodeon GUTS
Nickelodeon GUTS is an American television reality "action sports" competition series hosted by actor/comedian Mike O'Malley and officiated by British actress Moira "Mo" Quirk. The series was broadcast by the cable television network Nickelodeon from 1992 to 1995...
during its third season in 1994. He appeared once in an episode of Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
. In the episode he is an animated character but the producers wanted to make the most of Holyfield's ear, so his animated character was only given half an ear.
On August 13, 2007, Holyfield was confirmed to participate in a boxing match at World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's Saturday Night's Main Event against Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
. He replaced Montel Vontavious Porter, who had to pull out after being legitimately diagnosed with a heart condition that was not part of a storyline.
In late 2007 and early 2008, Holyfield was among a number of celebrities to be doing television ads for the restaurant chain Zaxby's
Zaxby's
Zaxby's is a franchised chain of fast casual restaurants that operates primarily in the Southeastern United States with 500 locations. Zaxby's 500th location opened in Tifton, Georgia the summer of 2010. The first Zaxby's was opened in Statesboro, Georgia, near the Georgia Southern University...
.
In June 2008 a legal notice was placed by Washington Mutual Bank stating that Holyfield's $10 million, 54000 square feet (5,016.8 m²), 109 room, 17 bathroom suburban Atlanta estate would be auctioned off on July 1, 2008 due to foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
, shortly before that bank's insolvency. Adding to his financial problems, Toi Irvin, mother of his 10 year old son, filed suit for non-payment of two months child support (he pays $3,000 per month for this child). A Utah landscaping firm also has gone to court seeking $550,000 in unpaid debt for services. Holyfield appeared as himself in the 2011 remake
Arthur (2011 film)
Arthur is a 2011 comedy film written by Peter Baynham and directed by Jason Winer. It is a remake of the 1981 film written and directed by Steve Gordon...
of Arthur.
Professional boxing record
|-| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|44 Wins (29 knockouts, 13 decisions, 1 disqualification), 10 losses (2 knockouts, 8 decisions), 2 Draws, 1 No Contest
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Result
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Round
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Win
|
|align=left|
Brian Nielsen|TKO
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#ddd;"|NC
|
|align=left|
Sherman WilliamsSherman Williams (boxer)
Sherman Alexander Williams is a Bahamian professional heavyweight boxer. For a while he was predicted to capture the heavyweight championship of the world..-Professional career:...
|NC
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|
|align=left|
Francois BothaFrancois Botha
Francois Botha , also known as Frans Botha, is a South African boxer, nicknamed the "White Buffalo". Botha won the vacant IBF heavyweight title in 1995 when he outpointed Axel Schulz in Germany...
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|
|align=left|
Nikolai ValuevNikolai Valuev
Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev or Valuyev is a retired professional boxer and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. In his most recent fight , he lost the title to David Haye via 12-round majority decision...
|MD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|42-9-2
|align=left|
Sultan IbragimovSultan Ibragimov
Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov, is a retired professional boxer and a former WBO heavyweight champion. He is of Avar Dagestani Muslim descent...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|42-8-2
|align=left|
Lou SavareseLou Savarese
Lou Savarese is an Italian-American boxer, and a former professional boxer from Houston, Texas, United States.-Amateur career:...
|UD
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|41-8-2
|align=left|
Vincent MaddaloneVincent Maddalone
Vincent Maddalone is an American boxer and is a fringe contender in the heavyweight division.Maddalone, a hard-hitting brawler, turned pro in 1999 and is a popular fighter who is often featured on ESPN...
|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|40-8-2
|align=left|
Fres OquendoFres Oquendo
Fres Oquendo was born April 1, 1973 in Puerto Rico, and is a professional heavyweight boxer.He had a successful amateur background.-Amateur career:He had an amateur record of 105-51990 178 lb. Springfield Golden Gloves Champion1992 178 lb...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|39-8-2
|align=left|
Jeremy BatesJeremy Bates (boxer)
Jeremy Bates is an American heavyweight boxer. Nicknamed "The Beast", Bates was a moderately successful fighter who fought several other journeyman fighters of his era...
|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|38-8-2
|align=left|
Larry DonaldLarry Donald
Larry Ali Donald is a professional heavyweight boxer, who competed for the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.-Professional career:...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|38-7-2
|align=left|
James ToneyJames Toney
James Nathanial Toney is an American professional boxer who has held world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, and cruiserweight divisions. Toney currently fights in the heavyweight division in boxing and also now competes in mixed martial arts.-Boxing career:Toney's amateur boxing...
|TKO
|9
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|38-6-2
|align=left|
Chris ByrdChris Byrd
Chris Cornelius Byrd is a retired and former professional boxer. He is the former WBO and IBF heavyweight champion. His nickname is "Rapid Fire".- Early life :...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|38-5-2
|align=left|
Hasim RahmanHasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...
|TD
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|37-5-2
|align=left|
John RuizJohn Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
|D
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|37-5-1
|align=left|
John RuizJohn Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|37-4-1
|align=left|
John RuizJohn Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|36-4-1
|align=left|
Lennox LewisLennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|36-3-1
|align=left|
Lennox LewisLennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
|D
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|36–3
|align=left|
Vaughn BeanVaughn Bean
Vaughn Bean is a former professional boxer.Nicknamed "Shake & Bake", Bean is known for making several arguably undeserved challenges for heavyweight titles, each time coming up short. Bean began his career with 27 victories over extremely limited competition, lining up a shot at IBF Heavyweight...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|35–3
|align=left|
Michael MoorerMichael Moorer
Michael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|34–3
|align=left|
Mike TysonMike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
|DQ
Holyfield-Tyson II
Holyfield-Tyson II is a name used to identify the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield on June 28, 1997, in which Tyson bit Holyfield's ear. The fight was originally billed as Holyfield-Tyson II: The Sound and the Fury and was a follow-up rematch of the first Tyson-Holyfield...
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|33–3
|align=left|
Mike TysonMike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
|TKO
Tyson-Holyfield I
Tyson-Holyfield I or Tyson vs Holyfield I, also billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson on November 9, 1996 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The referee officiating the fight was Mitch Halpern...
|11
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|32–3
|align=left|
Bobby CzyzBobby Czyz
Robert Edward "Bobby" Czyz is a retired American boxer. A New Jersey native of mostly Polish and Italian descent, he is both a former world light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion.Czyz was born in Orange, New Jersey...
|TKO
|5
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|31–3
|align=left|
Riddick BoweRiddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|31–2
|align=left|
Ray MercerRay Mercer
"Merciless" Ray Mercer is an American professional boxer, former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO heavyweight title holder who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina...
|UD
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|30–2
|align=left|
Michael MoorerMichael Moorer
Michael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...
|MD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|30–1
|align=left|
Riddick BoweRiddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
|MD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|29–1
|align=left|
Alex Stewart|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|28–1
|align=left|
Riddick BoweRiddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|28–0
|align=left|
Larry HolmesLarry Holmes
Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin....
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|27–0
|align=left|
Bert CooperBert Cooper
Bertram Cooper , also known as Smokin' Bert Cooper is a heavyweight boxer, most famous for his devastating punching power and several wild brawls in the 1990s.-Pro career:...
|TKO
|7
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|26–0
|align=left|
George ForemanGeorge Foreman
George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...
|UD
|12
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|25–0
|align=left|
Buster Douglas|KO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|24–0
|align=left|
Seamus McDonagh|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|23–0
|align=left|
Alex Stewart|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|22–0
|align=left|
Adilson Rodrigues|KO
|2
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|21–0
|align=left|
Michael DokesMichael Dokes
Michael Marshall Dokes is a former American boxer in the heavyweight division, nicknamed "Dynamite."-Amateur career:...
|TKO
|10
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|20–0
|align=left|
Pinklon ThomasPinklon Thomas
Pinklon Thomas is a retired heavyweight boxer and former WBC heavyweight champion whose trademark pink boxing trunks and a left jab were key distinguishing characteristics....
|RTD
|7
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|19–0
|align=left|
James Tillis|RTD
|5
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|18–0
|align=left|
Carlos De LeonCarlos De Leon
Carlos De León, also known as "Sugar" De Leon, is a Puerto Rican former boxer who made history by becoming the first Cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as Cruiserweight champion by regaining it twice more.- Career :De León,...
|TKO
|8
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|17–0
|align=left|
|KO
|4
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|16–0
|align=left|
Ossie OcasioOssie Ocasio
Osvaldo Ocasio, , better known as Ossie Ocasio and nicknamed Jaws, is a Puerto Rican who was a boxer and world Cruiserweight champion. He got his peculiar nickname after accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session...
|TKO
|11
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|15–0
|align=left|
Ricky Parkey|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|14–0
|align=left|
Henry TillmanHenry Tillman
Henry Durand Tillman is a former American boxer.-Amateur Career:Tillman twice defeated Mike Tyson as an amateur, winning both bouts via close decisions. Tillman went on to win heavyweight Gold at the Los Angeles Olympics....
|TKO
|7
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|13–0
|align=left|
Mike Brothers|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|12–0
|align=left|
|SD
|15
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|11–0
|align=left|
Terry Mims|KO
|5
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|10–0
|align=left|
Jesse Shelby|KO
|3
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|9–0
|align=left|
Chisanda Mutti|TKO
|3
|
|align=left|
Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
|
|- align=center
|Win
|8–0
|align=left|
Anthony Davis|TKO
|4
|
|align=left|
Virginia Beach, VirginiaVirginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
|
|- align=center
|Win
|7–0
|align=left|
Jeff Meachem|TKO
|5
|
|align=left|
Atlantic City, New Jersey|
|- align=center
|Win
|6–0
|align=left|
Rick Myers|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
|
|- align=center
|Win
|5–0
|align=left|
Tyrone Booze|UD
|8
|
|align=left|
Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
|
|- align=center
|Win
|4–0
|align=left|
Mark Rivera|TKO
|2
|
|align=left|
Corpus Christi, TexasCorpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
|
|- align=center
|Win
|3–0
|align=left|
Fred Brown|TKO
|1
|
|align=left|
Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
|
|- align=center
|Win
|2–0
|align=left|
Eric Winbush|UD
|6
|
|align=left|
Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
|
|- align=center
|Win
|1–0
|align=left|
Lionel Byarm|UD
|6
|
|align=left|
New York City, New York|
See also
External links
- Evander Holyfield Pics
- Evander Holyfield Fight-by-Fight Career Record
- IMDB page
- New Georgia Encyclopedia
- http://www.boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Fight:5688
- Details of Ibragimov fight
|-