Being Evander Holyfield

In this episode, we have former professional boxer Evander Holyfield, who reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight and then at heavyweight, talking about his childhood and his illustrious career.

He talks about the important lessons that her mother taught him early on, and about being bullied around as a kid. He agrees that his upbringing made him tougher and gave him the competitive edge moving into the future.

Evander also comes clean on how a house full of nine kids prepared him for his boxing career. He had his first training when he was eight and he was already trying to go to the Olympics when he was in high school…

He goes on to talk about confidence, coaching, and practice. 

Evander remains the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes. He talks about the struggle and the diet…

And then, he also talks about the time when Mike Tyson bit off part of Holyfield's ear in a professional boxing match in 1997.

Stay tuned for more.

Key Points of Discussion:

Evander was the youngest of nine - His siblings were tough on him (2:42)

He feels that his upbringing made him tougher (3:33)

How his siblings prepared him for his career (9:50)

When he first started fighting - the psychology (12:00)

His mom wanted him to stand up for himself (13:07)

In 1980, he was trying to make it to the Olympics. He made it in 1984 (14:39)

Confidence, coaching, and practice (17:49)

What Evander’s siblings say now (19:08)

His mom took away all the excuses (20:20)

The victory saga straddling two weight categories (21:39)

When Mike Tyson bit off part of his ear (23:28)

What was Evander’s diet like? (27:29)

His typical day when he used to fight (28:34)

“People who practise are always going to be better…” (32:17)

Additional Resources:

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