Evander Holyfield unretiring from boxing: “I’m a serious contender”
Less than two weeks after saying he is retiring from the world of boxing, former Undisputed World Champion Evander Holyfield changed his tune and now says he is unretiring from the sport.
According to reports, 50-year-old Evander Holyfield was leaving Boa in Hollywood this weekend when he made it clear to media outlet TMZ that he was just confused when he said he would already be retiring earlier this month. Now, Holyfield says he will go back to the ring and fight once again.
Evander Holyfield says he still believes he is a serious contender for the title.
When the famous boxer was asked how many more years he has left in the world of boxing, Evander responded, “I don’t know … one day at a time.”
Holyfield is known to be a former Undisputed World Champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight boxing divisions, earning him the nickname “The Real Deal.” After bringing home the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division during the 1984 Summer Olympics, he debuted as a professional boxer at the age of 21.
In 1985, Evander Holyfield moved to the cruiserweight division and won his first title the following year, when he defeated Dwight Muhammad Qawi for the WBA Cruiserweight belt. He would then go on to defeat Ricky Parkey and Carlos De Leon to win the Lineal, IBF and WBC titles, becoming the Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion. Holyfield then moved up to heavyweight in 1988, defeating Buster Douglas for the The Ring, Lineal, WBC, WBA and IBF titles in 1990.
Evander Holyfield holds other notable victories over boxing fighters such as; George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, Mike Tyson (x2), Michael Moorer, John Ruiz, Michael Dokes and Hasim Rahman. He is the only four-time World Heavyweight Champion, winning the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles in 1990, the WBA and IBF titles in 1993 and the WBA title in 1996 and 2000.