Taken from evanderholyfield.com

In all thy ways acknowledge him

Evander Holyfield has bobbed and weaved his way into history, becoming the only 4-time Heavyweight Champion of the World.

...and he shall direct thy paths

The youngest of nine children, Evander Holyfield was born on October 19, 1962, in the mill town of Atmore, Alabama.

His mother, Annie Laura Holyfield, moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia, several years later. By the example that she set, Mrs. Holyfield taught her children that hard work was key to reaching their goals, thus establishing a quality that Evander Holyfield would exhibit in every aspect of his life.

 As a child, Holyfield had dreams of representing his new hometown on the football field as an Atlanta Falcon. With his mother's encouragement, and a membership at the Warren Memorial Boy's Club in southeast Atlanta, Holyfield started out on the 65-pound team as offensive fullback and middle linebacker on defense. He quickly distinguished himself on the field, but it was an 8-year-old's curiosity about a restricted area at the boy's club that led Holyfield to his athletic destiny: boxing.

After daily requests that were always turned down, Holyfield finally wore down Carter Morgan, convincing the coach to let him join the boxing team.

A fire was lit within him when Coach Morgan told him that if he didn't quit, he could become heavyweight champion of the world.

Under the guidance of Coach Morgan, Holyfield never lost a match between the ages of eight and eleven and, throughout his years as an amateur, he compiled an impressive boxing resume with a 169-11 record.

Holyfield juggled the two sports. His consistent performance during football try-outs earned him a spot on Fulton High's team. Unfortunately for the Falcons team of his dreams, Holyfield was more of a bench-warmer than a gridiron-guru. Frustrated, he decided to quit, but his mother had other ideas. "I didn't raise a quitter," she told him. He returned to the bench.

Finally, in Fulton High's last game of the season, Holyfield took to the field and impressed his coach and the crowd with his blocking skill and determination. Despite the late season accolades, Holyfield turned his full attention to boxing.

In 1983 he represented the United States in the Pan-American Games in Venezuela, where he won a silver medal. By this point in his career, he had achieved more in boxing than any other person in the state of Georgia, but his childhood dream of becoming heavyweight champion pushed him to achieve even more.

He followed the Pan Am experience up in 1984 by winning the National Golden Gloves Championship – with all of the wins by KO – and earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. With a strong patriotic spirit, he describes representing the United States at the Los Angeles games as feeling "almost like I went to heaven." He wasn't a black man or a boxer. He wasn't just an athlete, but a representative of his country. He was simply an American. He was an Olympian.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding

He was favored to win the light-heavyweight championship at the 1984 Los Angeles games, but instead received a bronze medal after a controversial end in the semifinals to his Olympic dreams of gold. After virtually knocking out New Zealand's Kevin Barry with just seconds left in the second round, the referee accused Holyfield of hitting after the break and disqualified him.

During the medal ceremony, the crowd cheered wildly for Holyfield and, in a true display of good sportsmanship, the recipient of the gold medal pulled him up to the top step and raised his hand.

Holyfield relied heavily on his faith and on the values of respect and perseverance instilled in him by his mother to accept the ruling. He had learned to expect the inevitability of setbacks in life, knowing that they could not cause him to give up. When he was a child his mother had told him, "If you start quitting, you'll be quitting for the rest of your life, because nothing is going to go your way all the time." He knew that he could only achieve his goals if he believed in himself, worked harder, and did not quit. His poise under the strain of such an obvious disappointment set the tone for his demeanor during his professional career.

Just months after the Olympics, Holyfield made his professional debut by defeating Lionel Byarm. He won four bouts in the Junior Heavyweight Division before moving up to Cruiserweight, where he continued to dominate. He won his first world title in 1986 against the WBA's world Cruiserweight champion Dwight Qwai.

To this day, Holyfield is the only undefeated, undisputed Cruiserweight Champion.

On October 25, 1990, Holyfield fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming the Heavyweight Champion of the World when he dropped James "Buster" Douglas – then IBF, WBC and WBA Champion – in three rounds. Holyfield was the first cruiserweight champion to win the heavyweight title.

Immediately after accomplishing such an amazing feat, Holyfield prayed, thanking God for letting him reach his goal, acknowledging that he couldn't have done it without Him. When asked to sign autographs, Holyfield happily did so, and revealed the source of his strength, also writing the reference "Phil. 4:13." The message refers to the scripture in the book of Philippians, which states "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

His first title defense was against George Foreman, who'd had sixty-five knockouts in his sixty-nine victories – with ten of those KO's occurring in the last two years. The bout against Foreman ended after twelve rounds, with Holyfield retaining his title.

Holyfield was more than ready to fight Mike Tyson. After much wrangling between their promoters, the fight was scheduled for November 8, 1991. It was the most anticipated match of the season. The reigning champ began an intense training regimen for the title defense, but on October 18, the bout was cancelled when Tyson injured his ribs.

In 1992, Holyfield suffered his first defeat in 29 professional fights, losing a unanimous decision to Riddick Bowe.

 A year later, in one of the toughest and most unusual fights of his career, Holyfield reclaimed the title from Bowe even after a parachuter – now known as The Fan Man – landed in the ring behind Bowe in the seventh round, causing a 21-minute delay in the bout. This victory enabled Holyfield to become the fourth fighter in history to regain the heavyweight title of the world. He became the third fighter —joining the ranks of Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson – to regain the title in a rematch.

But in 1994, Holyfield lost his titles in a bout against Michael Moorer in a narrow 3-2 decision. Directly after the fight, Holyfield was rushed to a hospital where it was determined that he was going into heart failure. After days of tests, he was told that he had heart problems which were not life-threatening, but were career-ending. Doctors recommended that he retire from the ring. He heeded their advice, even as he prayed for healing.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength

His faith in the healing power of God proved stronger than his medical prognosis. Holyfield returned to his doctor and was told he was getting better. A second follow-up visit to his physician indicated more improvement in his condition. A third visit revealed that his heart was healed.

Boxing officials weren't convinced. They wanted him to undergo and pass a battery of physicals before any state commission would license him to fight again. They sent him to the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a thorough check-up. After intense testing, his heart was pronounced healthy and he was medically cleared for a comeback.

Renewed in 1995, convinced that his heart had been healed by God, he returned to the ring to fight Ray Mercer, the 1988 Seoul Olympics gold medalist. On May 20th, Holyfield dropped Mercer in the eighth round, proving to the world that his heart and his spirit were both strong.

In November of that same year, Holyfield suffered the first knockout of his career in a non-title bout against Riddick Bowe.

Instead of giving up and bowing out of boxing, he continued to push himself.

The following year was a bittersweet one, marked by pain and triumph. Annie Laura Holyfield, who her son describes as his hero and his inspiration, passed away. Then Holyfield fought on the third card of a triple-header, completely dominating Bobby Czyz, a former middleweight champion.

Also, in the summer of 1996, Holyfield's Olympic experience came full circle when he carried the torch at the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, held in Atlanta.

In November, he finally met Mike Tyson in the ring, knocking him out in the eleventh round. In a 1997 rematch, still considered one of the most bizarre fights in history,

Tyson bit Holyfield on one of his ears and lost a point. After biting Holyfield on the other ear, Tyson was disqualified.

By 1999, WBC World Champion Lennox Lewis was ready to take on Holyfield. Their March match was declared a draw after twelve rounds. A rematch eight months later went to Lewis, with Holyfield losing by a unanimous decision.

When Lewis was stripped of the WBA belt in 2000 for failing to defend his WBA title against top-rated contender John Ruiz, the WBA declared the title vacant and ordered Ruiz and Holyfield to meet for the world title belt. In August of the same year, Holyfield won on a 12 round unanimous decision and made history by becoming the first boxer in history to be the world heavyweight champion four times.

When Holyfield defeated Ruiz in their first bout, Ruiz asked for a rematch, and Holyfield gave it to him. After the second bout, won by Ruiz, Holyfield asked for a rematch which Ruiz did not oppose. The third bout was declared a draw and Ruiz retained the title.

Next, Holyfield won a June 2002 match-up against Hasim Rahman. Six months later, he fought Chris Byrd, losing in a unanimous decision.

In his last bout, on October 4, 2003, Holyfield lost in the ninth, against James Toney.

Over the course of his career, Evander Holyfield has achieved great things in the ring, with even more to come. On November 13, 2004, he'll face 1992 Olympian Larry Donald at Madison Square Garden as a first step on the road to a fifth heavyweight championship title. Currently, he has a record of 38 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws, with 25 wins by knockout.