Athletes - Evander Holyfield

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	Athletes - Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962 in Atmore, Alabama) is a professional boxer from The United States. Holyfield won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics (held in Los Angeles, California) after losing a controversial disqualification to New Zealand's Kevin Barry. His nickname is The Real Deal. Though some might claim Evander Holyfield is a "four time world champion", this claim is spurious to most boxing historians, who claim that Holyfield only regained the lineal heavyweight championship of the world once when he beat Riddick Bowe in their 1993 rematch. Evander is also the younger brother of Actor and Dancer, Bernard Holyfield.

Boxing career

Evander Holyfield debuted as a professional boxer with a nationally televised win in six rounds over Lionel Byarm at the Madison Square Garden, November 11, 1984. He immediately began stepping up in class, as he began 1985 with a win over Eric Winbush, a fighter who had beaten former world Light Heavyweight champion Matthew Saad Muhammad two years before. He had six more wins that year, including victories against Tyrone Booze and former world title challenger Anthony Davis.

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 unanimous 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 to this date, only universally recognized world Cruiserweight champion after knocking out the WBC's defending world champion Carlos De Leon in eight rounds at Las Vegas. 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. 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 2 rounds. His last fight of the 1980s was against Alex Stewart, a fringe contender who was beaten by Holyfield in eight by a technical knockout.

In 1990, Holyfield beat Seamus McDonaugh by a knockout in four, and was by then, ranked number 1 among the world's Heavyweight challengers. By then, however, what is considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history had happened, when James Buster Douglas knocked Tyson out in 10 rounds in February at Tokyo to become the world's Heavyweight champion. And so Holyfield had no choice but to challenge Douglas instead. In the first Pay Per View telecast of boxing in history, Holyfield became the undisputed Heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked Douglas out in three rounds.

In his first defense, he beat former and future world champion George Foreman by a decision in 12, and then a deal was signed for him to defend his crown against Tyson. Tyson was convicted of the rape of Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in jail, and the proposed fight did not come off. 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.

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Athletes - Evander Holyfield

Boxing career

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