Evander Holyfield Also known as The Warrior, and The Real Deal, Evander Holyfield was the Heavyweight champion of the world during the early 90s. Now in his mid-forties, Holyfield continues to fight in the ring, despite doubts from critics. In this way, he resembles the title character played by Sylvester Stallone in the flick Rocky Balboa. After being the champion of the world a record four times, it remains to be seen whether Evander can achieve his dreams of making it five. Evander Holyfield was born on October 19, 1962, in Atmore, Alabama. The family moved to Atlanta shortly after Evander’s birth, and he began boxing at the age of twelve. During his teens, he won a slew of awards, including a bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
He began his boxing career as a cruiserweight, and soon became world champion in 1985 after defeating Dwight Muhammad Quawi. After retaining his title by defeating opponents like Carlos De Leon, and Ricky Parkey, Evander announced his intentions to become the heavyweight champion of the world, a title then held by Mike Tyson. In a strange turn of events, it was James “Buster” Douglas that Holyfield fought to become champion, not Mike Tyson. He succeeded in defending his title against George Foreman and Larry Holmes, but suffered his first defeat at the hands of Riddick Bowe. He won in the rematch, but it was a man (now know as the Fan Man) who parachuted into the ring that really stole the show. In 1996, Holyfield finally fought Mike Tyson, who had been serving jail time. Holyfield was the victor in the match, becoming the only person aside from Muhammad Ali to hold the title three times. During the rematch (which became known as the bite fight), Tyson was disqualified for repeatedly biting Holyfield’s ear. After losing to Lennox Lewis, he became the first man to ever win the championship four times when he defeated John Ruiz. Holyfield continues to fight, but has not yet achieved his dream of being five-time champion. Although he blames his less than stellar performance in recent years on injury, many feel that the boxer, now in his mid-forties, is simply getting too old to hold his own in the ring.
Holyfield’s personal life is as interesting as his life in the ring. He is a Christian, and during the peak of his popularity, he constantly professed his devoutness to anyone who would listen. He paid televangelist Barry Hinn over a quarter of a million dollars to heal Holyfield with his hands. At the height of his popularity, Evander had several endorsement deals with soft drink tycoon Coca-Cola and also had a video game released by Sega Genesis. Over the years, he has also made several television and film appearances, such as those on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, starring Will Smith; Summer of Sam, starring Adrien Brody; and Necessary Roughness, starring Scott Bakula and Sinbad. Holyfield has been married three times. His first marriage was to Paulette Bowen in 1985. They had three children during their marriage. His next wife was Dr. Janice Itson in 1996. When Holyfield admitted in 1998 that he believed he had as many as nine children from various women, it understandably put some strain on the relationship and they divorced in 2000. In 2003, he married the decades younger Candi Calvana Smith. She had Holyfield’s tenth bundle of joy in 2004. The couple lives in Houston where Evander trains in the hopes of once again being the heavyweight champion of the world. YUDDY | 
