Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield
Born	Evander Holyfield (1962-10-19) October 19, 1962 Atmore, Alabama, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Real Deal The Warrior
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight Cruiserweight Light-Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1.892 m)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	53
Wins	42
Wins by KO	27
Losses	9
Draws	2

Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962 in Atmore, Alabama) is a professional boxer from the United States and a multiple world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal". Holyfield won the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics after a controversial disqualification in the semifinal. Evander is also the younger brother of actor and dancer Bernard Holyfield. Evander currently lives and trains in Fayette County, Georgia with his wife and their two children.

Amateur

Evander Holyfield

Medal record
Olympic Games
	1984 Los Angeles	Light Heavyweight
Pan American Games
	Caracas 1983	Light Heavyweight

Born in Alabama, Holyfield and his family moved to Atlanta in the summer of 1964, at the age of two. Holyfield 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.

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. Referee Gligorije Novicic later apologized, admitting to being out of position when he called for the fighters to "break" and stop punching. Holyfield did not hear the call, and threw a punch, which knocked his opponent down. When he was unable to recover, Holyfield was disqualified. In a highly unusual concession, a tearful Holyfield was awarded the bronze medal.

Pro

Light-Heavyweight

Holyfield started out professionally as a light-heavyweight 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 13th, he knocked out Fred Brown in the first round in Norfolk, Virginia, and on April 20th, he knocked out Mark Rivera in two rounds in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Cruiserweight

Both he and his next opponent, Tyrone Booze, 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 29th in Holyfield's hometown of Atlanta. On October 30th in Atlantic City he knocked out opponent Jeff Meachem in five rounds, and his last fight for 1985 was against Anthony Davis on December 21st in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He won by knocking out Davis in the fourth round.

He began 1986 with a knockout in three 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's world cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi. In what was called by Ring Magazine 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 by a knockout in seven rounds, 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 knocking out the WBC's defending world champion Carlos De León in eight rounds at Las Vegas. O'Neil Bell has since repeated this feat in 2006 with his knockout victory over Jean Marc Mormeck.

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, NV (Tillis had gone the distance with Tyson). For his third and final bout of '88, he beat former world heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas, also by a 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 Brazilian 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. Still, some observers felt he had revealed some weaknesses in Holyfield's arsenal.

In 1990, Holyfield beat Seamus McDonagh, taking him out in four, with a vicious series of punches, but not before McDonagh connected with some impressive shots, which Holyfield took rather well. After this fight, Holyfield was the number 1 world Heavyweight challenger.

Years as heavyweight champion

By this time, in what many consider to be the biggest upset in sports history, relatively unknown boxer, the 29-year old, 231 lb. James Douglas, who was arguably in the best shape of his career, defeated the 23-year old, 218 lb. Mike Tyson in ten rounds in Tokyo to become the new undisputed Heavyweight champion. Holyfield had been promised a title shot against Tyson after this fight and he accepted, believing that Douglas would be squashed by Tyson. Instead, he would be Douglas' first title defense. Douglas was surprisingly heavy, coming in at 246 lbs.

Holyfield trainer Lou Duva told the story years later, claiming that he had sent a huge combo pizza to Douglas' room each night, with a note saying, "Compliments of the hotel. Good luck in the fight, champ!" Douglas always accepted the pizza, and in the morning, the box was always empty.

Douglas offered little in the fight against Holyfield, who was in great shape at 208 lbs, with the exception of one right hand over the top of Evander's jab. In the third round, Douglas tried to start a combination with a big right uppercut - a novice mistake - perhaps because this was the big punch that had unraveled Tyson. Holyfield countered with a straight right hand that was lightning quick, and Douglas went down for the count. Douglas had passed out, and thus, was defeated by KO in round 3. 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, and who had previously been defeated twice - by Muhammad Ali, by KO in 8 and by Jimmy Young, by a unanimous decision after 15 rounds). Holyfield weighed in at 208 pounds and Foreman weighed in at 247 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 of 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. It would happen 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 knowkdown, 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. Cooper praised Holyfield and Holyfield followed suit. Although Holyfield isn't known as one of the hardest heavyweight punchers, there was an impressive and unusual testament to the viciousness of the shots he was landing on Cooper during the fight. In the fifth round, action was ceased temporarily to replace Holyfield's right glove which had split.

In his first fight of 1992, he faced former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, who was 42 years old, and had just pulled off a spectacular upset against number one contender, the diamond-chinned Ray Mercer. Prior to their matchup, Holmes had speculated that Holyfield used steroids to gain sufficient weight and move up to the heavyweight division. Holmes felt that, although past his prime, he could rely on guile & experience as an advantage against his much younger and lighter opponent. 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 main difference in the fight was that the younger Holyfield could muster the energy to fight for the full three minutes of each round, while the older and more experienced Holmes could not. The fight ended with a respectable but unanimous decision in favor of Holyfield.

In the beginning of a trilogy of bouts with the 25-year old Olympic silver medalist Riddick Bowe, 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 was winning the fight, but from round six, he used the bad tactic 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, Holyfield had been taking solid jabs to the face from Bowe in round seven (and losing the fight on all scorecards), when everyone in 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.

Losing the heavyweight crown

His next fight, April 1994, he met former WBO light heavyweight champion of the world Michael Moorer, who was attempting to become the first southpaw to become world Heavyweight champion. He dropped Moorer in round two, but suffered a dislocated shoulder, and 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. 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 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, who had a famous chin.

Then, he and Bowe 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 contracting Hepatitis A weakened him in the ring.

Holyfield vs. Tyson I & II

Main articles: Tyson-Holyfield I and The Bite Fight

Poster publicizing the 28 June, 1997, Holyfield-Tyson II fight, dubbed The Sound and The Fury.

However, 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's and the WBA's world 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 decision and joining Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis as the only three men ever to become world Heavyweight champions three times. The most emotional point of the fight was when Holyfield knocked Tyson down in the sixth round. Tyson was cut, discouraged and on the floor. The sight of Tyson floored filled Holyfield with even more determination to defeat Tyson and he beat Tyson around the ring until Halpern stopped the fight. He also joined Ali, former rival De Leon, Sugar Ray Robinson and Marvin Johnson among others, in the club of men who have reigned three or more times in the same division, with his victory. After the fight, Holyfield said on TV that "I can do all things through christ who strengthens me." a quote from Phillipians 4:13 of the Bible. He also told the TV crew he wanted to give all the glory of his victory to God. Tyson was magnanimous after the fight, which only made the events of their rematch seem even more bizarre.

His next fight would also go into the annals of boxing as one of the most bizarre fights in history: He gave Tyson a rematch on June 28, 1997, in what became known as The Bite Fight. In the third round, Tyson bit Holyfield on one of his ears, and he had two points deducted. After biting Holyfield on the other ear and gruesomely removing the top of his ear, Tyson was disqualified and a melee ensued. Tyson claimed his bites were a retaliation to Holyfield's unchecked headbutts, which had cut him in both fights.

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, 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.

Holyfield vs. Lewis I & II

By 1999, the public was clamoring for a unification bout versus the WBC's world champion, Lennox Lewis 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 leg cramps. Holyfield and Lewis were ordered by the three leading organizations of which they were champions to have an immediate rematch.

The second time around, in November of that year, Lewis became the undisputed champion by beating Holyfield by a unanimous decision by three American judges. "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." Holyfield would later dispute the decision, saying that "everyone who watched it knows I won the fight". What is at least certain is that the second time around, Holyfield fought a tremendous fight.

Trilogy with John Ruiz

In 2000, Lewis was stripped of the WBA belt for failing to meet lightly-regarded Don King fighter John Ruiz (he fought Ruiz-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 12 round unanimous decision to become the first boxer in history to be the world's Heavyweight champion four times. Holyfield blamed his lackluster performance on a broken eardrum.

Seven months later, in March of 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 dull 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 Rahman, 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 boxer Byrd instead going after Tyson, and declared the winner of the fight between Holyfield and former WBO world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd would be recognized as their world Heavyweight champion. So, on December 14 of '02, Holyfield once again tried to become the first man ever to be world's heavyweight champion five times when he and Byrd met, but Byrd came out as the winner by a unanimous 12 round decision.

Consecutive losses & New York suspension

On October 4, 2003, Holyfield lost to James Toney by TKO(towel thrown in) in round nine.

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, the New York Daily News 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 passed a battery of medical tests.

Comeback: Fails to win WBO Title

Holyfield was initially criticized for his ongoing comeback; but Holyfield is adamant that his losses to Toney and Donald were the result of a shoulder injury, not old age. Indeed, Holyfield has looked better in his last four fights than against Donald, and appears 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 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 Holyfield 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, 114-113, and 114-113.

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. A factor in the decision to do so was a cut on Maddalone's forehead caused by a headbutt by Holyfield earlier in the fight. Maddalone was visibly upset by the call, but after the fight stated that Holyfield is still "very, very strong."

On June 30, 2007, Holyfield defeated Lou Savarese in convincing fashion, 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 World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Title.

El Paso Texas, June 30, 2007 vs. Lou Savarese.

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 all three judges scoring it 117-111 in Ibragiomov's favor.

After the defeat, Holyfield stated that he will not retire, making many fear for his health if he continues to fight.

He told BBC Scotland'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."

Life outside the ring

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. He started professing his Christianity everywhere, reminding the public before and after his fights that he is a born-again Christian, and wearing t-shirts with the word Pray in public. 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. Holyfield would later divorce Janice in 2000.

In 1998 Holyfield was forced to announce that he believed to have as many as nine children out of wedlock, and his marriage was affected by that announcement.

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.

On July 3 2003, Holyfield wed for the third time, marrying 24 year old student Candi Calvana Smith.

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).

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 diagnosed with a heart condition. The fight ended in a no-contest after MVP entered the ring and Holyfield knocked him out after MVP started verbally abusing him.

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 $10mil, 5,000sf suburban Atlanta estate would be auctioned off on July 1, 2008 due to foreclosure. 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.

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 sterioids and human growth hormone (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 -- Oct. 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, FL. As of September 2007, Signature Pharmacy is under investigation for illegally supplying several professional athletes with steroids and HGH.

Trivia

• During a charity event in the early 1990s, Holyfield defeated Carl Lewis, the former Olympic sprinting champion, in an 800 meter race.
• After the second fight with Mike Tyson, the referee in charge, Mills Lane, told Holyfield to change his nickname to "The Real Meal".
• Holyfield is a founding partner in the Black Family Channel, a "family-friendly" competitor to Black Entertainment Television.
• In "The Note", an episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld, George Costanza believes he may be turning gay when he becomes transfixed by a poster of a shirtless Holyfield hanging on an acquaintance's wall.
• He made a guest appearance on Nickelodeon's Figure It Out during its third season in 1994.
• There is a joke made during an episode of Saturday Night Live in which Chris Farley plays General Norman Schwarzkopf who is commenting on a recent battle in the Middle East, when he abruptly screams, (banging on the table in front of him) "I WANT HOLYFIELD! I WANT HOLYFIELD! I showed you what these guns can do in the Middle East, and now I'm gonna show you what they can do in the ring!"
• Snoop Dogg name-drops Holyfield on Dr. Dre's 1992 classic gangsta rap song "Nothin' but a G Thang" with the line, "And that's realer than Real-Deal Holyfield". Snoop Dogg also mentions Holyfield in his song "Tha Shiznit" from his 1993 debut album Doggystyle. He raps "In the back of the limo no demo, this is the real / Breakin niggas down like Evander Holyfield."
• Holyfield acted as a replacement for wrestler MVP in a boxing match against Matt Hardy at World Wrestling Entertainment's Saturday Night's Main Event on August 18,2007.
• Holyfield was presented with a Tranmere shirt during a trip to Liverpool in 2008 and pledged to inspire the team to success
• Celtic player Evander Sno is named after Holyfield. [3]
• John Holmberg, a radio DJ in Arizona does an imitation/parody of Holyfield. The character is constantly pushing his 'Real Deal Grill' and often punctuates his statements with something like 'Praise Jeebus'
• He was featured in the episode "Deck the Halls" on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
• He appeared once in an episode of Phineas and Ferb. In the episoide 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.

See also

• List of cruiserweight boxing champions
• List of heavyweight boxing champions
• List of male boxers
• List of WBC world champions

External links

• Evander Holyfield Fight-by-Fight Career Record
• Boxing record for Evander Holyfield from BoxRec (registration required)
• Official Site
• IMDB page
• New Georgia Encyclopedia
• [4]
• Details of Ibragimov fight

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