Heart,
courage and toughness have always been words affiliated with great champions
in boxing, but no one in the history of the sport perhaps exemplifies these
traits better than Evander Holyfield. And although he may not be remembered
for being the best heavyweight champion in history, he certainly is the
most exciting with a "Would You Believe It" resume.
Holyfield's 11th round knockout over the heavily-favored Mike Tyson on Nov. 9, 1996 was epic, shocking...beyond dramatic. Their second encounter went "Twilight Zone" when a frustrated Tyson was disqualified for twice biting Holyfield's ears. The incident became one of the most bizarre and infamous in sports. But despite losing a chunk of his ear, Holyfield doesn't rule out a third fight. "Remember when we were amateurs we trained together," says Holyfield on Tyson. "I even sparred with him back then. They had to get him out of there because he was a heavyweight and I was a light heavyweight and I was whupping him."
But the Tyson episodes represent just part of a fascinating boxing career that included a controversial "late hit" disqualification in the 1984 Olympic Games, where the Alabama-native was favored to win the gold medal. In fact, Holyfield's pro career began less than spectacularly. Early fights against such notable opponents like Eric Winbush and Tyrone Booze went the distance. But then came a landmark bout against cruiserweight world champion Dwight Qawi, an opponent Holyfield still claims as his toughest. "When I hit Qawi with a real hard punch, he just looked at me. I knew I had done something to make him mad," laughs Holyfield. "He just kept coming at me." Their first fight in 1986 went the 15-round distance and was good enough to demand a sequel a year later. In what would become a trend for Holyfield, their second fight was for two-thirds of the cruiserweight crown and this time Holyfield had a much easier time, knocking him out in the fourth round.
Holyfield finally unified the 190-pound division with a convincing eighth-round knockout of Carlos DeLeon in 1988 and it was time to move up and challenge the big boys.
Not wasting anytime, Holyfield disposed of ex-heavyweight champions James Tillis, Pinklon Thomas and Michael Dokes. The big Argentine Adilson Rodrigues couldn't make it out of the second round against Holyfield and knockouts against Alex Stewart and Irishman Seamus McDonagh setup a bout against James "Buster" Douglas at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Douglas had "shocked the world" with his upset knockout of Mike Tyson in Tokyo and expectations were high for a great match with Holyfield. But Douglas failed to produce, laboring in the ring at more than 240 pounds. Holyfield finished him in the third round and became the new unified heavyweight champion.
Waiting in the wings was Big George Foreman, a Bible-thumping preacher who delighted the press and swooned the public. In his resurrected career the 40-something -year-old Foreman was mowing down "much younger" opponents in pursuit of the heavyweight title. Holyfield and Foreman waged a memorable 12-round battle, knocking each other around and nearly out while thrilling more than 18,000 fans at the Atlantic City Convention Center. In the end, Holyfield won on points to retain his title in the biggest pay-per-view event in history.
Holyfield nearly slipped against a last-minute replacement, aging Bert Cooper, who fought the champion tooth-and-nail in Holyfield's hometown of Atlanta. Surviving a vicious assault by Cooper, Holyfield finally stopped him in the seventh. A lackluster performance by both fighters in Holyfield's 12-round win over Larry Holmes left some experts yawning, but then came the first of three tremendous fights against Riddick Bowe.
The powerful Bowe wore down Holyfield in their first fight on Nov. 13, 1992 and took the unified title from Holyfield...his first loss as a professional. In a rematch a year later that was interrupted by a man in paraglider landing in the ring, Holyfield came out strong and simply outboxed the sluggish champion. Holyfield was world champion again. Their third and final meeting was strange to say the least. Back and forth they went. Holyfield knocked Bowe down and seemed to have all the momentum. But then in the eighth round, a suddenly exhausted and dehydrated Holyfield was side-swiped by thudding blows from Bowe and collapsed to the canvas. Bowe had won the rubber the match.
After running several tests, doctors determined that Holyfield had a defective heart and ordered him to never fight again. But Holyfield refused to believe the "medical experts" and while visiting a church was "healed" by an evangelist minister. Holyfield disproved his critics and the "experts" by re-entering the ring and beating Bobby Czyz. Against Mike Tyson, he was a heavy underdog and many thought he would be seriously injured or even killed in a fight with the WBA champion. But Holyfield put his trust in God and his own ability and won the fight convincingly.
In joining Muhammad Ali as the only man to ever win the heavyweight title three times, you'd think all the goals have been achieved. In his last fight he avenged an earlier loss to Michael Moorer back in 1994. Holyfield had an injured shoulder in their first fight but still thought he had enough to beat Moorer. Coming in 100 percent healthy, Holyfield proved his point. He stopped Moorer in the 8th back on November 8th.
But that win against Moorer only gave Holyfield two of the three belts he wants. His goal now: To regain and reunite the heavyweight division. He is determined to do it and has even passed up a $25 million pay day against George Foreman to stay focused on a possible fight against WBC champion Lennox Lewis. In the meantime, Holyfield will continue to be an exemplary world champion, visiting schools, churches and doing extensive charity work.
In a gesture that solidified his roots and commitment to his hometown of Atlanta, he joined his promoter Don King in co-financing a world title defense against Vaughn Bean on September 19. Taking a massive paycut, Holyfield's "homecoming" paid off as more than 41,000 people jammed the Georgia Dome on the night of the fight. Holyfield did not disappoint them, while Bean proved to be a stronger challenger than many people thought. Still, Holyfield was the superior fighter through 12 rounds of boxing, emerging with a unanimous victory.
Now, he is simply looking for the "trifecta" against Lennox Lewis.
| 1984 | |||||
| NOV 15 | LIONEL BYARM, NEW YORK, NY | W 6 | PRO DEB | 177 | |
| 1985 | |||||
| JAN 20 | ERIC WINBUSH, AC, NJ | W 6 | 178 | ||
| MAR 13 | FRED BROWN, NORFOLK, VA | KO 1 | 177 | ||
| APR 20 | MARK RIVERA, CORPUS CHRISTI, TX | KO 2 | 176 | ||
| JUL 20 | TYRONE BOOZE, NORFOLK, VA | W 8 | 180 | ||
| AUG 29 | RICK MYERS, ATLANTA, GA | KO 1 | 184 | ||
| OCT 30 | JEFF MEACHEM, AC, NJ | KO 5 | 182 | ||
| DEC 21 | ANTHONY DAVIS, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA | KO 4 | 185 | ||
| 1986 | |||||
| MAR 1 | CHISANDA MUTTI, LANCASTER, PA | KO 3 | 184 | ||
| APR 6 | JESSE SHELBY, CORPUS CHRISTI, TX | KO 3 | 185 | ||
| MAY 28 | TERRY MIMS, METAIRIE, LA | KO 5 | 190 | ||
| JUL 12 | DWIGHT QAWI, ATLANTA, GA | W 15 | WBA | 186 | |
| DEC 8 | MIKE BROTHERS, PARIS, FRANCE | KO 3 | 186 | ||
| 1987 | |||||
| FEB 14 | HENRY TILLMAN, RENO, NV | TKO 7 | WBA | 188 | |
| MAY 15 | RICKY PARKEY, LAS VEGAS, NV | TKO 3 | BA/BF | 188 | |
| AUG 15 | OSSIE OCASIO, ST TROPEZ, FRANCE | TKO 11 | BA/BF | 189 | |
| DEC 5 | DWIGHT QAWI, AC, NJ | TKO 4 | BA/BF | 187 | |
| 1988 | |||||
| APR 9 | CARLOS DE LEON, LAS VEGAS, NV | TKO 8 | BABCBF | 190 | |
| JUL 16 | JAMES TILLIS, STATELINE, NV | KO 5 | 208 | ||
| DEC 9 | PINKLON THOMAS, AC, NJ | TKO 7 | 210 | ||
| 1989 | |||||
| MAR 11 | MICHAEL DOKES, LAS VEGAS, NV | TKO 10 | CA | 208 | |
| JUL 15 | ADILSON RODRIGUES, STATELINE, NV | KO 2 | CA | 207 | |
| NOV 4 | ALEX STEWART, AC, NJ | TKO 8 | 213 | ||
| 1990 | |||||
| JUN 1 | SEAMUS MC DONAGH, AC, NJ | TKO 4 | CA | 210 | |
| OCT 25 | JAMES DOUGLAS, LAS VEGAS, NV | KO 3 | BABCBF | 208 | |
| 1991 | |||||
| APR 19 | GEORGE FOREMAN, AC, NJ | W 12 | BABCBF | 208 | |
| NOV 23 | BERT COOPER, ATLANTA, GA | TKO 7 | BA/BF | 210 | |
| 1992 | |||||
| JUN 19 | LARRY HOLMES, LAS VEGAS, NV | W 12 | BABCBF | 210 | |
| NOV 13 | RIDDICK BOWE, LAS VEGAS, NV | L 12 | BABCBF | 205 | |
| 1993 | |||||
| JUN 26 | ALEX STEWART, AC, NJ | W 12 | 212 | ||
| NOV 6 | RIDDICK BOWE, LAS VEGAS, NV | W 12 | BA/BF | 217 | |
| 1994 | |||||
| APR 22 | MICHAEL MOORER, LAS VEGAS, NV | L 12 | BA/BF | 214 | |
| 1995 | |||||
| MAY 20 | RAY MERCER, AC, NJ | W 10 | 209 | ||
| NOV 4 | RIDDICK BOWE, LAS VEGAS, NV | TKBY 8 | 213 | ||
| 1996 | |||||
| MAY 10 | BOBBY CZYZ, NEW YORK, NY | TKO 5 | 211 | ||
| NOV 9 | MIKE TYSON, LAS VEGAS, NV | TKO 11 | WBA | 215 | |
| 1997 | |||||
| JUN 28 | MIKE TYSON, LAS VEGAS, NV | WDSQ 3 | WBA | 218 | |
| NOV 8 | MICHAEL MOORER, LAS VEGAS, NV | TKO 8 | BA/BF | 214 | |
| 1998 | |||||
| SEP 19 | VAUGHN BEAN, ATLANTA, GA | W 12 | BA/BF | 217 | |