Legendary Boxer Evander Holyfield Reveals the Fighter Behind His Retirement Realization
Evander Holyfield knew exactly when it was time to lay down his gloves and call it a career.
Competing in four different decades, ‘Real Deal’ is considered by many to be one of the greatest heavyweights in boxing history. During his iconic career, Holyfield became a four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles. He also brought home a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
But even for the most elite athletes in the world, the time comes when their bodies can no longer deal with the rigors of training and competing.
According to Holyfield, he knew it was time to walk away after a sparring session with Mexico’s first heavyweight boxing champion, Andy Ruiz Jr.
“When I sparred that guy (Andy) Ruiz (Jr), and when he was 19 years old, he was able to tag me. I knew then,” Holyfield told Pro Boxing Fan, about what made him finally hang up his gloves.
Check out footage of their sparring session below:
Evander Holyfield’s return to boxing produced disastrous results
Holyfield kept his word for nearly a decade before deciding to come out of retirement in 2021 for an exhibition bout against UFC legend Vitor Belfort at the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
The decision proved to be disastrous for Holyfield.
‘Real Deal’ lost the bout via a first-round TKO, prompting an outcry from fans questioning how the bout was sanctioned. Especially after it was revealed that the original location for the fight, California, refused to sanction a bout with Holyfield in any capacity–exhibition or professional.
Despite the embarrassing loss, Holyfield tried to keep his career afloat, teasing a potential trilogy fight with heavyweight rival ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. When that didn’t come to fruition, Holyfield turned his attention to an exhibition bout with YouTuber and Misfits Boxing star KSI.
Fortunately, that didn’t come to fruition either.
If it was Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield for all the money in the world, we wouldn’t do that,” KSI’s representative, Mams Taylor, told talkSPORT last year.
