Evander Holyfield
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Evander Holyfield | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Evander Holyfield October 19, 1962 |
| Nationality |  American |
| Other names | The Real Deal, The Warrior |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight Cruiserweight |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 52 |
| Wins | 42 |
| Wins by KO | 27 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No contests | 0 |
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962 in Atmore, Alabama) is a professional boxer from the United States and a multiple-time world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Holyfield won the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics after losing a controversial disqualification to New Zealand's Kevin Barry. His nickname is "Real Deal," or "The Warrior." 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
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Boxing | ||
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1984 Los Angeles | 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.
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 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 Kevin Barry.[citation needed]
Pro
Holyfield started out as a light-heavyweight but very quickly went up to cruiserweight.
Cruiserweight
Holyfield debuted as a professional boxer with a nationally televised win in six rounds over Lionel Byarm at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 1985.
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 the IBF's world champion 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, and as of 2007, only universally recognized world cruiserweight champion after knocking out the WBC's defending world champion Carlos De León in eight rounds at Las Vegas.
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 James "Buster" Douglas dismantled Mike Tyson in ten rounds in Tokyo to become the new Heavyweight champion. Holyfield had accepted a big paycheck to step aside, since he was the mandatory challenger. As such, he would be Douglas' first defense. Douglas was surprisingly heavy, coming in at 246 lbs (he had weighed only 231 lbs against Tyson, when he was arguably in the best shape of his career).
Holyfield trainer Lou Duva told the story in later years, 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 nothing in the fight against Holyfield, 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 could be seen wiping his glove on his brow, checking for blood, as he lay on the canvas, leading some to wonder whether he could have continued, and simply had lost all motivation to do so. In any event, Holyfield was the new, undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
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, and the much older George Foreman.
Then a deal was signed for him to defend his crown against Tyson in November of 1991. Tyson was convicted of the rape of Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison, and the proposed fight did not happen.
Holyfield made the next defense in Atlanta against Bert Cooper, against whom he had to recover from the first knockdown suffered in his career when Cooper floored him in round three, but he recuperated and knocked Cooper out in round seven.
In his first fight of 1992, he faced former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, who had just pulled off a spectacular upset against number one contender Ray Mercer. Holmes had speculated that Holyfield has used steroids to gain sufficient weight to move up to the heavyweight division. Larry was an old man by now, but he could still mix it up. Holyfield suffered the first scar of his career, with a gash opening up over his eye, the result of a Holmes elbow. The main difference in the fight was that the younger Holyfield could muster the energy to fight for the full three minutes each round, while the older and more experienced Holmes could not. The fight ended with a respectable but unanimous decision for Holyfield.
In the beginning of a trilogy of bouts with undefeated Olympic silver medalist Riddick Bowe, he suffered his first defeat when Bowe won the world title by a 12 round decision in Las Vegas. Round ten of that bout was named the Round of the Year by Ring Magazine.
He began 1993 by beating Alex Stewart in a rematch, but this time over the twelve round distance.
Then came the rematch with Bowe on November 6, 1993. In what is considered by many 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, 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 another former world Heavyweight champion and 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
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 a 11th round TKO decision and joining Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis as the only three men ever to become world Heavyweight champions three times. 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 "My God is the only true God," a reference to the Muslim Tyson. 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 earlobe, 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.
Bouncing back after Tyson debacle
Next came another rematch, this time against Moorer, who had recovered the IBF's world title. Holyfield once again unified his WBA belt with the IBF belt by avenging his defeat to Moorer with a knockout win in eight.
In 1998, Holyfield had only one fight, making a mandatory defense against Vaughn Bean, who was defeated at the champion's hometown by a decision.
Holyfield vs. Lewis I & II
By 1999, the public was clamoring for a unification bout versus the WBC's world champion, Lennox Lewis of England. That bout happened in February 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. Holyfield would later dispute the decision, saying that "everyone who watched it knows I won the 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. Of course, he wasn't regarded as the real champ as long as Lewis was around. Holyfield blamed his lacklustre 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 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.
The quest for one last 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 an unintentional 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, ninth, and tenth rounds, 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.
Holyfield will face Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO heavyweight title at Khodynka Arena in Moscow, Russia on October 13, 2007. Ibragimov was originally scheduled to face fellow champion Ruslan Chagaev, however Chagaev pulled out citing illness. A victory in this fight would make Holyfield a co-champion for a record fifth time and would tie him with George Foreman as the oldest professional boxer to become heavyweight champion (age 45).
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: Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing. He started professing his Christianity everywhere, reminding the public before and after his fights that he is a reborn 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 who signed the briefly successful group Exhale.
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 Darren 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.
Allegations of steroid use
On February 28, 2007, Holyfield was anonymously linked to a pharmacy in Alabama that is currently under investigation for steroid use. He denies ever using performance enhancers.[1] Ironically, 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.[2] 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.[3]
Professional boxing record
Trivia
| This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2007) |
- 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 MTV's 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 album "The Chronic" with the line, "And that's realer than Real-Deal Holyfield!"
- Holyfield acted as a relacement for MVP in a boxing match against Matt Hardy at World Wrestling Entertainment's Saturday Night's Main Event on August 18,2007.
See also
- List of cruiserweight boxing champions
- List of heavyweight boxing champions
- List of male boxers
- List of WBC world champions
References
External links
- Evander Holyfield Fight-by-Fight Career Record
- Evander Holyfield's career boxing record
- Official Site
- IMDB page
- New Georgia Encyclopedia
- Details of Ibragimov fight
- Articles needing cleanup from November 2006
- Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from November 2006
- Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from November 2006
- Articles with trivia sections from June 2007
- American boxers
- World Heavyweight Champions
- IBF Champions
- WBA Champions
- WBC Champions
- Heavyweights
- Cruiserweights
- Light-heavyweights
- Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Olympic boxers of the United States
- US Dancing with the Stars participants
- People from Alabama
- People from Georgia (U.S. state)
- African American boxers
- 1962 births
- Living people