Evander Holyfield – The Real Deal - By: matt74

Born October 19th, 1962 in Atmore, Alabama, Evander Holyfield moved to Atlanta, Georgia at 4 years old. He started boxing at Warren Boy's club in Southeast Atlanta at the age of 8.

Impressed by Holyfield, Carter Morgan became his coach. At an early age, his talent was evident, winning the boy's club boxing tournament at the age of 8. He competed in the Junior Olympics at 11 and by 16 became Southeastern Regional Champion, already weighing 139 lbs.

At 19, he won a silver medal in the Pan American games in Caracas, Venezuela. In the 1984 Olympics, he won a bronze medal as a light heavyweight. He was later disqualified in a semi-final bout against Kevin Barry for knocking out his opponent after the referee ordered them to break.

In November 1984, Holyfield made his professional debut and became the first boxer of the 1984 Olympic games to win a championship title, having beaten Dwight Muhammad Qawi in a gruelling 15-round fight, capturing the WBA's Junior Heavyweight title.

He unified the titles before moving up to heavyweight as the only boxer ever to be an undefeated, undisputed cruiserweight champion.

Beating Michael Dokes in 1989, Holyfield became the WBC Continental Heavyweight champion, then on 25th October 1990 he became the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion by knocking out James 'Buster' Douglas in the 3rd round. He held the titles until 1992 before losing to Riddick Bowe, but regained his title in a rematch in 1993. Holyfield made a comeback in 1995, beating Ray Mercer.

He became only the second man ever (after Muhammed Ali) to become a three time world heavyweight champion which he achieved by defeating Mike Tyson on 9th November 1996. Holyfield faced Tyson at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, five years later than they were originally supposed to meet. Practically all boxing pundits gave him zero chance of beating the fearsome ‘Iron Mike’. Both experts and Tyson himself had underestimated Holyfield - it was apparent by the 7th round that Holyfield looked the better fighter. By the 10th round, Holyfield showed no signs of tiring, unlike Tyson. The fight was waved off 37 seconds into the 11th round, as Tyson was having trouble even staying on his feet. It was certainly one of the biggest upsets in the history of sports.

The most anticipated rematch came in 28th June 1997, where again it was only Holyfield that had confidence in another victory. Holyfield again looked every inch the champion by the 2nd round, but in the 3rd round Tyson bit Holyfield's left ear, spitting it onto the canvas like a deranged animal. Although the fight continued with only 2 points deducted from Tyson’s scorecard, he bit Holyfield's right ear. Because of his antics, he was justifiably disqualified, leading to Holyfield retaining his title. Although Holyfield had plastic surgery on his ear, it was never the same again. He was quoted as saying he had "the most famous ear in history."

On 8th November 1997, he captured the IBF Heavyweight Championship belt, having beaten Michael Moorer in his "return to glory." Throughout his career, Holyfield has always been in great shape and probably the best trained heavyweight in boxing history.

Known as the "Real Deal", there was none of the false bravado which often fills the sport. His vision and drive can be seen in other aspects of his life, such as the opening of the ‘Holyfield Foundation’, a non-profit organisation focusing on family values. He is viewed by many as a soft-spoken gentleman both in and out of the ring.

About the Author

Matthew Tolfree is the webmaster at Great Boxers, a site featuring biographies and videos of the greatest boxers of all time, and How To Play Guitar, a great resource for beginners and experienced guitarists alike, featuring free lessons, twelve fret scale and arpeggio diagrams, finger exercises and backing tracks.

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