MAIN Sports Sports Stars Evander Holyfield

Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield was born in Atlanta, Georgia on October 19, 1962 and began his professional boxing career after winning a bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

That same year, he debuted in a televised match in which he won in six rounds over Lional Byarm at Madison Square Garden.

In 1985, he gained more attention with six more victories including a win over world title challenger Anthony Davis.

Holyfield's star continued to rise throughout the 80's when he eventually became the only universally recognized world Cruiserweight champion following his knockout of world champ Carlos De Leon in 1988.

Holyfield quickly announced he was moving up to pursue the world Heavyweight crown held by Mike Tyson, with his first heavyweight fight soon following in which he beat former Tyson rival James Quick Tillis by knockout in five rounds at Las Vegas.

By 1990, Holyfield was ready to take on Tyson when - in a stunning upset - James Buster Douglas knocked out Tyson to become the world champion. So it was Buster Douglas that Holyfield met next in history's first-ever Pay Per View telecast, in which Holyfield handily knocked Douglas out in three rounds to become the undisputed heavyweight champ.

It wasn't until 1996 when Holyfield finally met up with Tyson in a much-anticipated and highly publicized match — in which Holyfield emerged the victor by a knockout in the 11th round. And if that match wasn't enough, the following year a rematch on June 28, 1997 made international headlines when a frustrated Tyson was disqualified when he suddenly bit a part of Holyfield's ear off in the third round.

As Holyfield underwent surgery to reattach his ear, images of the Tyson's bizarre boxing technique were beamed around the world in what became The Bite Fight.

Since that most famous night, Holyfield's career has been a rollercoaster ride of wins and losses, most notably in 2000 when he became the first boxer in history to become world heavyweight champ four times when he beat John Ruiz in a 12 round unanimous decision.

Holyfield again tried in December of 2002 to become the first man ever to be world's heavyweight champion five times in a match with Chris Byrd Holyfield went down in defeat in a unanimous 12 round decision.

Holyfield next fought on November 13, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in which he lost to Larry Donald.

In 2005, the boxer was in the spotlight - in a very different arena - as a celebrity dancer in ABC Television's Dancing with the Stars.

Back in the ring in August 2006, his most recent comebacks resulted in a TKO against opponent Jeremy Bates in his first victory since June 2002, followed by a win over Fres Oquendo by unanimous decision in November.

At the time, the 43 year-old boxer predicted in interviews that he fully expected to regain the title of undisputed heavyweight champion for an unprecendented fifth time. True to his word, the "Real Deal" faced Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO heavyweight title at Khodynka Arena in Moscow, but lost to the Russian by unanimous decision on October 13.

Holyfield's next big appearance was up aganst another Russian fighter, Nikolai Valuev, who defeated Holyfield on December 20, 2008 in a very controversial decision due to apparent Valuev's poor performance. Valuev won the fight nonetheless, denying Holyfield a shot at a fifth heavyweight title.

Evander Holyfield.com - The official site including news and updates, biography, career timeline, video clips of his most famous fights, video interviews and photos from his personal albums, with more on the Evander Holyfield Foundation, FAQ, message board.

Conference Call Transcript - Evander Holyfield, Larry Donald - A recent interview with the two boxers on their upcoming match.

Topix.net - Evander Holyfield - Late breaking news about the boxer from various sources around the Web.

BBC Sport | Boxing | Evander Holyfield - A recent profile including career highlights, fact file and photo.

SLAM! BOXING: Tyson vs. Holyfield - The Bite Fight as reported in 1997 news wires and feature articles, along with a photo gallery of the exchange, including one image of the infamous moment.

also see -> Oscar de la Hoya | Mike Tyson | Boxing