In all thy ways acknowledge him
Evander Holyfield has bobbed and weaved his way into history, becoming the only 5-Time Heavyweight Champion of the World.
...and he shall direct thy paths
The youngest of nine children, Evander Holyfield was born on October 19, 1962, in the mill town of Atmore, Alabama.
His mother, Annie Laura Holyfield, moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia, several years later. By the example that she set, Mrs. Holyfield taught her children that hard work was key to reaching their goals, thus establishing a quality that Evander Holyfield would exhibit in every aspect of his life.
As a child, Holyfield had dreams of representing his new hometown on the football field as an Atlanta Falcon. With his mother's encouragement, and a membership at the Warren Memorial Boy's Club in southeast Atlanta, Holyfield started out on the 65-pound team as offensive fullback and middle linebacker on defense. He quickly distinguished himself on the field, but it was an 8-year-old's curiosity about a restricted area at the boy's club that led Holyfield to his athletic destiny: boxing.
After daily requests that were always turned down, Holyfield finally wore down Carter Morgan, convincing the coach to let him join the boxing team.
A fire was lit within him when Coach Morgan told him that if he didn't quit, he could become heavyweight champion of the world.
Under the guidance of Coach Morgan, Holyfield never lost a match between the ages of eight and eleven and, throughout his years as an amateur, he compiled an impressive boxing resume with a 169-11 record.
Holyfield juggled the two sports. His consistent performance during football try-outs earned him a spot on Fulton High's team. Unfortunately for the Falcons team of his dreams, Holyfield was more of a bench-warmer than a gridiron-guru. Frustrated, he decided to quit, but his mother had other ideas. "I didn't raise a quitter," she told him. He returned to the bench.
Finally, in Fulton High's last game of the season, Holyfield took to the field and impressed his coach and the crowd with his blocking skill and determination. Despite the late season accolades, Holyfield turned his full attention to boxing.
In 1983 he represented the United States in the Pan-American Games in Venezuela, where he won a silver medal. By this point in his career, he had achieved more in boxing than any other person in the state of Georgia, but his childhood dream of becoming heavyweight champion pushed him to achieve even more.
He followed the Pan Am experience up in 1984 by winning the National Golden Gloves Championship – with all of the wins by KO – and earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. With a strong patriotic spirit, he describes representing the United States at the Los Angeles games as feeling "almost like I went to heaven." He wasn't a black man or a boxer. He wasn't just an athlete, but a representative of his country. He was simply an American. He was an Olympian.
