Becoming Holyfield: A Fighter's Journey (Hardcover)

by Evander Holyfield (Author), Lee Gruenfeld (Contributor)
Key Phrases: baddest man, undisputed champ, Mike Tyson, Don King, Boys Club (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
With the help of Gruenfeld (The Street), Holyfield recounts the story of his career with remarkable honesty and surprising wisdom. Despite becoming the heavyweight champion of the world four times, Holyfield has had a lot of bad luck, from the questionable Olympic disqualification to suffering a heart attack in the ring. He's also candid about his struggles with relationships and monogamy, having sired almost a dozen children with nearly as many women. While he could have expounded further upon certain oddities-Rapper MC Hammer's brief stint as his manager, his daughter's decision to change her name and, of course, his role on television's Dancing with the Stars-what we get is a portrait of a true champion. In an age of whiny, arrogant athletes, Holyfield is a remarkably good sport, allowing his work to speak for itself, reserving judgment and forgiving every person who has wronged him-including Mike Tyson. The only thing he gets defensive about is retirement: he's adamant that his goal is to reclaim the heavyweight title, despite the potential health risks. This memoir is a testament to the strength of his desire and the purity of his drive.
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Product Description
History's only four-time world heavyweight boxing champion and one of America's most admired and beloved athletes reveals the dramatic story of his rise from poverty to the very pinnacle of the toughest sport on earth.

Barely able to make it into the heavyweight division and almost always the smaller fighter in the ring, Holyfield spent his professional career proving the naysayers wrong. Along the way he provided some of the twentieth century's most thrilling sports moments, not all of them on purpose. In Becoming Holyfield, he gives us the exciting inside story of defeating Mike Tyson, the self-proclaimed "Baddest Man on Earth," and then getting a piece of his ear bitten off in the rematch. We learn how it felt to become the undisputed champion of the world by knocking out the man who knocked out Tyson, and we find out what it was really like to be in the middle of a title fight and see a motorized parachute fly right into the ring.

There is heartbreak to go along with triumph, beginning with Holyfield's loss of an Olympic gold medal because of a highly controversial disqualification and continuing through his short-lived retirement following a misdiagnosed heart condition. Along the way we're treated to glimpses of such colorful figures as Don King and Howard Cosell and we come to understand the extra-ordinary power of love in shaping a young boy's life, and the love he tried to return. Holyfield made more money in the ring than any other fighter in history, and gave away millions to support the dreams of underprivileged kids looking for the same kinds of breaks that allowed him to become a champion.

Holyfield's immense popularity cannot be overstated, and it cuts across all ethnicities and socioeconomic classes. The top three highest-grossing sporting events in Las Vegas history were all Holyfield fights, and his highly rated appearances on Dancing with the Stars helped to ensure that show's success. Other fighters may have been bigger, stronger, or more flamboyant, but few could match Evander Holyfield's poise, grace under pressure, or commitment to serve as an inspiration to others.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atria; 1 edition (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416534865
• ISBN-13: 978-1416534860
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #806,000 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "EVANDER'S A GENTLEMAN - AS WELL AS A FOUR -TIME -HEAVYWEIGHT- CHAMPION!", March 8, 2008

By	Rick Shaq Goldstein "Rick Shaq Goldstein" (Danville, Ca, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This book makes exceedingly clear the benefit of reading an "AUTHORIZED" biography. Having Evander being quoted real-time in first person, rather than simply having an author present an accumulation of public knowledge information garnered from newspapers, magazines, and other media outlets, presents the reader with an intimate, insightful, personalized, tour through Holyfield's extremely interesting life. With Evander as your guide, he has the unique ability to lead you through his life in the sequence he feels is best suited to sharing and explaining the nuances of both his professional and personal life. As befits the only "FOUR-TIME-HEAVYWEIGHT-CHAMPION-OF-THE-WORLD" Evander pulls absolutely no punches. Whether regaling in pride about his victorious knockouts, his unbridled love and respect for his Mother, his earnings which broke boxing records that still exist today, or his boxing losses, his business missteps, and his mistakes with women, that led to multiple marriages and engagements, and how he now has a total of eleven children that he loves dearly.

Evander was born to a poor, black, single Mother and was one of nine children, one of whom died of pneumonia shortly after childbirth. One of the first major turning points in young Evander's life is when he was allowed to go to a Boys Club in Atlanta. Until that time Evander had dreamed of playing football for the Atlanta Falcons. Most of the adult volunteers at the Boys Club were white, and that became a lifelong influence as far as Evander being "color-blind", even though the notorious Don King called him an "Uncle Tom" years down the road. Evander met a white man there named Carter Morgan who not only taught him to box, but became the most influential person in his life other than his mother. From that point on the reader is taken through his amateur boxing career all the way to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Evander was robbed of his chance for an almost certain Gold-Medal in a decision that to this day is probably the most ridiculed insufferable decision in Olympic boxing history. After an official protest Holyfield was given a bronze medal, but he had never been beaten by a fighter, he was "robbed" by a Yugoslavian judge. While there was a near riot in the stands, Evander just stood there without expression, because that's the way his Mother raised him. After the Olympics Evander leads you step by step through his professional career and victories and championships, his losses, and his reclaiming the titles. And more important he tells you about the people that surround him outside the ring as well as inside it. He is "UNFLINCHING" in narration of his accomplishments and his mistakes. I'm sure of great interest to most potential readers are the famous fights Evander had with Mike Tyson and it's all here, including: exacting detail of the excruciating pain Evander felt when Tyson bit both his ears, with one of the bites resulting in the top portion of one of his ear's actually coming off. After the fight an employee found it on the ground and brought it to Holyfield's handlers in the locker room in a plastic bag. But you know what? Holyfield said a prayer in the locker room and immediately forgave Tyson!

There is so much more in this all encompassing biography, including Evander signing for the rematch with Tyson and getting a package "of about $34 MILLION IN CASH PLUS $1 MILLION WORTH OF OTHER STUFF." Research was done that said "IT WAS THE LARGEST AMOUNT EVER PAID FOR A SINGLE PERFORMANCE OF ANYTHING IN ANY FIELD ANYWHERE ON EARTH!" Evander also tries to explain the mystery that is the WBA, WBC, AND IBF boxing organizations on multiple occasions, and due to the nature of the beast, it is still "clear as mud"! I also give Evander credit for openly responding to critics of his faith, including Lennox Lewis regarding Evander's having kids out of wedlock. As befitting a true champion, Holyfield takes punches as well as delivers them. An excellent performance!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evander's Journey Is Unique And Worth Reading, April 24, 2008

By	E (Kansas City) - See all my reviews

A few days I ago I purchased a copy of Evander Holyfield's book Becoming Holyfield. I have always respected Holyfield despite what many critics have said about him in regards to fighting too long, his personal life, etc. This book gave a great insight from the man himself about his life growing up, the struggles he faced, his faith in God as well as his missteps in faith, his Mike Tyson days and many other things. I found this book to be very entertaining. There were a couple of run on sentences and misspellings but I enjoyed the book. As I read the book Evander talked about his family life growing up and how his mother and grandmother expected him to behave. The way he was taught how to act in times of good and bad made a lot of sense because you have never seen Holyfield really get mad or act a fool. When Tyson bit his ear, he jumped around in pain, but he did not try to get revenge or engage in the wild activity. That shows a lot about his character because most of us would have tried something. I found inspiration in the book as he talked about his struggles growing up in the south, his misfortunes in the amateur ranks as well as the Olympics. As he described how he felt and reacted to certain situations then to see how his positive attitude ended up working out for the best, it gave me a new respect for Evander. Sure he has plenty of kids, but when you read the book you understand why. You also see how even though he was always training and fighting, how he made sure his kids were disciplined properly and taken care of too. Like with most fighters, they have their issues with people in their camp not being truthful. Evander spoke of these things and also spoke of his forgiveness too. For instance how he forgave Tyson and a few other people in his past. This is a good book that I recommend. This book comes from the true source of the man himself and takes you behind the scenes to some situations you think you know about. You also get to understand the reason for his comeback and see how despite his many flaws how God has worked on this man. If you like to read or just like Evander Holyfield, I suggest you purchase this book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, April 10, 2008

By	L. Mattis "Rich Boxer" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was a very interesting book. I really enjoyed it. I think when we look back several years from now we will really appreciate Evander Holyfield more than ever. It is rare in boxing or any sport for that matter, to find a champion who carried himself with such class and determination. Evander Holyfield is one of a kind. I would recommend this book, especially for anyone who needs a great role model.