Biography of Evander Holyfield[Age, Height, Wife, Kids, Family, Salary, Award & Net worth ]

Evander Holyfield is а sports legend of his lifetime. He is a retired American boxer who ruled his professional career from 1984 to 2014.

The sports career of Evander Holyfield reminds us of bright and unforgettable fights. His brilliant techniques, fantastic kicks, and the capability to foresee the opponent’s tactics are what make his performance extraordinary.

Notably,  Evander also tagged him as ‘The Real Deal’ due to his boxing supremacy in the 90s. Likewise, Holyfield’s 26 years in the top fight have awarded him with four world heavyweight championships.

Further, his intellectual and great fighting style has earned him 44 wins from 57 bouts, out of which 29 were won by knockouts while losing just 10.

Let us have a close look at Evander Holyfield’s bio, career, net worth, childhood, personal life, etc.

Quick Facts:

Evander Holyfield | Early Life, Family, and Education

Evander Holyfield was born in Atmore, Alabama, US, on October 19, 1962. He was born in a big family as the youngest child.

He had eight siblings, and Evander was from a different father from the rest of his siblings. Evander was born to his mother, Annie Laura Holyfield.

Annie brought up the kids with their grandmother. Being a religious woman, his mother taught him and the siblings to follow their goals and lead a disciplined life.

When Evander Holyfield was four years old, his family moved from Alabama to a housing project area in Atlanta, Georgia. At that time, Atlanta city was notorious for its high crime rate.

Moreover, Evander slowly became familiar with boxing after joining a boxing group for kids at the age of seven.

Further, he began to show his boxing skill at an early age and won a boxing medal. He completed his education at Fulton High School and graduated in 1980.

At just the age of 13, Evander competed in the Junior Olympics. Also, he became the Southeastern regional tourney winner.

In addition to that, he won the Best Boxer Award. Not to mention that Holyfield had shown how much he could accomplish by winning 160 from 174 fights, of which 76 were knockouts at age 15.

Likewise, he participated in the 1983 Pan American Games throughout this time, where he won the silver medal and the National Golden Gloves.

In addition to that, Evander also won a bronze medal in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.

Evander Holyfield | Boxing Career & Stats

Light heavyweight

Evander Holyfield had his professional debut in November 1984 in the light heavyweight division against Lionel Byarm. Not only did Evander participate in the game, but also he won his first fight.

Similarly, Evander Holyfield went on to win some other contests in the Light Heavyweight division before he decided to shift to the cruiserweight division the following year.

Cruiserweight

Evander Holyfield had his debut in the cruiserweight in July 1985, in opposition to Tyrone Booze. Evander won this fight in round 8 after an undivided decision by the judges.

Likewise, He won two more contests before knocking off Anthony Davis in his final battle of the year.

Holyfield was entitled as the WBA Cruiserweight Champion after winning against Muhammad Qawi in a competitive bout in 1986, which was the best of the 80s in the cruiserweight division.

Later in 1987, during a rematch, he won Qawi by KO in the fourth round. After that, Holyfield moved forward to defend his belt in opposition to Henry Tillman.

Henry defeated World Champion Mike Tyson on two occasions as an amateur.  Holyfield knocked out Tillman in Round 7 and continued to hold his title.

Further, he retained his title, yet again, against Ossie Ocasio, an ex-world champion, by a KO in round 11.

Besides, Holyfield gained world recognition by defeating Carlos De León in 1988, the Lineal & WBC Champion.

Following the match, he spoke of his desire to advance to the heavyweight division by challenging Mike Tyson‘s World Heavyweight Championship.

Heavyweight

Holyfield had his debut match in the heavyweight against James Tillis, who was known for his fast fighting style and flash punches. Evander won the game in the fifth round by KO.

Evander Holyfield’s first match against Michael Dokes, an ex-heavyweight champion, in 1989, became famous in heavyweight history for being positioned as one of the best in the 80s. Holyfield won the bout yet again by KO in round 10.

Evander Holyfield’s amazing feats made him Ring Magazine’s top nominee for two years by 1990.

Tyson was ripped off his belts by Buster Douglas in 1990. Holyfield was matched with Douglas in place of Mike Tyson for Douglas’ prime title defense.

Evander won by unanimous decision and was named the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Likewise, he won his first title defense next to George Foreman by an additional unanimous decision.

Matches (1992-1995)

Holyfield then continuously defended his belts by facing off Bert Cooper and Francesco Damiani. Holyfield got his first scar, in 1992, in a contest next to 42 years old Larry Holmes.

Evander Holyfield was determined to face Riddick Bowe, who was one of the main rivals in his career. As a result, the tenth round of the match was ranked the finest of the year.

But eventually, Evander suffered a defeat in the twelfth round by a unanimous verdict to Riddick to allege the belt.

Again, a rematch was planned for November 1993. The match became a memorable fight; someone flew in a parachute close to the ring and was entangled in the lights.

Soon after that, the man known to be ‘The fan man‘ and the fight was called ‘The fan fight.’

Evander Holyfield ultimately won the fight and reclaimed his belt. He was also awarded as the ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.

In 1994, Evander lost the fight with Michael Moorer from the light heavyweight division. The defeat was a result of the majority decision in round 12.

He was then compelled to give up his gloves after being diagnosed with a heart problem. Later in 1998, a rematch was scheduled, and Holyfield won that bout with an IBF title.

Evander joined back the octagon in 1995 with a victory over Ray Mercer.

Matches (1995-2000)

Holyfield then agreed to another face-off in opposition to Riddick Bowe. Riddick won the bout in the eighth round by KO.

The long-waited Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson‘s clash finally turned up in 1996. Evander Holyfield won the match against the odds.

He defeated Tyson in round 11 by technical knockout and claimed the WBA Heavyweight Championship. In June 1997, a rematch was scheduled between Tyson and Holyfield.

Tyson bit Evander’s ears twice during the match and earned a deduction of points and disqualification for himself.

Ultimately, Evander Holyfield won the game and had the hold of his belt. In 1998, Evander Holyfield successfully fought back for his title against VaughnBea.

Moreover, LennoxLewis, WBC World Champion, also participated in a unification match with Holyfield in 1999. The game finished in a draw but saw Holyfield conquered in the game that followed.

Matches (2000-2009)

Following Lewis’ belt strip-off, Holyfield and John Ruiz were planned for a game in 2000 to allege the world title belt. Instead, Evander Holyfield won the first in the twelfth round by unanimous verdict.

Subsequently, in 2001, Ruiz got the victory in the rematch by unanimous decision in the same twelfth round. In December 2001, the next bout happened and was stated as a draw making Ruiz retain the titles.

Evander Holyfield confronted Hasim Rahman in a significant match to decide who was to face Lennox Lewis for the IBF title. Ultimately, Lewis lost his belt, and Holyfield won the game by technical decision.

With time, Holyfield’s constancy started declining, and he suffered a consecutive streak of defeats. However, in 2006, he conquered Jeremy Bates by technical knockout.

Holyfield then won several matches till he confronted Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO Heavyweight title.

Ibragimov defeated Holyfield and won the highly aggressive and exciting game by unanimous decision to claim the WBO Heavyweight title.

Matches (2009-2014)

Evander Holyfield was defeated by Nikolai Valuev, in 2009, by majority decision in a decidedly controversial match that the WBA investigated later on.

In 2010 Evander faced off Francois Both and won the match to claim the WBF heavyweight belt.

Also, he listed his only no-contest bout of the career against Wladimir Klitschko because of an eye injury in round 2.

Evander announced his retirement soon after being defeated by the Danish BrianNielsen and securing a title match with the Klitschko brothers.

Holyfield finally hung his gloves in 2014, totaling 44 wins from 57 matches.

You can find all the boxing details, records, fight lists, wins, losses of Evander Holyfield on the Boxrec website.

Evander Holyfield | Personal life, Wife and Children

Evander Holyfield is known to be single at present. Interestingly, he had been married to three different women and has divorced all three of them.

The latest ex-wife of Holyfield was Caldi Cavana Smith. He lived the longest with Caldi among all his wives, which was for 11 years.

Evander Holyfield has 11 children born of 6 women. One of his sons, Elijah Esaias, is a college footballer at the University of Georgia.

Evander Holyfield | Music, TV Shows, Movies

Evander Holyfield started the Real Deal Records in 1999, known for Exhale’s mark, a well-known music group.

The Real Deal is also famous for its signature of NiWine, a well-liked Filipino artiste. The creation of the record label signifies Holyfield’s passion for music.

He has also played roles in movies and TV shows. Some of which include the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990.

Evander also appeared in an animation in the Nickelodeon GUTS, where his character had his trademarked bitten ear.

Likewise, in 2014, he was seen in Celebrity Big Brother (UK) and was evicted first in the show. His latest emergence was in the 2016 Argentine dancing reality show.

How old is Evander Holyfield? Age, Height, and Weight

Having born on October 19, 1962, makes Evander 59 years old at the moment. Likewise, Holyfield’s birthday falls under the star sign of Libra.

Evander stands 6 ft 2 inches tall, weighing 102 kg. He was just 5 ft 8 inches at age 18. Eventually, he added nearly 3 inches to reach his adult height in his early 20s.

Moreover, Holyfield has got an athletic physique and trained body thanks to his years of training.

It has been a decade since Evander first started as a boxer, and still, to this date, he is muscular and fit to the bones.

Further, Holyfield follows a string diet plan and training routine to maintain his body. He does different workouts and exercises to keep him fit and active.

You can find all the information regarding Evander Holyfield’s training routine and diet plan on the Fortis website.

Social Media Presence:

Evander Holyfield is quite active on social media. You can follow him via these links:

Facebook: 982k followers

Instagram: 503k followers

Twitter: 301.7k followers

Some FAQs:

What is Evander Holyfield’s net worth?

The online sources claim the projected net worth of Holyfield to be more than $1 million as of 2022.

Why does Evander Holyfield live in a two-bedroom apartment?

Evander Holyfield had a very successful boxing career and has amassed millions of dollars by fighting inside the ring.

However, most of his earnings vanished because of his reckless spending habits and bad business deals. So, he lives in a two-bedroom apartment because of his financial problems.

How much did Evander Holyfield bench press?

According to reports, Evander Holyfield can bench press more than 100kg.

What is Evander Holyfield’s career record?

Evander Holyfield has a professional career record of 44 wins, 10 losses, and 2 draws.

Is Evander Holyfield in the hall of fame?

Yes, Evander Holyfield was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.

How much did Evander Holyfield sell his house for?

Evander Holyfield sold his 45,000-square-foot house for $7.5 million.

When was Evander Holyfield last match?

Evander Holyfield’s last match was on May 7, 2011, against Brian Nielsen. Holyfield won that match by technical knockout (TKO).

Who was Mike Tyson’s toughest opponent?