Evander Holyfield, the one and only four time heavyweight champion returned to the ring after a twenty-one month layoff on a quest to become the first five time world heavyweight champion. Holyfield has made four successful steps on his comeback bid winning fights against Jeremy Bates, Fres Oquendo, Vinny Maddalone and Lou Savarese. However, on October 13, 2007 at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia, Holyfield's comeback bid took a step backwards when WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov beat him by a 12-round unanimous decision in a largely technical fight. Holyfield did nail Ibragimov with a straight right flush to the face in the 12th but was unable to follow it up. The 32 year old Ibragimov's reflexes were just too quick for the old man. Despite the loss Holyfield vows to keep fighting in his quest to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
| Fight | Location | Date | Boxing Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holyfield vs TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield
Evander Holyfield, 1984 Golden Gloves light heavyweight champion, Olympic light heavyweight bronze medalist, is also the only four time heavyweight champion. In title fights Holyfield beat Buster Douglas in 1990, Mike Tyson in 1996, Michael Moorer in 1997 and John Ruiz in 2000. He was Ring Magazines fighter of the year in 1987, 1996 and 1997. In 2001 Holyfield was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
Evander Holyfield has had some unusual fights in his career. On November 6, 1993 Holyfield was fighting Riddick Bowe in the outside boxing ring at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas when in the 7th round a parachuter named James Miller, now known as "The Fan Man" paraglided onto the ring apron with a large fan strapped to his back. Miller became entangled in the ring ropes and was then jumped upon and beaten unconscious by fans and Bowe's cornermen. The fight was stopped for 21 minutes. Evander Holyfield ended up winning the bout by a 12-round majority decision. Miller, charged with dangerous flying later joked, It was a heavyweight fight and I was the only guy who got knocked out.
Holyfield, had another unusual experience in the ring on June 28, 1997 when Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's right ear spitting it out on judge Duane Ford's scorecard. The ringside doctor decides the ear is cosmetically damaged but that Holyfield can still fight. The fight continues after a 4 minute hiatus and Tyson bites Holyfield's left ear. Referee Lane has seen enough and disqualifies Tyson declaring Holyfield the winner by DQ in the 3rd round. Holyfield required plastic surgery to repair his ear and Tyson was fined $3 million dollars by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and had his boxing license revoked.
Holyfield entered the ring on August 18, 2006 in Dallas at a lean 220 pounds to fight heavyweight Jeremy Bates. In round 2 after getting hit with hard right from Bates Holyfield was looking to end the fight early and hit Bates with six left-right combinations that sent him into the ropes where Holyfield continued to unleash a series of unanswered punches prompting the referee to stop the fight. Holyfield was declared the winner by 2-round TKO. It was the first time a heavyweight champion fought in Dallas and more than 5,000 tickets were sold within the first couple of weeks after Holyfields fight was announced.
On November 10, 2006 at the Alamodome in San Antonio Holyfield took another successful step towards five world titles by winning a unanimous decision over Fres Oquendo and the vacant USBA heavyweight title. In Holyfield's third come back fight on March 17, 2007 in Corpus Christi, Texas he beat 44 year old Vinny Maddalone by a 3rd round TKO after Maddalone's corner stopped the bout. On a winning streak, Holyfield next fought 41 year old Lou Savarese in El Paso, Texas on June 30, 2007 winning a 10-round unanimous decision. Savarese who was downed in the 4th and 9th rounds announced his retirement immediately after the fight.