BoxRec

Amateur Background

160-14 (75) Holyfield was robbed of winning the Silver Medal in the '84 Olympics by being disqualified in his match with New Zealand's Kevin Barry.





Professional Boxing Career

Evander, The Prospect



1st fight
9-1-2 Lionel Byarm extends the Olympic Bronze Medalist the full six rounds.



2nd fight
14-8 Eric Winbush goes the full route.



3rd fight
18-35-2 Fred Brown becomes Holyfield's first knockout win in the 1st round.



4th fight
12-1 Mark Rivera gets stopped in two.



5th fight
10-3-2 Tyrone Booze goes the distance. This was Holyfield's official Cruiserweight debut. His previous four fights were at Light Heavyweight.



6th fight
10-12-1 Rick Myers ended in one round.



7th fight
6-1 Jeff Meachum stopped in five.



8th fight
17-3 Anthony Davis kayoed in four.



9th fight
23-5-2 Chisanda Mutti goes four.



10th fight
12-2-1 Jesse Shelby down in three.



11th fight
13-12-0 Terry Mims kayoed in five.

12th fight
Dwight Muhammad Qawi stood in Holyfield's way and it was a hellish battle where Evander literally lost 15 pounds in 15 rounds. Winning by split decision, Holyfield picks up the WBA Cruiserweight title in one of the greatest matches in boxing history.



13th fight
15-4 Mike Brothers, non-title fight, ends in three rounds for champion Holyfield. As early as this contest the talk of Evander going to Heavyweight was around.



14th fight
14-1 Henry Tillman, who was quite the amateur standout & rival to many of the great 80s & 90s heavyweights, gets stopped in the 7th by Holyfield in his first defense.



15th fight
20-4 Ricky Parkey in this IBF/WBA unifier gets stopped in three rounds.



16th fight
Ossie Ocassio, 21-4-1, back in '79 was a heavyweight title challenger to Holmes and was now reinventing himself at cruiserweight. Holyfield beats him in eleven rounds.



17th fight
A rematch with Dwight Muhammad Qawi, who felt robbed in the first fight, was kayoed in four thrilling rounds. It must be noted that Qawi would move to heavyweight around the same time as Holyfield and is best known for facing the comebacking George Foreman.



18th fight
Carlos DeLeon, 44-4, was considered to be Holyfield's biggest threat. He had previously defeated Marvin Camel (twice), former Heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, and Bash Ali. Holyfield stops him in eight rounds unifying the WBA/WBC/IBF titles to become undisputed champion.

19th fight
James "Quick" Tillis, 38-13-1, becomes Holyfield's first opponent in his journey in the Heavyweight division. People made comparisons to Michael Spinks transitioning to Heavyweight.



20th fight
29-2-1 Pinklon Thomas was a pretty stiff test, considering his only losses had been to Mike Tyson & Trevor Berbick. Holyfield stops him in seven, sending a message to "Iron" Mike considering the champion stopped Thomas in six rounds.



21st fight
Michael "Dynamite" Dokes, the former WBA champion was coming back stronger than ever--- an eleven fight win streak since losing to Gerrie Coetzee. For the WBA Continental Americas title, this would be called "The Heavyweight Fight of the 80s" for it's action.



22nd fight
Adilson Rodriguez, 35-2, gets stopped in two rounds. Rodriguez was the South American Heavyweight champion, and his career (in retrospect) was built primarily on journeymen. His best win being over James Tillis.



23rd fight
24-0 Alex "The Destroyer" Stewart would suffer defeat in the 8th round and never quite was the same afterwards.



24th fight
19-1-1 Seamus McDonagh would get stopped in the 4th round. Holyfield was already considered the "logical contender" to Mike Tyson following the Dokes fight but the management of Tyson kept out pricing themselves. Following Rodriguez, Stewart and McDonagh a date was set for Holyfield-Tyson but "the impossible" happened when Tyson lost to Douglas.

25th fight
James "Buster" Douglas was the media darling of 1990 when he defeated Mike Tyson. To this day it's considered the greatest upset in sports history. However, it was soon apparent that Douglas was back to his old ways when he showed up at the weigh-in for his match with Evander Holyfield. Grossly overweight, it diminished the value of the fight, and tarnished Evander's victory in the third round. Nobody felt Holyfield really was the champion--- Douglas was a fluke--- and Evander wouldn't be taken seriously until he fought Tyson.



26th fight
George Foreman was another media darling of the 80s & 90s, having mounted a comeback a decade after retiring in 1977. The public loved him, but the boxing experts saw him as nothing more than a freak show. "Easy Money" was the thought process behind arranging the contest, but the old fat man proved he was not a joke going the whole twelve rounds. For Holyfield it was a no-win situation. If he won he beat an old guy, and if he lost he would just be ruined. Because Foreman went the distance, the critics said, "See he's not a real heavyweight."



27th fight
Holyfield was originally scheduled to fight Mike Tyson at long last and shut the critics down on November 8th 1991, but Tyson got injured in training. Francesco Damiani, the WBO champion, stepped in as a replacement for a unification match. But Damiani got injured in training. So here Holyfield was stuck with yet another substitute, "Smokin" Bert Cooper (26-7) and though he was written off as a glorified journeyman, Cooper damn near made the upset. Holyfield would stop him in the 7th but the fact some "jobber" almost beat the champ only feuled the rhetoric that Evander wasn't the real deal.



28th fight
Holyfield couldn't catch a break. Back-to-back fights with men old enough to be his father was too much for the sporting public, but Larry Holmes proved he wasn't some joke as he'd already schooled Ray Mercer. Holyfield came out the winner, but it still went the distance.

29th fight
With "Iron" Mike Tyson behind bars for sexual battery, the dream fight was presumed gone forever. What was left over for Evander Holyfield was the likes of '88 Olympics Silver Medalist Riddick Bowe who was 31-0-0 (27) and standing 6'5" and weighing 235 pounds to Holyfield's 205. Evander, game and valiant, lost a unaminous decision to his physically superior opponent and many were quick to say, "We told you so! He's too small for heavyweight."



29th fight
Holyfield rematched Alex Stewart and this time the bout goes the distance. Many saw this as evidence that Holyfield was somehow slipping. It was for the number one contender's spot.



30th fight
The rematch with Bowe was one of the most bizarre in history as the highly competitive match was interrupted by "Fan Man" who crashed into the ring. Holyfield would win a majority decision, but many agreed with Bowe that the decision was flawed and the victory was tainted because of the interruption. Still, Holyfield was now a two-time heavyweight champion.



31st fight
34-0 Michael Moorer at one point was the WBO Light Heavyweight champion. His climb up the heavyweight ladder was not unlike Holyfield's. In a highly competitive match, Evander was dethroned. Many thought that maybe age was catching up with him, but it was later revealed Holyfield had a heart defect. Forced into retirement, the sport was certain they'd never see him again.



32nd fight
A year and a month later Holyfield was back. He said he had been healed by Jesus Christ and sure enough the heart defect was no longer present. He was no longer in the rankings and had to prove himself all over again. He fought top ranked Ray Mercer and won a unaminous decision to the pleasant surprise of many.



34th fight
The rubber match with Riddick Bowe, who was no longer champion---having thrown his title away literally rather than fight Lennox Lewis--- was a setback for Evander as it was the first knockout loss of his career. Many were begging him to retire, but Holyfield was insistent that he'd continue on.



35th fight
Holyfield stops 44-6 Bobby Czysz, who was one of the more popular fighters on television in those days. He had already signed on to fight the comebacking Mike Tyson who had just won the WBA title from Frank Bruno, and nobody believed that he could win.



36th fight
If Douglas is the biggest upset in sports, Holyfield-Tyson was not far behind. Soaking up everything Tyson could throw Evander started getting the better of him midway through the fight and wound up knocking Tyson on his ass in the eleventh round. Holyfield was now the three-time heavyweight champion of the world.



37th fight
Holyfield-Tyson 2 was in high demand as some people thought the first fight to be a fluke--- but what happened next became known as "The Bite Fight" and labelled the biggest black eye in boxing history.



38th fight
Holyfield couldn't call himself the champ until he avenged his loss to Moorer. He did just that with Moorer quitting between rounds. Holyfield picks up the IBF title and is now considered "the man" in the division.

39th fight
31-1 Vaughn Bean was an "easy one" for Evander Holyfield, with the champion winning by unaminous decision. Bean, who had previously lost to Moorer, otherwise had never fought anyone of substance. In retrospect, this should have been a tell tale sign of things slowing down for Holyfield but the perception of the fight was that Bean made the fight difficult by not engaging.



40th fight
Holyfield vs Lewis was going to be for the undisputed championship--- Lewis, the WBC champion, and Holyfield the IBF/WBA champion. What was supposed to be a great fight between two great heavyweights, a truly great international competition of America versus Britain, turned out to be one of the most disgraceful rulings in boxing history. Lewis, younger & bigger, dominated Holyfield and nearly had him out was robbed of the victory when the judges decided it was a split decision draw. Holyfield for the first time since the last Bowe fight never looked so vulnerable.



41st fight
The Lewis rematch was a bit more competitive than the first fight, but the decision was rightly Lennox Lewis's and now Holyfield was considered "passed it". He was now 40 years old and many were quick to assume retirement would be around the corner.



42nd fight
Because of a contractual dispute, Lennox Lewis refused to defend the WBA title and now that title was up for grabs between John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield. Many were backing Holyfield to pick up the strap, as Ruiz was perceived as a nobody as he was best remembered for his knockout loss to David Tua. However, it was apparent rather quickly that whatever skills and abilities Holyfield had were diminished by a rather significant margin. Yet again controversial judging came into play with Holyfield getting the nod, but Evander Holyfield was now the first four-time Heavyweight champion.



43rd fight
Holyfield-Ruiz 2 was a bit more competitive, and Ruiz this time came out on top clearly. Ruiz was the first Hispanic Heavyweight champion of the world.



44th fight
Holyfield-Ruiz 3 was yet another controversial match in which Ruiz appeared to have been the clear-cut winner but the judges ruled it a draw.

45th fight
Hasim Rahman, 45-3, was the recently dethroned heavyweight champion and it was thought that if he beat Holyfield he'd get another shot at Lennox Lewis. After an accidental headbutt *ahem* which caused a monstrously large hematoma on Rahman's head, the fight was stopped and went to the scorecards. Holyfield won two of the three cards to get the win, and for a short time Evander was back in the mix.



46th fight
Holyfield was thrown into Don King's Super Series tournament to compete against Chris Byrd (35-2) for the vacant IBF title. The goal in mind was to set up Holyfield-Jones and that winner would fight Lennox Lewis. Unfortunately for Evander he was easily out-boxed but fortunately for him the public forgave him for the showing as the excuse was that Byrd didn't fight but that Byrd ran.



47th fight
James "Lights Out" Toney, the Cruiserweight champion, was stepping up to Heavyweight and people were uncertain what he could do especially against the proven warrior. Sadly, it was one of the worst performances of Holyfield's career--- and the second time he'd lose by stoppage. Toney out-boxed and out-fought Holyfield into submission. At the time, though, alot of people saw it more as Toney being that damn impressive than Evander being that damn shot. Toney's unaminous decision win over Rydell Booker, a top rated contender, made sure of that.



48th fight
Larry Donald, 41-3-2, was a fighter much like Chris Byrd where elusiveness and frequent jabbing was his bread and butter. Holyfield lost a unaminous decision by margins of 119-109, 119-109, and 118-109. After the fight Holyfield announced his retirement.

49th fight
Evander Holyfield returns at the age of 44 after two years against journeyman Jeremy Bates (21-11-1) and Holyfield appears to be in great spirits and remarkably fit. He stops Bates in two rounds.



50th fight
Holyfield takes on "Fast" Fres Oquendo, 26-3, and to the surprise of many Holyfield puts on a fairly exciting fight against the top ten contender, picking up the USBA Heavyweight championship.



51st fight
Vinny Maddalone, 27-3, hits the deck in round three & people are comparing the Holyfield comeback to Foreman's in the sense of age comparison.



52nd fight
46-6 Lou Savarese is yet another fairly exciting fight for Evander Holyfield, though it can be said Savarese's best years were behind him.



53rd fight
Holyfield at the age of 45 faces undefeated (21-0-1) Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO Heavyweight championship. The fight, being low on enthusiasm from fight fans because it was viewed as an "old-timer" against an unknown foreigner, was promoted in an odd variety of ways. One publicity stunt involved Holyfield "boxing" WWE wrestler Matt Hardy on The Saturday Night Main Event. Considered Evander's last hurrah for sure at that time, Holyfield loses a unaminous decision in a rather boring contest.



54th fight
But Holyfield wasn't done! The WBA champion Nikolai Valuev was cherry picking his title defenses---and Holyfield was still in the top ten by that organization. The 7'0" 320 pound Russian Giant was expected to drive right through Evander, but instead found himself incapable of hitting a non-stop moving target who darted in and out of range. At the conclusion of the contest most observers believed Holyfield to be the winner, and when the decision ruled in favor of Valuev massive protests around the world for the WBA to overturn the decision came in by the hundreds. Unfortunately nothing was done. Holyfield was robbed of winning the Heavyweight Championship for a 5th time.

55th fight
Holyfield, after another two year hiatus, returns to the ring in what can be called a "senior bout" against Frans Botha. The two men with a combined age of nearly 90, fought for the WBF title. Evander won in the 8th round. Many wondered, though, what was this all for? Surely he had no aspirations to challenge the top tiers?



56th fight
Sherman "The Tank" Williams, was a sad day (as a fight fan) because it was obviously clear to me that Williams was beating the crap out of Holyfield and that Evander was GIFTED a "no-contest" instead of an outright loss. The end of the line for Holyfield. Or so we all thought.



57th fight
After the embarrassing showing against Williams, the four-time champion couldn't let it end that way. Not in disgrace. In the final fight of his legendary career--- Holyfield engaged in another "senior bout" against Brian Nielsen. Holyfield stops him in the 10th. It was a fun little scrap. Nielsen himself would retire for good after this contest, as he unretired himself after nine years just to fight Holyfield.

A one of the most exciting and impressive careers ever. Holyfield is truly a legend. Destroying the CWs, winning the undisputed championship at the HWs, Bowe rivalry, Moorer rivalry, not to forget Tyson fight, a big upset. The ending just was too long and unnecessary, but it doesn't cover the great past of Evander.

Holyfield certainly was a tremendous fighter. He's also in many respects the first modern Heavyweight in terms of training camps. He took what Spinks did (nutrition & weight training) to a whole other level. He was considered a "space age" athlete training in zero gravity equipment, etc. whereas other's were doing it the "old fashioned way".

However, there is criticism about HOW MUCH was Evander and how much was "other things". As early as the Douglas fight rumors of Holyfield and steroids were commonplace. Lee Haney, former bodybuilding champion, was involved in the Holyfield camp to bulk him up from 190 to the 220 Heavyweight version.

People didn't give the rumors that much thought in his prime--- but in his later years, especially from the Bates fight to the Valuev fight--- many wondered how he was capable of doing such a turn around in his career.

Of course it came out that under the name "Evan Fields" in 2007 he was receiving PEDs from Applied Pharmacy Services in Alabama. Holyfield claimed that the meds were for his father suffering from a heart condition, but, it'll always be something of an asterisk by Holyfield's name.

Those PEDs talk is always bigger around such athletic competitors. But I don't think, that only such ones use different substances on the higher level.

He got the better of Tyson from round 1. View wasn't a champion anymore because he lost to evander.