Evander Holyfield

High school

Fulton High School

Hall of Fame

⭐ International Boxing Hall of Fame

Evander Holyfield was born on October 19, 1962, in Atmore, Alabama, but his mother moved the family to the Summerhill neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia when he was very young, and Holyfield considers himself fully a product of Atlanta. He attended Fulton High School in Atlanta and developed his boxing skills at the Boys Club in Summerhill, where he learned to fight from trainer Carter Morgan. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Holyfield won a bronze medal in light heavyweight boxing — though most ringside observers believed he had won the bout in which he was controversially disqualified in the semifinals. He turned professional in 1984 and went on to become the first four-time heavyweight champion in boxing history: he won the undisputed title in 1990 by stopping Buster Douglas, lost it to Riddick Bowe in 1992, regained it from Bowe in 1993, lost it to Michael Moorer in 1994, and then — in one of the most shocking comebacks in sports history — knocked out the undefeated Mike Tyson in 1996 to become champion again. The Holyfield-Tyson rematch in 1997 produced one of the most infamous moments in boxing history when Tyson bit off a portion of Holyfield's ear in the third round and was disqualified. Holyfield won the heavyweight title a fourth time in 2000 against John Ruiz. Known for his extraordinary heart, devout Christian faith, and brilliant counterboxing skills, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017. Grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.