Evander Holyfield

History of Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield is one of the popular heavyweight boxers that dominated during the 1990's. He's also the only boxer to win the heavyweight championship four times. Because of his heart and determination to win, Holyfield was given the nickname "Real Deal", then years later, "The Warrior".

Early Career

Evander began boxing at the age of twelve. As he got older, it became clear he had what it took to make a successful run as a boxer.  Holyfield first entered the Junior Olympics at thirteen. At fifteen, Holyfield w

on the Regional Championship. He also won the best boxing award that same year. When Holyfield became a young man at the age of twenty, he fought for the United States during the Pan American Games.  He won a Silver medal in the games. After the games Holdyfield won a national golden gloves title, and entered the Olympic games, where he won a bronze medal in a controversial match.

Evander, entered professional boxing as a light heavyweight. He quickly made a name for himself winning fights against the competition their. There wasn't much of a challenge at that weight, so Evander moved to cruiserweight. At that weight, Holyfield began to gain fans for his professional boxing style, and his warrior heart earning him the nickname Real Deal.  He quickly defeated the boxers in that division to face the champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi. He defeated Qawi to become crusierweight champion of the world. He successfully defended his title against Olympic gold medal winner Henry Tillmen.  After a couple of more defenses, he fought Qawi in a rematch. Holyfeild knocked Qawi out in four rounds cleaning out the division, and proving he was the dominating champion.

Heavyweight Success

When Holyfield announced that he was moving to heavyweight, the boxing critics said it couldn't be done. They claimed Holyfield had the kind of body that couldn't handle that division. Holyfield prove the critics wrong by working his body near the point of collapse. He added a lot of muscle mass to his upper body. The mass was enough to make the weight requirement for that division. Still the critics claimed he would fail at the division, and called him a "blown up crusierweight".  Holyfield set out to prove them wrong.  After a number of successful victories Holyfield was named Ring Magazines number one contender. Holyfield continued to impress into the 1990's where his legacy as one of the best heavyweights began.

Holyfield's heavyweight success earned him a title shot against the current champion at that time, Mike Tyson.  Unfortunately, during a mandatory title defense Mike Tyson lost his title in a shocking upset again

st unknown James Buster Douglas.  With Douglas as champion, Holyfield prepared to fight against him for the championship. During the fight, Buster Douglas was out of shape, and fighting nothing like he was against Mike Tyson. In the third round, Holyfield countered a punch by Douglas, that knocked him out for the count. The counter happened so fast, people began to say Buster threw the fight. Holyfield's counter was soon called the "phantom punch two", after Muhammad Ali's famous quick counter against Sonny Liston in their rematch.  Now the champion, Holyfield defended his title against Big George Foreman. George Foreman was making a boxing comeback after years of retirement. Holyfield dominated the fight, but Foreman wouldn't got down and had Holyfeild in trouble in some of the rounds. During the final seconds of the twelfth round, Evander showed respect by hugging George as the match ended. This act of respect earned him more fans. Holyfield soon signed to fight against Mike Tyson. However, the fight was once against called off, when Mike was convicted for raping Desiree Washington. Holyfield continued defending his title against fighters like Larry Holmes and Ray Mercer. Quickly making a name for himself, Holyfield had yet to face the boxer that would define him. This changed when he fought Riddick Big Daddy Bowe.

In the first fight of a unforgettable trilogy, Holyfield earned his second nickname "The Warrior" when in the tenth round, Bowe knocked down Holyfield seriously hurting him. It looked like the fight was over and the champion was about to get knockout. Instead, Holyfield hurt and seemingly helpless, fought Riddick Bowe until he turned the tables nearly knocking him out in the same round.  Holyfield still lost the championship to Riddick Bowe. However he gained a lot of fans from his defeat. A rematch was soon made. The second fight  also had a historical moment in Holyfield's career.  In the middle of the bout, a guy parachuted into the open arena stopping the fight. As he landed in the crowd, angry fans began beating him up, as his parachute got caught in arena lights.  The man became known as "The Fan Man". Using the distraction to recover, Holyfield successfully regained his championship. Holyfield defended his title against Michael Moorer who defeated him. After losing the title, Holyfield fought Riddick Bowe for the last time. Despite doing well in the early rounds, Bowe ended up winning the fight and the trilogy.  After the fight, the doctors claimed Holyfield had a dangerous heart condition. Holyfield retired from boxing.

Comeback and Mike Tyson

After years of therapy, Evander Holyfeild entered professional boxing for the second time in 1996. He quickly moved up the heavyweight division putting him back in the position to win the championship. Wh

ile Holyfield was retired, Mike Tyson was released from prison and successfully became the heavyweight champion again. Before the fight, many people believe Mike Tyson who can knock people out in one round, would destroy the weaken Holyfield.  Holyfield shocked the world by out-boxing Mike Tyson like Douglas did, and knocking him out in the eleventh round. Holyfield made history as the only heavyweight's besides Muhammad Ali, and Lennox Lewis to win the championship three times. Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield would meet again in a rematch. During the match, Holyfield was once again out-boxing Mike Tyson. Seeing that the fight was a repeat of the first, a frustrated Mike Tyson, bit the ear of Evander ripping a peace of flesh off. The fight was stopped, and Mike Tyson was disqualified. After the Tyson fights, Holyfeild got revenge against Michael Moorer, knocking him down five times in the fight.

Soon Evander Holyfield faced Lennox Lewis of the United Kingdom for the right to became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.  Despite Lewis dominating the fight, the judges declared the fight a draw. Many fans were outrage by the decision. A rematch took place not long afterward. Lennox Lewis dominated the fight even more so becoming the undisputed champion of the world. Later Lennox Lewis was stripped of the championship for not fighting John Luiz. Holyfield saw this as a chance to win the championship for a fourth time. He succeeded by beating Luiz in their first fight. Luiz, however, faced Holyfield two more times defeating him. Holyfield lost his second trilogy.  Not discourage, Holyfield attempted to win the heavyweight championship for the fifth time. However, all his chances ended in defeat. Holyfield retired for the second time.

Live Free or Diehard

Holyfeild came out of retirement for the third time wanting to make history again. His mission? Winning the heavyweight title for the fifth time. In 2008 Holyfield built himself up to another title shoot. He faced Nikolai Valuev. In the fight, Holyfield dominated and it seemed like he was finally going to fulfill his dream. After the fight however, the judges gave the fight to Valuev in a split decision. The fans were outraged and demanded action. The boxing commission is currently investigating the fight. Holyfield today is still trying to make history.

Holyfield in Videogames

Like most popular athletes Holyfield had a video game made after him. The game was called Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing for the Sega Genesis. Holyfield also became a regular in official boxing games by many developers. His latest appearance is in Fight Night Round 4.