holyfield was born in atmore, alabama. he became a professional boxer in 1984 and won the cruiserweight championship from dwight muhammad qawi in 1986. he moved to the heavyweight division in 1988 and won the world championship from james "buster" douglas in 1990. he defended the title three times, including fights against former champions larry holmes and george foreman. he lost the title to riddick bowe in 1992 but won it back the next year. in 1994 he lost to michael moorer and briefly retired. he soon fought again, however, and surprised many by knocking out mike tyson in 1996. he had a draw against lennox lewis in 1998 and then lost a rematch to him in 1999.