Summary: He is an American professional boxer and a former Undisputed World Champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal." After winning the bronze medal in the Light Heavyweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics, he debuted as a professional at the age of 21. He moved to the cruiserweight division in 1985 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. <br><br> He moved up to heavyweight in 1988, defeating Buster Douglas for the The Ring, Lineal, WBC, WBA and IBF titles in 1990. He also had other notable victories over fighters such as: George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer, John Ruiz, Michael Dokes and Hasim Rahman. He is the only 4-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. <br><br> Raised without his father, he gave his life to Christ as a young boy. Early in life, he learned the power of prayer and turned to it when going through tough situations such as divorce, business failure, and the accidental killing of his older brother. On his boxing shorts and robe, he has the words inscribed, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." After one of his most famous fights with Mike Tyson, he said, "I prayed during training, I prayed when I got into the ring, I prayed when I was fighting him." He has often said, "Boxing is 90 percent spiritual and 10 percent physical. It's the spiritual aspect that gives the edge and an extra burst of energy to draw from. My victories are not achieved by my might, nor by my power, but by the Spirit of Christ who strengthens me." His name is Evander Holyfield.
