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Evander Holyfield
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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, debuting in a televised match that same year 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 he 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 loses, 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. Most recently, 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 in which Byrd beat Holyfield in a unanimous 12 round decision.
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