When talking about the greatest heavyweight fighters in boxing history, you can never count “The Real Deal” out. Evander Holyfield ruled the boxing world in a time when the competition was at its fiercest since the days of Muhammad Ali. And the craziest part about it was that Holyfield wasn’t a natural heavyweight. He was a cruiserweight. Let that sink in for a moment.
Yes, Holyfield was smaller than most of his heavyweight rivals, and yet, he managed to defeat most of them. He became the undisputed champion in two weight classes, and holds the distinction of being the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world.
Holyfield began his championship run at heavyweight when he defeated Buster Douglas, the first man to beat the legendary Iron Mike Tyson. From there he would go on to do battle with the likes of George Foreman, Michael Moorer, Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe. He would also destroy Mike Tyson, twice.
The strength of Holyfield was his toughness and his will. He would enter a boxing match with a plan, but would end up going toe-to-toe and winning against bigger opponents. Very few fighters, such as Bowe and Lewis, had success against Holyfield’s fan-friendly style, but they never had it easy.
Holyfield had the will of a champion and the strength of a warrior, and that’s why he forever will be The Real Deal.
Michael Volitich is a Creative Writing student from the University of Florida. He loves writing about sports and the greatest athletes of all-time. Check out this blog for more sports-related stuff.
Michael Volitich 
