Early life

Evander Holyfield was born on October 19, 1962, in the mill town of Atmore, Alabama. The youngest of nine children, Holyfield was much younger than his other siblings and was born from a different father. Holyfield's family later moved to Atlanta, where he began boxing at age 7 and won the Boys Club boxing tournament. At 13, he qualified to compete in his first Junior Olympics. By age 15, Holyfield became the Southeastern Regional Champion, winning this tournament and the Best Boxer Award. By 1984 he had a record of 160 wins and 14 losses, with 76 by knockout.

Holyfield describes himself as a physical "late-bloomer": upon graduating from high school he was only 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall and weighed only 147 pounds (67 kg). By age 21, he had grown to 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg). He grew an additional 2 1⁄₂ inches (6.4 cm) in his early twenties, finally reaching his adult height of 6 ft 2 1⁄₂ in (1.89 m).

When he was 20 years old, Holyfield represented the U.S. in the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, where he won a silver medal after losing to Cuban world champion Pablo Romero. The following year, he was the National Golden Gloves Champion, and won a bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California after a controversial disqualification in the second round of the semi-final against New Zealand's Kevin Barry.

Professional career

Light Heavyweight

Holyfield started out professionally as a light heavyweight with a televised win in six rounds over Lionel Byarm at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 1984. On January 20, 1985 he won another six-round decision over Eric Winbush in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On March 13, he knocked out Fred Brown in the first round in Norfolk, Virginia, and on April 20, he knocked out Mark Rivera in two rounds in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Cruiserweight

Both he and his next opponent, Tyrone Booze, moved up to the cruiserweight division for their fight on July 20, 1985 in Norfolk, Virginia. Holyfield won an eight-round decision over Booze. Evander went on to knock out Rick Myers in the first round on August 29 in Holyfield's hometown of Atlanta. On October 30 in Atlantic City he knocked out opponent Jeff Meachem in five rounds, and his last fight for 1985 was against Anthony Davis on December 21 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He won by knocking out Davis in the fourth round.

He began 1986 with a knockout in three rounds 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 Cruiserweight Champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi. In what was called by The Ring as the best cruiserweight bout of the 1980s, Holyfield became world champion by defeating Qawi by a narrow 15 round split 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, winning by seventh round knockout, and then went on to unify his WBA belt with the IBF belt held by 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 1987, he offered Muhammad Qawi a rematch and, this time, he beat Qawi by a knockout in only four rounds.

1988 was another productive year for Holyfield; he started by becoming the first universally recognized World Cruiserweight Champion after defeating the Lineal & WBC Champion Carlos De León at Las Vegas. The fight was stopped after eight rounds.

Heavyweight

After that fight, he announced he was moving up in weight to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship 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, Nevada (Tillis had gone the distance with Tyson). For his third and final bout of 1988, he beat former Heavyweight Champion Pinklon Thomas, also by knockout, in seven rounds.

Holyfield began 1989 meeting another former Heavyweight Champion, Michael Dokes. This fight was 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 two rounds. His last fight of the 1980s was against Alex Stewart, a hard punching fringe contender. Stewart shocked Holyfield early, with quick, hard punches, but eventually fell in eight.

In 1990, Holyfield beat Seamus McDonagh, knocking him out in four rounds. By this time, Holyfield had been Ring Magazine's Number 1 contender for two years and had yet to receive a shot at Tyson's Heavyweight title.

Undisputed Heavyweight Champion: 1990-1992

Main articles: Buster Douglas vs. Evander Holyfield, Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman, Evander Holyfield vs. Bert Cooper and Evander Holyfield vs. Larry Holmes

Holyfield had been promised a title shot against Tyson in 1990. Before that fight could occur, in what many consider to be the biggest upset in boxing history, relatively unknown boxer, 29-year-old, 231 lb. Buster Douglas defeated the 23-year-old, 218 lb. Mike Tyson in ten rounds in Tokyo to become the new Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Instead of fighting Tyson, Holyfield was Douglas' first title defense.

They met on October 25, 1990. Douglas came into the fight at 246 lb. and offered little in the fight against Holyfield, who was in great shape at 208 lb. In the third round Douglas tried to start a combination with a big right uppercut. Holyfield countered with a straight right hand that was lightning quick and Douglas went down for the count. Holyfield was the new undefeated, Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. At the time of the knockout, Holyfield was ahead on all three judges' scorecards, all seeing it 20-18 for Holyfield. In his first defense, he beat former and future world champion George Foreman by unanimous decision in 12. The fight was billed as a "Battle for the Ages," a reference to the age differential between the young undefeated champion (28 years old) and the much older George Foreman (42 years old). Holyfield weighed in at 208 pounds and Foreman weighed in at 257 pounds. Foreman lost the fight by a unanimous decision, but surprised many by lasting the whole 12 rounds against a much younger opponent, even staggering Holyfield a few times and knocking him off balance in the seventh round.

Then a deal was signed for him to defend his crown against Mike Tyson in November 1991. Tyson delayed the fight, claiming he was injured in training, but was then convicted for the rape of Desiree Washington and sentenced to six years in prison, so the fight did not happen at that time. They fought in 1996 (Holyfield won by a TKO in 11) and a rematch in 1997 (Holyfield won by disqualification in 3, after Tyson bit both of his ears).

Holyfield made his next defense in Atlanta against Bert Cooper, who surprised him with a very good effort. Holyfield scored the first knockdown of the fight against Cooper with a powerful shot to the body, but Cooper returned the favor with a good right hand that sent Holyfield against the ropes; while not an actual knockdown, referee Mills Lane gave Holyfield a standing 8-count. Having suffered the first technical knockdown of his professional career, Holyfield regained his composure quickly and administered a beating that left Cooper still on his feet, but unable to defend himself. Holyfield landed brutal power shots, culminated by repeated vicious uppercuts that snapped Cooper's head back. Referee Mills Lane stopped the bout in the seventh.

In his first fight of 1992, he faced former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, who was 42 years old, and had just pulled off an upset against Ray Mercer. During the bout, Holyfield suffered the first scar of his career with a gash opening up over his eye, the result of Holmes' elbow. The fight ended with a unanimous decision in favor of Holyfield.

Holyfield-Bowe I & II

Main articles: Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe and Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II

In the beginning of a trilogy of bouts with the 25-year-old Riddick Bowe, who had won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympics, in the Super Heavyweight division, he suffered his first defeat when Bowe won the undisputed title by a 12-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas. Round ten of that bout was named the Round of the Year by Ring Magazine. Holyfield was knocked down in round 11. He made the mistake of getting into a slugfest with the younger, bigger and stronger Bowe, leading to his defeat.

He began 1993 by beating Alex Stewart in a rematch, but this time over the 12-round unanimous distance.

Then came the rematch with Bowe on November 6, 1993. In what is considered by many sporting historians as one of the most bizarre moments in boxing's history, during round seven the crowd got off their feet and many people started to run for cover and yell. Holyfield took his eyes off Bowe for one moment and then told Bowe to look up to the skies. What they saw was a man in a parachute flying dangerously close to them. The man almost entered the ring, but his parachute had gotten entangled in the lights and he landed on the ropes and apron of the ring, and he was then pulled into the crowd, where he was beaten by members of Bowe's entourage. Bowe's pregnant wife, Judy, fainted and had to be taken to the hospital from the arena. Twenty minutes later, calm was restored and Holyfield went on to recover his world heavyweight titles with a close 12 round majority decision. The man who parachuted down to the middle of the ring became known as The Fan Man and the fight itself became known as the Fan Man Fight. His victory over Bowe that year helped Holyfield being named as ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year for 1993.

Title loss to Moorer and rubber match with Bowe

Main articles: Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer and Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield 3

His next fight, April 1994, he met former WBO Light Heavyweight Michael Moorer, who was attempting to become the first southpaw to become the universally recognised world heavyweight champion. He dropped Moorer in round two, but lost a twelve round majority decision. When he went to the hospital to have his shoulder checked, he was diagnosed with a heart condition and had to announce his retirement from boxing. It later surfaced that the chairman of the medical advisory board for the Nevada State Athletic Commission believed his condition to be consistent with HGH use.

However, watching a television show hosted by preacher Benny Hinn, Holyfield says he felt his heart heal. He and Hinn subsequently became friends and he became a frequent visitor to Hinn's crusades. In fact, during this time, Holyfield went to a Benny Hinn crusade in Philadelphia, had Hinn lay hands on him and gave Hinn a check for $265,000 after he was told he was healed. He then passed his next examination by the boxing commission. Holyfield later stated that his heart was misdiagnosed due to the morphine pumped into his body.

In 1995, Holyfield returned to the ring with a ten-round decision win versus former Olympic gold medalist, Ray Mercer. He was the first man to knock down Mercer.

Holyfield and Bowe then had their rubber match. Holyfield knocked Bowe down with a single left hook but Bowe prevailed by a knockout in eight. Holyfield later claimed that he contracted hepatitis before the fight.

Holyfield-Tyson fights

Holyfield vs. Tyson I

Main articles: Tyson-Holyfield I and Holyfield-Tyson II

1996 was a very good year for Holyfield. First, he met former world champion Bobby Czyz, beating him by a knockout in six. Then, he and Mike Tyson finally met.

Tyson had recovered the WBC and WBA Heavyweight Championship and, after being stripped of the WBC title for not facing Lennox Lewis, defended the WBA title against Holyfield on November 9 of that year. Tyson was heavily favored to win, but Holyfield made history by defeating Tyson in an 11th round TKO. This was the third occasion on which Holyfield won the WBA Heavyweight title. However, the fight was not recognized as being for the Lineal championship, which was held by George Foreman at the time.

Holyfield vs. Tyson II: The Bite Fight

Holyfield's rematch with Tyson took place on June 28, 1997. Known as "The Bite Fight," it went into the annals of boxing as one of the most bizarre fights in history. The infamous incident occurred in the third round, when Tyson bit Holyfield on one of his ears and had two points deducted. Referee Mills Lane decided to disqualify Tyson initially, but after Holyfield and the ringside doctor intervened and said Holyfield could continue, he relented and allowed the fight to go on. Tyson bit Holyfield again, this time on the other ear. Tyson's teeth tore off a small section of the top of his opponent's ear, known as the helix, and spat that bit of flesh out onto the canvas.

The immediate aftermath of the incident was bedlam. Tyson was disqualified and a melee ensued. Tyson claimed his bites were a retaliation to Holyfield's unchecked headbutts, which had cut him in both fights. Others argued that Tyson, knowing he was on his way to another knockout loss, was looking for a way out of the fight. His former trainer, Teddy Atlas, had predicted that Tyson would get himself disqualified, calling Tyson "a very weak and flawed person."

Holyfield vs. Moorer II and Holyfield vs. Bean

Main articles: Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II and Evander Holyfield vs. Vaughn Bean

Next came another rematch, this time against Michael Moorer, who had recovered the IBF's world title. Holyfield knocked Moorer to the canvas five times and referee Mitch Halpern stopped the fight between the eighth and ninth rounds under the advice of physician Flip Homansky. Holyfield once again unified his WBA belt with the IBF belt by avenging his defeat by Moorer.

In 1998 Holyfield had only one fight, making a mandatory defense against Vaughn Bean, who was defeated by decision at the Georgia Dome in the champion's hometown. For the first time, Holyfield's performance called into question whether age was diminishing his ability to continue as a championship fighter.

Holyfield-Lewis fights

Main articles: Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis II

Holyfield vs. Lewis I

By 1999, the public was clamoring for a unification bout versus the WBC World Champion, Lennox Lewis of the United Kingdom. That bout happened in March of that year. The bout was declared a controversial draw after twelve rounds, where it appeared to most that Lewis dominated the fight. Holyfield claimed his performance was hindered by stomach and leg cramps. Holyfield and Lewis were ordered by the three leading organizations of which they were champions to have an immediate rematch.

Holyfield vs. Lewis II

The second time around, in November of that year, Lewis became the Undisputed Champion by beating Holyfield via unanimous decision by three American judges. Holyfield said "I haven't felt this good after a fight since I was a cruiserweight," Holyfield said. "It makes me think I should have fought a little harder against Lennox. Maybe I'd be sore and sick, but I'd have the victory."

Trilogy with John Ruiz

In 2000, Lewis was stripped of the WBA belt for failing to meet lightly regarded Don King fighter John Ruiz, having fought Ruiz's conqueror David Tua, and the WBA ordered Holyfield and Ruiz to meet for that organization's world title belt. Holyfield and Ruiz began their trilogy in August of that year, with Holyfield making history by winning on a controversial, but unanimous 12 round decision to become the first boxer in history to be the World Heavyweight Champion four times. Holyfield blamed his lackluster performance on a perforated (broken) eardrum.

Seven months later, in March 2001, it was Ruiz's turn to make history at Holyfield's expense when he surprisingly managed to knock Holyfield down and beat him by a 12 round decision to become the first Hispanic ever to win a Heavyweight title. On December 15 of that year, Holyfield challenged Ruiz for the title, in an attempt to become champion again. The fight was declared a draw and John Ruiz maintained the WBA Championship title.

Holyfield vs. Byrd

Main article: Chris Byrd vs. Evander Holyfield

2002 began as a promising year for Holyfield: in June, he met former World Heavyweight Champion Hasim Rahman, to determine who would face Lewis next. Holyfield was leading on two of the three scorecards when the fight was stopped in the eighth round due to a severe hematoma on Rahman's forehead above his left eye that was caused by a headbutt earlier in the fight. Holyfield was ahead, so he was declared the winner by a technical decision.

The IBF decided to strip Lewis of his belt after he didn't want to fight Don King-promoted fighter Chris Byrd, instead going after Tyson, and declared that the winner of the fight between Holyfield and former WBO Heavyweight Champion Byrd would be recognized as their Heavyweight Champion. On December 14, 2002, Holyfield once again tried to become the first man ever to be Heavyweight Champion five times when he and Byrd met, but Byrd came out as the winner by a 12-round unanimous decision.

Consecutive losses & New York suspension

On October 4, 2003, Holyfield lost to James Toney by TKO when his corner threw in the towel in the ninth round. At age 42, Holyfield returned to the ring to face Larry Donald on November 13, 2004. He lost his third consecutive match in a twelve round unanimous decision.

In August 2005 it had been reported that the New York State Athletic Commission had banned Evander Holyfield from boxing in New York due to "diminishing skills" despite the fact that Holyfield had passed a battery of medical tests.

Comeback

Holyfield was initially criticized for his ongoing comeback; but he is adamant that his losses to Toney and Donald were the result of a shoulder injury, not of old age. Holyfield had looked better in his first four fights since Donald and appeared to have answered the critics who say that he lacks the cutting edge and ability to follow up on crucial openings that he had in his youth.

Holyfield defeated Jeremy Bates by TKO on August 18, 2006 in a 10 round bout at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Holyfield dominated the fight which was stopped in the second round after he landed roughly twenty consecutive punches on Bates.

Holyfield defeated Fres Oquendo by unanimous decision on November 10, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. Holyfield knocked Oquendo down in the first minute of the first round and continued to be the aggressor throughout the fight, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 116-111 and 114-113 twice.

On March 17, 2007, Holyfield defeated Vinny Maddalone by TKO when Maddalone's corner threw in the towel to save their man from serious injury in the ring.

On June 30, 2007, Holyfield defeated Lou Savarese, knocking the bigger and heavier Savarese down in the fourth and again in the ninth round, en route to a unanimous decision win. This was Holyfield's fourth win in ten months, two of them by KO. This victory finally set the stage for Holyfield's title fight against Sultan Ibragimov, for the WBO Heavyweight title.

Holyfield vs. Ibragimov

On October 13, 2007, Holyfield was defeated by Sultan Ibragimov. Although unable to defy his critics by winning a fifth Heavyweight title, Holyfield refused to be backed up by the young champion and even rattled him in the closing part of the 12th round. The fight was mostly uneventful, however, with neither fighter being truly staggered or knocked down. In most exchanges, Sultan was able to land two punches to Holyfield's one. The end result was a unanimous decision for Ibragimov, with scores of 118-110 and 117-111 twice.

Holyfield vs. Valuev

He told BBC Scotland's Sports Weekly "I'm gonna fight, be the heavyweight champion of the world one more time. Then I'm gonna write another book and tell everybody how I did it." On December 20, 2008 he fought, at the Hallenstadion in Zürich, Switzerland, the WBA Heavyweight Champion Nikolai Valuev for a paycheck of $600,000, the lowest amount he has ever received for a championship fight. At the weigh-in, he weighed 214 pounds, Valuev weighed a career low of 310 pounds.

Valuev defeated Holyfield by a highly controversial majority decision after a relatively uneventful bout. One judge scored the bout a draw 114-114, while the others had Valuev winning 116-112 and 115-114. Many analysts were outraged at the decision, thinking Holyfield had clearly won. There was talk of a rematch in 2009.

The WBA did their own investigation into the controversial decision; "As the World Boxing Association (WBA) always cares about and respects the fans' and the media's opinion, the Championship Committee has ordered a panel of judges to review the tape of the fight between Nikolai Valuev and Evander Holyfield, for the WBA heavyweight title" read a statement from the WBA. The organization also expressed that they "will give a decision accordingly in the following weeks." Many speculated that an immediate rematch would be the most likely scenario, but this never materialised. Valuev lost the WBA title in his next fight against British boxer David Haye.

Holyfield vs. Botha

After the loss to Valuev, Holyfield took a period of inactivity. He reportedly agreed to fight South African boxer Francois Botha on January 16, 2010; it was agreed that the venue for the fight would be the Nelson Mandela Memorial Stadium in Kampala, Uganda. A few weeks before the fight, it was revealed that the bout would be postponed to February 20, 2010. The match was put in jeopardy due to economic disagreements but was later confirmed to be on April 10, 2010 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. When asked about his upcoming bout, the four-time world heavyweight champion said: "I've been hearing for a while that I can't do it. All it does is light a fire under me to prove people wrong." He also added: "I can still fight. I don't want to leave until I've become the undisputed heavyweight champion one more time. That's been my goal the entire time." The American boxer scored an eighth round knockout of Botha to win the vacant World Boxing Federation (WBF) Heavyweight title.

Holyfield started slowly as usual in the early going. Botha held and hit Holyfield, and took the control of the fight for the first three rounds. However, the South African could not slow down Holyfield, though he did hurt him, and the American boxer slowly began to punch him more to take control of the bout in the later rounds. In the seventh round Holyfield stunned Botha and knocked him down in the eighth round. Though he beat the count, Holyfield cornered him and landed many punches that forced the referee Russell Mora to stop the bout. At the time of the stoppage, Holyfield was behind on two judges' cards, 67-66, while the third judge had it 69-64 for the American boxer. Only 3,127 attended the fight.

Holyfield vs. Williams

After the Botha fight, Holyfield said he was interested in fighting either Vitali Klitschko, the current WBC Champion, or his younger brother Wladimir Klitschko. Holyfield's next bout against Sherman "The Tank" Williams on November 5, 2010 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan was then postponed twice before finally being rescheduled to January 22, 2011 and moved to The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Holyfield started the bout slowly and in the second round, he was cut in the left eye following an accidental clash of heads. In round three as he took several combinations. After the end of the round, Holyfield told his corner that he was unable to see due to the cut. Consequently, the bout was ruled a no contest.

The WBC had allegedly agreed to match Holyfield up with Vitali Klitschko after fights with Williams and Nielsen.

Holyfield vs. Nielsen

A fight with Brian Nielsen, the most popular Danish heavyweight in that country's history, was scheduled for March 5, 2011 in Denmark, but needed to be postponed to May 7, 2011 due to a cut Holyfield received in the Williams fight.

The official weigh-in was held on Friday night in Denmark, with Holyfield at 225 pounds, while his opponent Nielsen, with his shorts on, weighed 238 pounds. It is to be noted that Nielsen had never been this light in his career. Neilson had said that although it would be mighty difficult for him to beat Holyfield, he promised it would not be one sided affair. Holyfield said that if he won he would move to next level and challenge for major titles.

Holyfield started the fight aggressively, pressing the 46-year-old Nielsen into the ropes and landing several hard jabs and hooks, knocking him down in the 3rd round. Despite getting a swollen eye in the 4th round, Nielsen kept on clowning to provoke Holyfield throughout the bout, prompting his trainer, Paul Duvill, to beg him to stop fooling around and focus on Holyfield. In round 10, Nielsen pushed a tired-looking Holyfield into the ropes with a series of combinations, before Holyfield turned it around. Holyfield pushed Nielsen into a corner and battered him with combinations until the referee stopped the contest.

Present

After the Nielsen fight, Holyfield attempted to land a shot at a world Heavyweight title (all major belts were held by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, at that time). However, after more than a year of trying to land this fight, Holyfield stated his intention to retire in October 2012, stating, "The game's been good to me and I hope I've been good to the game. ... I'm 50 years old (on Friday) and I've pretty much did everything that I wanted to do in boxing." Later that same month, however, Holyfield seemed to change his mind, saying that he still considers himself a "serious contender." Unable to secure a title shot, his career went into limbo for several months. However, In June 2014, after not fighting in over three years, Holyfield announced his final retirement. He is currently a boxing adviser to heavyweight prospect Zhang Zhilei.

Allegations of steroid and HGH use

On February 28, 2007, Holyfield was anonymously linked to Applied Pharmacy Services, a pharmacy in Alabama that is currently under investigation for supplying athletes with illegal steroids and human growth hormone (HGH). He denies ever using performance enhancers.

Holyfield's name does not appear in the law enforcement documents reviewed. However, a patient by the name of "Evan Fields" caught investigators' attention. "Fields" shares the same birth date as Holyfield—October 19, 1962. The listed address for "Fields" was 794 Evander, Fairfield, Ga. 30213. Holyfield has a very similar address. When the phone number that, according to the documents, was associated with the "Fields" prescription, was dialed, Holyfield answered.

On March 10, 2007 Holyfield made a public announcement that he would be pursuing his own investigation into the steroid claims in order to clear his name.

Holyfield was again linked to HGH in September 2007, when his name came up following a raid of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida. As of September 2007, Signature Pharmacy is under investigation for illegally supplying several professional athletes with steroids and HGH.

Life outside the ring

Holyfield is the younger brother of actor and dancer, Bernard Holyfield, and currently lives and trains in Fayette County, Georgia. He is separated from his third wife Candi, with whom he has two children. Holyfield has eleven children with six different women. His son, Elijah Holyfield recently committed to play football at the University of Georgia.

By 1992, Holyfield was already a household name, endorsing multiple products on television, such as Coca Cola and Diet Coke. He also had a video game released for the Sega Genesis and the Sega Game Gear: Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing. After his conversion, he started professing his Christianity everywhere, reminding the public before and after his fights that he is a born-again Christian.

In 1996 Holyfield was given the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch when it was on its way to his hometown of Atlanta for that year's Olympics. October 4 of this year he was married to Dr. Janice Itson, with whom he had one child.

He founded Real Deal Records which signed the briefly successful group Exhale.

On September 22, 2007 Holyfield released the Real Deal Grill cooking appliance via TV infomercials. The Real Deal Grill is manufactured by Cirtran Corp.

Holyfield's popularity has led to numerous television appearances for the boxer. His first television show appearance was the Christmas special of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990, playing himself. In 2005, Holyfield came in fifth place on ABC's Dancing with the Stars with his partner Edyta Sliwinska. He also made an appearance on the original BBC Strictly Come Dancing "Champion of Champions" showdown, which featured the final four teams from the 2005 edition of the British series, plus two celebrities from spinoff versions, paired with British professional dancers, one featuring Holyfield paired with Karen Hardy, and Rachel Hunter paired with Brendan Cole. Holyfield also had minor roles in three movies during the 1990s, Summer of Sam, Necessary Roughness, and Blood Salvage (which he also produced). He made a guest appearance on Nickelodeon's Nickelodeon GUTS during its third season in 1994. He appeared once in an episode of Phineas and Ferb. In the episode, he is an animated character but the producers wanted to make the most of Holyfield's ear, so his animated character was only given half an ear.

On August 13, 2007, Holyfield was confirmed to participate in a boxing match at World Wrestling Entertainment's Saturday Night's Main Event against Matt Hardy. He replaced Montel Vontavious Porter, who had to pull out after being legitimately diagnosed with a heart condition that was not part of a storyline.

In late 2007 and early 2008, Holyfield was among a number of celebrities to be doing television ads for the restaurant chain Zaxby's.

In June 2008 a legal notice was placed by Washington Mutual Bank stating that Holyfield's $10 million, 54,000-square-foot (5,000 m2), 109 room, 17 bathroom suburban Atlanta estate would be auctioned off on July 1, 2008 due to foreclosure, shortly before that bank's insolvency. Adding to his financial problems, Toi Irvin, mother of his 10-year-old son, filed suit for non-payment of two months child support (he pays $3,000 per month for this child). A Utah landscaping firm also has gone to court seeking $550,000 in unpaid debt for services.

Holyfield appeared as himself in the 2011 remake of Arthur.

On January 3, 2014, Holyfield became the 12th housemate to enter the 13th series of Celebrity Big Brother (UK). On January 6, 2014, he was reprimanded by the show after saying in a conversation with another housemate that gayness is abnormal and can be fixed. On January 10, 2014, he became the first housemate to be evicted.

Professional boxing record

57 fights, 44 wins (29 knockouts, 1 disqualification), 10 losses (2 knockouts), 2 draws, 1 no contest
No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
57	Win	44-10-2	Brian Nielsen	TKO	10 (12), 2:49	May 5, 2011
56	NC	43-10-2	Sherman Williams	NC	3 (12), 3:00	Jan 22, 2011
55	Win	43-10-2	Francois Botha	TKO	8 (12), 0:55	Apr 10, 2010
54	Loss	42-10-2	Nikolai Valuev	MD	12	Dec 20, 2008
53	Loss	42-9-2	Sultan Ibragimov	UD	12	Oct 13, 2007
52	Win	42-8-2	Lou Savarese	UD	10	Jun 30, 2007
51	Win	41-8-2	Vinny Maddalone	TKO	3 (10), 2:48	Mar 17, 2007
50	Win	40-8-2	Fres Oquendo	UD	12	Nov 10, 2006
49	Win	39-8-2	Jeremy Bates	TKO	2 (12), 2:56	Aug 18, 2006
48	Loss	38-8-2	Larry Donald	UD	12	Nov 13, 2004
47	Loss	39-7-2	James Toney	TKO	9 (12), 1:42	Oct 4, 2003
46	Loss	39-6-2	Chris Byrd	UD	12	Dec 14, 2002
45	Win	38-5-2	Hasim Rahman	TD	8 (12), 1:40	Jun 1, 2002
44	Draw	37-5-2	John Ruiz	SD	12	Dec 15, 2001
43	Loss	37-5-1	John Ruiz	UD	12	Mar 3, 2001
42	Win	37-4-1	John Ruiz	UD	12	Aug 12, 2000
41	Loss	36-4-1	Lennox Lewis	UD	12	Nov 13, 1999
40	Draw	36-3-1	Lennox Lewis	SD	12	Mar 13, 1999
39	Win	36-3	Vaughn Bean	UD	12	Sep 19, 1998
38	Win	35-3	Michael Moorer	RTD	8 (12), 3:00	Nov 8, 1997
37	Win	34-3	Mike Tyson	DQ	3 (12)	Jun 28, 1997
36	Win	33-3	Mike Tyson	TKO	11 (12), 0:37	Nov 9, 1996
35	Win	32-3	Bobby Czyz	RTD	5 (10), 3:00	May 10, 1996
34	Loss	31-3	Riddick Bowe	TKO	8 (12), 0:58	Nov 4, 1995
33	Win	31-2	Ray Mercer	UD	10	May 20, 1995
32	Loss	30-2	Michael Moorer	MD	12	Apr 22, 1994
31	Win	30-1	Riddick Bowe	MD	12	Nov 6, 1993
30	Win	29-1	Alex Stewart	UD	12	Jun 26, 1993
29	Loss	28-1	Riddick Bowe	UD	12	Nov 13, 1992
28	Win	28-0	Larry Holmes	UD	12	Jun 19, 1992
27	Win	27-0	Bert Cooper	TKO	7 (12), 2:58	Nov 23, 1991
26	Win	26-0	George Foreman	UD	12	Apr 19, 1991
25	Win	25-0	Buster Douglas	KO	3 (12), 1:10	Oct 25, 1990
24	Win	24-0	Seamus McDonagh	TKO	4 (12), 0:44	Jun 1, 1990
23	Win	23-0	Alex Stewart	TKO	8 (12), 2:51	Nov 4, 1989
22	Win	22-0	Adílson Rodrigues	KO	2 (12), 1:29	Jul 15, 1989
21	Win	21-0	Michael Dokes	TKO	10 (12), 1:41	Mar 11, 1989
20	Win	20-0	Pinklon Thomas	RTD	7 (10), 3:00	Dec 9, 1988
19	Win	19-0	James Tillis	RTD	5 (10), 3:00	Jul 15, 1988
18	Win	18-0	Carlos de León	TKO	8 (12), 1:08	Apr 9, 1988
17	Win	17-0	Dwight Muhammad Qawi	KO	4 (15), 2:30	Dec 5, 1987
16	Win	16-0	Ossie Ocasio	TKO	11 (15), 1:24	Aug 15, 1987
15	Win	15-0	Ricky Parkey	TKO	3 (15), 2:44	May 15, 1987
14	Win	14-0	Henry Tillman	TKO	7 (15), 1:43	Feb 14, 1987
13	Win	13-0	Mike Brothers	TKO	3 (10)	Dec 8, 1986
12	Win	12-0	Dwight Muhammad Qawi	SD	15	Jul 12, 1986
11	Win	11-0	Terry Mims	KO	5 (10), 1:12	May 28, 1986
10	Win	10-0	Jesse Shelby	KO	3 (10)	Apr 6, 1986
9	Win	9-0	Chisanda Mutti	TKO	3 (10), 1:37	Mar 1, 1986
8	Win	8-0	Anthony Davis	TKO	4 (10), 1:31	Dec 21, 1985
7	Win	7-0	Jeff Meachem	TKO	5 (8), 1:02	Oct 30, 1985
6	Win	6-0	Rick Myers	TKO	1 (8), 3:00	Aug 29, 1985
5	Win	5-0	Tyrone Booze	UD	8	Jul 20, 1985
4	Win	4-0	Mark Rivera	TKO	2 (8), 2:46	Apr 20, 1985
3	Win	3-0	Fred Brown	TKO	1 (6), 1:56	Mar 13, 1985
2	Win	2-0	Eric Winbush	UD	6	Jan 20, 1985
1	Win	1-0	Lionel Byarm	UD	6	Nov 15, 1984

Titles in boxing

Major World Titles:

• WBA Cruiserweight Champion (200 lbs)
• IBF Cruiserweight Champion (200 lbs)
• WBC Cruiserweight Champion (200 lbs)
• WBC Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• WBA Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• IBF Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• (2) WBA Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• (2) IBF Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• (3) WBA Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• (3) IBF Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• (4) WBA Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)

Minor World Titles:

• World Boxing Federation Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)

The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles:

• Lineal Cruiserweight Champion (200 lbs)
• The Ring Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• Lineal Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• (2) Lineal Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)

Regional/International Titles:

• WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)
• USBA Heavyweight Champion (+200 lbs)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]