Evander Holyfield

Holyfield was born in Atmore, Alabama, and his family later moved to Atlanta, Georgia. He began boxing at a Boys Club as a child, where he won a boxing tournament and developed the discipline that shaped his athletic career. He also played football and collected trophies before focusing on boxing.

Holyfield described himself as a physical late bloomer. After graduating from Fulton High School in 1980, he was considerably smaller than he would become as an adult, but he continued developing through training and competition.

Holyfield built an amateur record of 160 wins and 14 losses, including 76 victories by knockout. He won the national Golden Gloves championship in 1984 and represented the United States at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, where he earned a silver medal after losing to Cuba’s Pablo Romero.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Holyfield competed in the light heavyweight division and received a bronze medal. He was disqualified during his semifinal bout against New Zealand’s Kevin Barry in a controversial decision. Holyfield turned professional later that year and made his debut against Lionel Byarm at Madison Square Garden.

Holyfield moved from light heavyweight to cruiserweight in 1985. In July 1986, he defeated WBA champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi by a narrow 15-round split decision to win his first world title. He later defended the championship against Henry Tillman and Ossie Ocasio and unified the WBA and IBF belts by stopping Ricky Parkey.

In April 1988, Holyfield defeated Carlos de León by an eighth-round stoppage to add the WBC title. The victory made him boxing’s first undisputed cruiserweight champion. He then relinquished his cruiserweight titles and moved into the heavyweight division.

Holyfield moved to heavyweight in 1988 and defeated former champions James Tillis, Pinklon Thomas, and Michael Dokes during his rise through the division. On October 25, 1990, he knocked out Buster Douglas in the third round to win the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles and become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

He defended the championship against George Foreman, Bert Cooper, and Larry Holmes before suffering his first professional defeat to Riddick Bowe in 1992. Holyfield regained the WBA and IBF titles from Bowe in their 1993 rematch, lost them to Michael Moorer in 1994, and later defeated Moorer in a 1997 rematch to reclaim the IBF belt.

A medical diagnosis after the loss to Moorer temporarily forced Holyfield to retire. He returned in 1995 and defeated Ray Mercer, becoming the first boxer to knock Mercer down. In 1996, Holyfield defeated Mike Tyson by an 11th-round technical knockout to win the WBA heavyweight title for a third time.

Holyfield later fought Lennox Lewis twice in 1999. Their first bout ended in a disputed draw, while Lewis won the rematch by unanimous decision. In 2000, Holyfield defeated John Ruiz for the vacant WBA title and became the first boxer to win a version of the heavyweight championship four times. Ruiz won their rematch, and their third fight ended in a draw.

Holyfield and Mike Tyson first met in November 1996, when Holyfield was a substantial underdog but won by an 11th-round technical knockout. The victory earned Holyfield his third WBA heavyweight championship and was named both The Ring’s Fight of the Year and Upset of the Year.

Their 1997 rematch became known as the “Bite Fight.” Tyson was disqualified in the third round after biting Holyfield’s ears twice, including removing a small section from the top of one ear. The incident became one of the most recognizable moments in boxing history and permanently linked Holyfield’s career with the ear-biting controversy.

Holyfield continued boxing after his trilogy with Ruiz and lost title challenges to Chris Byrd, Sultan Ibragimov, and Nikolai Valuev. He also suffered consecutive defeats to James Toney and Larry Donald before returning to the ring in 2006. He won four fights over the following year, including victories over Jeremy Bates, Fres Oquendo, Vinny Maddalone, and Lou Savarese.

In 2010, Holyfield stopped Francois Botha in the eighth round to win the World Boxing Federation heavyweight title. His final professional fight came in 2011, when he defeated Brian Nielsen by a 10th-round technical knockout. Holyfield announced his final retirement in 2014 with a professional record of 44 wins, 10 losses, and 2 draws, including 29 wins by knockout.

He made a brief return for a 2021 exhibition bout against Vitor Belfort, who stopped him in the first round. Holyfield was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017, and a statue honoring him was unveiled near Atlanta’s State Farm Arena in 2021.