Evander Holyfield
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Who is Evander Holyfield?
Evander Holyfield, born October 19, 1962, is an American boxer. Holyfield is the only professional fighter to have won the heavyweight championship four times, surpassing Muhammad Ali, who won it three times.
As an amateur, Holyfield had a record of 160–14 and won the national Golden Gloves championship in 1984. At the 1984 Olympic Games, he won a bronze medal. He turned professional in November 1984, and in 1986 he won the junior heavyweight title. In April 1988, he became boxing’s first undisputed cruiserweight champion. He retired in 2014 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.
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What is Evander Holyfield known for in sports?
Evander Holyfield is an American boxer distinguished as the only professional fighter to secure the heavyweight championship four times, surpassing Muhammad Ali's record of three wins.
As an amateur, Holyfield achieved a record of 160–14 and won the national Golden Gloves championship in 1984. At the 1984 Olympic Games, he controversially received a bronze medal after being disqualified during a semifinal bout.
Turning professional in November 1984, he won the junior heavyweight title in 1986 and became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion in 1988. Holyfield later won the undisputed heavyweight title in 1990, adding to his legacy. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017 and retired in 2014.
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Which weight classes did Evander Holyfield compete in?
Evander Holyfield competed in the light heavyweight, cruiserweight, and heavyweight divisions during his boxing career.
- Light Heavyweight: As an amateur, Holyfield competed as a light heavyweight at the 1984 Olympic Games, where he won a bronze medal.
- Cruiserweight: In 1986, Holyfield won the junior heavyweight title and, in April 1988, became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion. The cruiserweight division has a weight limit of 200 pounds (91 kg). However, the weight limit was 190 pounds when Holyfield competed.
- Heavyweight: Holyfield moved up to heavyweight in July 1988 and won the undisputed heavyweight title in 1990. As a heavyweight, he often faced larger opponents, but his training and durability compensated for his size.
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What major boxing titles did Evander Holyfield win?
Evander Holyfield has won several major boxing titles across different weight classes. In 1986, he won the World Boxing Association (WBA) junior heavyweight title. By 1988, Holyfield became boxing’s first undisputed cruiserweight champion. As a heavyweight, he won the WBA, World Boxing Council (WBC), and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles in 1990. He later regained the WBA and IBF titles in 1993. In 1996, Holyfield secured the WBA heavyweight title again and then the IBF title in 1997. In 2000, he won the WBA heavyweight title for a fourth time.
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Why is Evander Holyfield’s fight with Mike Tyson famous?
The Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson fight is famous because of a controversial incident during their 1997 rematch where Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ears.
In their first match on November 9, 1996, Holyfield won against Tyson by a technical knockout in the 11th round. The rematch on June 28, 1997, resulted in Tyson biting Holyfield's ears twice, leading to his disqualification and the loss of his boxing license. Holyfield won the WBA title in the first fight.
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How did Evander Holyfield influence the sport of boxing?
Evander Holyfield influenced boxing through his exceptional durability and diligent training, which compensated for his being smaller than many heavyweight opponents. He is the only professional fighter to have won the heavyweight championship four times, surpassing Muhammad Ali's record of three wins. Despite his success, the infamous incident where Mike Tyson bit off part of Holyfield’s ear during their 1997 match, negatively impacted boxing's reputation. Holyfield was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017 and retired in 2014.
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Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962, Atmore, Alabama, U.S.) is an American boxer, the only professional fighter to win the heavyweight championship four separate times and thereby surpass the record of Muhammad Ali, who won it three times.
As an amateur boxer, Holyfield compiled a record of 160–14 and won the national Golden Gloves championship in 1984. Competing as a light heavyweight at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, he was disqualified in the semifinal bout for knocking out his opponent, Kevin Barry of New Zealand, while the referee was attempting to separate the fighters. Amid controversy, the International Olympic Committee subsequently awarded Holyfield the bronze medal.
In November 1984 Holyfield turned professional, and in 1986 he won the junior heavyweight title by upsetting World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi in a 15-round split decision. In April 1988, with an eighth-round knockout of Carlos DeLeon, Holyfield became boxing’s first undisputed cruiserweight champion. Three months later he fought his first heavyweight bout, knocking out James Tillis in five rounds.
Standing 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 metres) tall and weighing 218 pounds (98.9 kg), Holyfield often faced much larger opponents as a heavyweight, but his diligent training habits and exceptional durability in the ring helped to make up for his lack of size. On October 25, 1990, he scored a third-round knockout of James (“Buster”) Douglas to win the undisputed heavyweight title of the WBA, the World Boxing Council (WBC), and the International Boxing Federation (IBF). After successful defenses against former champions George Foreman and Larry Holmes, Holyfield lost the title on November 13, 1992, dropping a 12-round decision to Riddick Bowe. In a rematch with Bowe one year later, he recaptured the WBA and IBF titles in another decision.
On April 22, 1994, in a World Boxing Organization (WBO) match and Holyfield’s first defense after regaining the titles, he lost a 12-round decision to Michael Moorer. After the bout, he was diagnosed with a heart defect and announced his retirement. The diagnosis was later reversed, however, and Holyfield resumed boxing, winning a 10-round decision over Ray Mercer on May 20, 1995. In his third fight with Bowe, on November 4, 1995, Holyfield scored a knockdown in the sixth round but lost by a knockout in the eighth.
After defeating Bobby Czyz in his next match, Holyfield met heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in a much-anticipated WBA bout on November 9, 1996. Though Tyson was heavily favoured to win, Holyfield scored a stunning upset with a technical knockout in the 11th round, becoming the heavyweight champion for a third time. He successfully defended his title on June 28, 1997, in a rematch against Tyson, who was disqualified after the third round for biting Holyfield’s ears.
Holyfield regained the IBF title by knocking out Moorer in the eighth round of their November 8, 1997, rematch. In his next important title defense, he faced the British fighter and WBC champion Lennox Lewis. On March 13, 1999, the judges determined the bout a draw, though nearly all observers felt the match belonged to Lewis. Still, Holyfield retained his WBA and IBF titles until the rematch on November 13, 1999, when Holyfield lost a 12-round decision to Lewis, which enabled Lewis to claim the WBA and IBF belts and thereby unify the heavyweight title. Lewis was stripped of the WBA title on April 12, 2000, because of a mandatory defense controversy. On August 12, 2000, Holyfield defeated John Ruiz to win the vacant WBA heavyweight title but lost to Ruiz in a rematch in 2001. In December of that year Holyfield and Ruiz met again; the bout ended as a draw, allowing Ruiz to keep the title.
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Holyfield faced Chris Byrd for the IBF heavyweight championship on December 14, 2002, only to lose the bout in a unanimous decision. After losing a decision to journeyman Larry Donald in 2004, Holyfield had his New York boxing license revoked because of his apparently deteriorating skills. Holyfield returned to the ring after a 21-month absence in August 2006 and proceeded to win four consecutive bouts over the following year. He then lost matches to Sultan Ibragimov (in October 2007) and Nikolay Valuev (in December 2008) for the WBO and WBA titles, respectively. Holyfield continued to fight after those two losses, but the bouts were of a much lesser quality and the title he won (from the World Boxing Federation in 2010) was not widely recognized.
He retired in 2014 with a career record of 44 wins (29 by knockout), 10 losses, and 2 draws. Holyfield was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.