Boxing Career of Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (The Real Deal) is a retired American professional boxer. He was born in Atmore, Alabama, U.S. on October 19, 1962. Holyfield made his professional boxing debut at the age of 22 against Lionel Byarm on November 15, 1984 and won via 6 round unanimous decision.
In a career spanning 26 years and 5 months, Holyfield fought 57 times with 44 wins, 10 losses, and 2 draws. He is a former 2-weight-class world champion and a Hall of Famer. He is 59 years old, and will be turning 60 in 2 months and 5 days.
- Born
- Oct 19, 1962
- Age
- 59
- Debut
- Nov 15, 1984
- Record
- 44-10-2
- Rounds
- 443
- KO Pct
- 50.9%
- Height
- 189 cm
- Reach
- 197 cm
- Ape Index
- 8 cm
- Stance
- Orthodox
- Last Fight
| WBA | WBC | IBF |
|---|---|---|
| HV w4 d7 | HV w1 d3 | HV w3 d5 |
| CR w1 d5 | CR w1 d0 | CR w1 d3 |
Evander Holyfield's Stats
Evander Holyfield's Record
| Total Fights | 57 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 44 |
| Losses | 10 |
| Draws | 2 |
| No-Contests | 1 |
| KO Wins | 29 |
|---|---|
| Total Title Wins | 11 |
| Title Defenses | 11 |
| Title-Fight KO Wins | 9 |
| Losses via KO | 2 |
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Result | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | May 7, 2011 | 48 | Brian Nielsen | Win | TKO10 |
| 56 | Jan 22, 2011 | 48 | Sherman Williams | NC | NC |
| 55 | Apr 10, 2010 | 47 | Francois Botha | Win | TKO8 |
| 54 | Dec 20, 2008 | 46 | Nikolai Valuev | Loss | MD |
| 53 | Oct 13, 2007 | 44 | Sultan Ibragimov | Loss | UD |
| 52 | Jun 30, 2007 | 44 | Lou Savarese | Win | UD |
| 51 | Mar 17, 2007 | 44 | Vinny Maddalone | Win | TKO3 |
| 50 | Nov 10, 2006 | 44 | Fres Oquendo | Win | UD |
| 49 | Aug 18, 2006 | 43 | Jeremy Bates | Win | TKO2 |
| 48 | Nov 13, 2004 | 42 | Larry Donald | Loss | UD |
| 47 | Oct 4, 2003 | 40 | James Toney | Loss | TKO9 |
| 46 | Dec 14, 2002 | 40 | Chris Byrd | Loss | UD |
| 45 | Jun 1, 2002 | 39 | Hasim Rahman | Win | TD |
| 44 | Dec 15, 2001 | 39 | John Ruiz | Draw | SD |
| 43 | Mar 3, 2001 | 38 | John Ruiz | Loss | UD |
| 42 | Aug 12, 2000 | 37 | John Ruiz | Win | UD |
| 41 | Nov 13, 1999 | 37 | Lennox Lewis | Loss | UD |
| 40 | Mar 13, 1999 | 36 | Lennox Lewis | Draw | SD |
| 39 | Sep 19, 1998 | 35 | Vaughn Bean | Win | UD |
| 38 | Nov 8, 1997 | 35 | Michael Moorer | Win | RTD8 |
| 37 | Jun 28, 1997 | 34 | Mike Tyson | Win | DQ |
| 36 | Nov 9, 1996 | 34 | Mike Tyson | Win | TKO11 |
| 35 | May 10, 1996 | 33 | Bobby Czyz | Win | RTD5 |
| 34 | Nov 4, 1995 | 33 | Riddick Bowe | Loss | TKO8 |
| 33 | May 20, 1995 | 32 | Ray Mercer | Win | UD |
| 32 | Apr 22, 1994 | 31 | Michael Moorer | Loss | MD |
| 31 | Nov 6, 1993 | 31 | Riddick Bowe | Win | MD |
| 30 | Jun 26, 1993 | 30 | Alex Stewart | Win | UD |
| 29 | Nov 13, 1992 | 30 | Riddick Bowe | Loss | UD |
| 28 | Jun 19, 1992 | 29 | Larry Holmes | Win | UD |
| 27 | Nov 23, 1991 | 29 | Bert Cooper | Win | TKO7 |
| 26 | Apr 19, 1991 | 28 | George Foreman | Win | UD |
| 25 | Oct 25, 1990 | 28 | Buster Douglas | Win | KO3 |
| 24 | Jun 1, 1990 | 27 | Seamus McDonagh | Win | TKO4 |
| 23 | Nov 4, 1989 | 27 | Alex Stewart | Win | TKO8 |
| 22 | Jul 15, 1989 | 26 | Adílson Rodrigues | Win | KO2 |
| 21 | Mar 11, 1989 | 26 | Michael Dokes | Win | TKO10 |
| 20 | Dec 9, 1988 | 26 | Pinklon Thomas | Win | RTD7 |
| 19 | Jul 15, 1988 | 25 | James Tillis | Win | RTD5 |
| 18 | Apr 9, 1988 | 25 | Carlos de León | Win | TKO8 |
| 17 | Dec 5, 1987 | 25 | Dwight Muhammad Qawi | Win | KO4 |
| 16 | Aug 15, 1987 | 24 | Ossie Ocasio | Win | TKO11 |
| 15 | May 15, 1987 | 24 | Ricky Parkey | Win | TKO3 |
| 14 | Feb 14, 1987 | 24 | Henry Tillman | Win | TKO7 |
| 13 | Dec 8, 1986 | 24 | Mike Brothers | Win | TKO3 |
| 12 | Jul 12, 1986 | 23 | Dwight Muhammad Qawi | Win | SD |
| 11 | May 28, 1986 | 23 | Terry Mims | Win | KO5 |
| 10 | Apr 6, 1986 | 23 | Jesse Shelby | Win | KO3 |
| 9 | Mar 1, 1986 | 23 | Chisanda Mutti | Win | TKO3 |
| 8 | Dec 21, 1985 | 23 | Anthony Davis | Win | TKO4 |
| 7 | Oct 30, 1985 | 23 | Jeff Meachem | Win | TKO5 |
| 6 | Aug 29, 1985 | 22 | Rick Myers | Win | TKO1 |
| 5 | Jul 20, 1985 | 22 | Tyrone Booze | Win | UD |
| 4 | Apr 20, 1985 | 22 | Mark Rivera | Win | TKO2 |
| 3 | Mar 13, 1985 | 22 | Fred Brown | Win | TKO1 |
| 2 | Jan 20, 1985 | 22 | Eric Winbush | Win | UD |
| 1 | Nov 15, 1984 | 22 | Lionel Byarm | Win | UD |
FAQs
At what age did Evander Holyfield make his professional debut?
Evander Holyfield was 22 years old when he made his pro debut against Lionel Byarm. He defeated Byarm via 6 round UD.
When was Evander Holyfield's last fight?
Evander Holyfield's last fight was a non-title bout against Danish boxer Brian Nielsen on May 7, 2011. He won the fight via 10th round TKO. It's been 11 years, 3 months, and 7 days since this fight.
At what age did Evander Holyfield have his first world title fight?
Holyfield had his first world title fight at the age of 23 on July 12, 1986 after 11 professional fights against Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the cruiserweight WBA title. He defeated Qawi via 15 round SD to become the new cruiserweight champion of the world.
How many world titles did Evander Holyfield win?
Holyfield fought for titles in 14 fights and won eight of them. In total, he won 11 belts in two weight classes: cruiserweight (WBA, WBC, IBF) and heavyweight (WBA 4x, WBC, IBF 3x).
Date Against Weight Titles Won Aug 12, 2000 John Ruiz HV WBA (vacant) Nov 8, 1997^ Michael Moorer HV IBF Nov 9, 1996 Mike Tyson HV WBA Nov 6, 1993^ Riddick Bowe HV WBA, IBF Oct 25, 1990+ Buster Douglas HV WBA, WBC, IBF Apr 9, 1988+ Carlos de León CR WBC May 15, 1987^ Ricky Parkey CR IBF Jul 12, 1986 Dwight Muhammad Qawi CR WBA + Became undisputed world champion^ Became unified world championWas Evander Holyfield a unified or undisputed world champion?
Evander Holyfield was a two-time undisputed world champion - at heavyweight and cruiserweight; and a three-time unified world champion - at heavyweight [x2] and cruiserweight.
Who did Evander Holyfield lose to?
Evander Holyfield had a total of 10 losses in 57 fights - seven of them in title bouts and three in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Riddick Bowe via 12 round UD in his 29th fight; before this loss Holyfield had a record of 28-0. He has been stopped two times and lost eight times via decision.
Nikolai Valuev, Sultan Ibragimov, Larry Donald, James Toney, and Chris Byrd are some of the boxers who have beaten Holyfield. For more details about these defeats, refer to "All of Evander Holyfield's losses".