Evander Holyfield is one of the most decorated and well-known fighters in boxing history.
The former World Champion has won a number of big fights in his career and continued to fight professionally well into his forties. He has compiled many accomplishments over his lengthy career and will take a step towards the Boxing Hall of Fame on Friday, when he officially announces his retirement from the sport.
According to Sports Illustrated, Holyfield told SI.com that he plans to announce the retirement officially on his 50th birthday party, which he will hold in Los Angeles on Friday.
"The game's been good to me and I hope I've been good to the game," an upbeat Holyfield said Monday from his Atlanta home to SI.com. "I'm 50 years old (on Friday) and I've pretty much did everything that I wanted to do in boxing."
Holyfield is one of the best-known boxers of all-time, but fell out the spotlight in recent years due to old age and his desire to continue boxing deep into his forties. According to Sports Illustrated, "the New York State Athletic Commission banned him from boxing due to 'diminishing skills' in 2005, forcing Holyfield's more recent bouts to such inglorious outposts as White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., and Corpus Christi, Texas."
He has tried for the past few years to stage a fight with heavyweights Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko, but both refused to accept a fight from Holyfield.
"He is my idol," Vitali said in August, according to Sports Illustrated. "I can't do it for any amount of money."
Holyfield was never deterred, even without getting them to agree to a fight.
"Even at this old age I'm willing to fight the Klitschkos," he maintained Monday. "I can beat the Klitschkos, but they didn't want to do it. I can't make nobody fight."
He has one of the most decorated careers of any American boxer, holding four heavyweight titles over his 30 years in the sport.
Two of his most notable fights were against Mike Tyson, including in 1996 when he won as an 18to-1 underdog. Their second fight was even more well-known for the incident in which Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear during the fight. Tyson was disqualified for the move.
"It gave me the credibility that I was always looking for in boxing," Holyfield said Monday of an upset that Ring Magazine named Fight of the Year. "When I beat Tyson, that's when everybody said, 'He is the real deal.'"
Holyfield finishes his career with a 44-10-2 record. His resume has numerous wins over big-name boxers, including George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Michael Dokes and Ray Mercer.
He also was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team that won nine gold medals. Holyfield himself won a bronze medal after a disqualification.
"It made me feel that if you set goals you can reach them," Holyfield said of the Olympic experience. "It made me feel it was realistic to become heavyweight champion of the world. I had to go through more making the Olympic team [than becoming champion]. Once you turn pro and you have people on your team, they're going to get you [to the championship] whether you win or not, because they have something invested in you. When you're an amateur, you're on your own."
Holyfield was born in a small town in Alabama and made his professional debut as a light heavyweight in 1984. He became the first universally recognized World Cruiserweight Champion in 1988 after defeating Carlos De León at Las Vegas.
He spoke to Sports Illustrated about the future of the sport as well.
"If they really want to put American boxing back where it belongs, they would put boxing back on free television," Holyfield said. "When boxing was good, everybody watched boxing on ABC television. It was Howard Cosell's baby and he kept it on the front lines. Now we don't support our amateurs no more. Now [viewers see boxers who] look like thugs who just came up one day from out of nowhere. We need to go back to the Wide World Of Sports days when people saw interviews with little kids who couldn't do nothing but fight because they didn't have the education or the opportunity. They worked hard and they were doing something positive. These people became champions and they're the reasons why American boxing prospered."
Holyfield carried the Olympic torch in 1996 when the games were held in Atlanta and also was the linear heavyweight champion twice.
He will go down as one of the most successful American boxers of his time and said he felt good about his upcoming announcement.
"Nothing to be nervous about," he said. "The hard work is done."
