Evander Holyfield (44-10-2)

To those in the casual world of boxing, Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield is best known for his wins over Tyson, particularly the infamous bout which he left the ring as a winner, at the expense of a chunk of his ear. However, in his own right, Holyfield commands respect, for he is the only man to win the heavyweight title five times, and has shown on numerous occasions that he is indeed ‘The Real Deal’.

Early Life & Biting Amateur Opponent

Holyfield was born at Atmore, Alabama, on 19 October 1962. The fourth child out of 5, Evander grew up a religious Christian, and as a boy he was keenly interested in sports. Evander was initially involved  in football, but soon after he discovered the boxing gym at age 8, he started training to be a fighter. Starting as a welterweight amateur, he racked wins across the country, forming an impressive 160-14 (75 KO’s) record. The young Evander had a fiery temper in the ring, and in view of what was to come, he was once disqualified for biting an opponent in the shoulder, and then again for picking up another opponent and throwing him across the ring.

Holyfield represented the USA in the 1984 Olympics

Olympics

Maybe a result of his rough training, and daily concoction (of honey, raw eggs and milk), the once-a-welterweight 18 year old grew into a light heavyweight by his early twenties, and managed to defeat Ricky Womack twice out of three times to earn a place in the US Olympic team. In the semi-finals, Holyfield was disqualified however after he accidentally threw a knockout blow at his opponent when the referee called ‘break’. Despite the loss, Holyfield was now well-known, and he turned professional under the Main Event Inc. banner (headed by Lou and Dan Duva), signing a $2 million 4 year deal.

King of the Cruiserweights

                Holyfield’s debut took place on the ‘A Night of Gold’ billing (because each match as the debut of 1984 Olympians, several of which were gold medallists) on 15 November 1984. He won by unanimous decision in what was the most entertaining bout of the evening. Two years later, on 12 July 1986 he captured the WBA cruiserweight championship in front of his hometown of Atlanta. He fought so hard that he lost 15lbs through the fight, and earned a split decision win. After unifying the division with the IBF and WBC titles, the natural decision was made to move up.

Holyfield defeats Dokes

Conquering the Heavyweight Division

Holyfield was comfortable at 190 pounds, but with the help of Tim Hallmark, who formed a new training and dieting program to help him bulk up without gaining fat, he grew into a 200 lbs fighting machine. After settling into the division fighting top contenders, a much-desired match with Tyson was in the makings.

However, Tyson sensationally lost his title, so Evander fought his conqueror, James ‘Buster’ Douglas in October 1990. Evander knocked him out in the third round to gain the coveted crown. He defended his title successful until he ran into undefeated Ray ‘Merciless’ Mercer in Las Vegas. In a exciting contest, Evander got outhustled and outslugged by Mercer, allowing him to take the win by decision.

Holyfield-Tyson 1

Holyfield and Mercer was set for the rematch a year later in 1993. Holyfield changed his tactics, to take the fight by majority decision. He lost his titles to Michael Moorer in his next fight. 3 years later, Tyson was out of prison and in possession of a world title. The long awaited fight was finally agreed for November, 1996. Tyson would get $30 million, Evander Holyfield was to get $11 million. Tyson was heavily favoured, but Evander exuded confidence before the fight. Despite his intimidating reputation, Evander showed no signs of fear and stopped ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ in the 11th round, in dominating fashion.

Tyson and Holyfield done battle, entertaining the Vegas crowd

Karma? Holyfield is bitten

7 months later, the two men faced off again for a rematch. The much anticipated fight started with excitement, but ended in disgrace. The first two rounds were full of action, with both men equally determined to get the win. This presumably added to Tyson’s frustrations, as he wasn’t usually accustomed to opponents repelling his fearsome demeanour and  remaining strong in spirit. In the third round, Tyson bit the ear of Holyfield after he claimed being head butted on numerous occasions. After pandemonium in the ring, Tyson was disqualified and the fight was over.

Evander lost some ear in the rematch against Tyson

Final Chapters

Evander showed the never-ending determination in his character, as he went on to lose the title, win the title, lose the title etc until he stood alone in boxing history as the only man to win the title five times. He faced a number of competitive names, including Lennox Lewis (twice), John Ruiz (three times), Michael Moorer (again), Chris Byrd, James Toney and Hasim Rahman. If ‘Evander Holyfield’ was to be put in the dictionary, the words ‘courageous’, ‘determined’ and ‘full of heart’ would be the best way to define him, as from the start of his career to the end, ‘The Real Deal’ showed that from head to toe, he was a warrior.