Those of you who are fight fans and have seen Evander Holyfield in the ring will probably be stunned to learn that until he was 17 years old, he had considerable fear of boxing. As a matter of fact, he said he was astonished that he ever boxed at all and had even decided that by the time he was 18, he would quit because he knew he could get hurt fighting.
Early in his career, as a slender 147-pounder, he was decked with a left hook. But he got back up and tore into his opponent with fury. Later, he had a dream about the incident and realized he had suffered no pain and actually had felt slightly euphoric from his counterattack. From that moment on, Holyfield had no fear of getting hurt.
This, in part, explains his utter lack of fear in facing Mike Tyson, the man who had used intimidation as his prime weapon to bully his opponents into believing they had no chance against him.
Holyfield, however, a man of great faith, is a disciplined fighter. He lives a clean life, trains exceptionally hard, listens to the advice of his trainers and handlers and has developed the ability to punch and take a punch, which makes him a worthy champion. In his first Tyson fight, Holyfield took Tyson’s best shots early and delivered even better shots in return, winning the championship.
Interesting, isn’t it, that Holyfield’s career really started after he had been knocked down? Message: When we get “decked,” we need to use it as a springboard to get up and climb to greater heights. Apply that lesson, and I’ll see you at the top!
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