HOLYFIELD’S GREATEST OPPONENT NOT IN THE BOXING RING

During the past decade, Evander Holyfield has been a celebrated star in professional boxing arenas. His name and achievements will be indelibly recorded in boxing history books. Following his appearance at a Benny Hinn Miracle Crusade in Philadelphia, the three-time heavyweight champion’s prominence among Christians escalated as well. At the June 1994 crusade, Hinn claimed God was healing Holyfield’s heart of an alleged condition that forced him into early retirement. After his solidarity with the faith healer, Holyfield began to appear on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and at another of Hinn’s crusades, and at least one charismatic conference.

On TBN’s Praise The Lord show, Holyfield professed to be a devout Christian. With the help of Benny Hinn, Paul Crouch and others, Holyfield found himself ascending into Christian “superstar” status. He claimed his latest victories in the boxing ring were a result of the Lord’s help and his second wife, Janice. Holyfield had met Janice at the Philadelphia crusade where Hinn prayed to God for a wife for the boxing star and a mother for his children. The faith healer “prophesied” that his wife would come from among those attending the crusade. Janice, a medical doctor from Chicago, did volunteer work for Hinn. The two dated briefly and were married in October 1996.

However, particulars of Holyfield’s past and recent revelations of his current lifestyle should cause Christians to restrain from making him a superstar or role model. Holyfield married his first wife, Paulette, in 1985, a year after the birth of their first child. The couple broke up in 1991 with “infidelity” being named as a factor in the divorce.

Faithfulness to his present wife Janice has not risen significantly either. According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, prior to the birth of his first child with Janice, Holyfield confirmed “that he has fathered two children out of wedlock in the past year with previous girlfriends.” In all, the boxing champ has nine children: one with his wife, Janice; three with his first wife, Paulette; and five others born out of wedlock to four other women. In October, a paternity suit between Holyfield and Tamie Dewan Evans “was filed, settled and sealed all in one day in Fayette County [Ga.] Superior Court.”

The Atlanta newspaper also stated that Holyfield and Janice “have been in and out of counseling” since their marriage began. People magazine portrayed to its readers a veneer of marital bliss of the couple: “A fervent born-again Christian, Holyfield can see God’s fingerprints on every part of his life, especially his marriage to Janice ... What they are sure of is their marriage. ‘I always thought I wouldn’t want to be married again until after I stopped boxing,’ says Holyfield. ‘But the way God wanted it turned out right.’” The Journal-Constitution also reported that Holyfield “told Janice of his infidelity and the impending births and suggested they get divorced ‘quietly’ to spare her any humiliation.” She declined and the couple has continued to attend counseling. She was against Holyfield speaking publicly on his recent infidelities and issued a statement through her husband’s attorney: “Tell them Evander’s wife has forgiven him, and that’s all that should matter.”

In a September interview, Journal-Constitution reporter Jeff Schultz asked Holyfield: “Where is your marital situation now?” Holyfield responded: “I’m not going to talk about that.”

Holyfield himself was one of nine children born out of wedlock, the newspaper also reported.

—MKG

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