A world champion on four separate occasions, the resident of Atlanta, Georgia is entering the final stages of a career which has seen him dominate both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.

At the same time, he has also found time to spread the word of the Christian faith.

After his stuttering efforts in the first fight with Lennox Lewis, many observers felt the time was right for Holyfield to call it a day.

The argument went that he has achieved enough and should retire with his health and reputation intact, rather than once again face a 245lb behemoth like Lewis.

Holyfield and Bowe: Good friends before the bell rings

Taking the easy road, however, has never been in the 37-year-old's make-up.

The youngest of eight children, Evander Holyfield was raised by his mother Annie in circumstances of poverty.

By the time he had graduated from high school, Holyfield was working at Atlanta airport for $2.60 an hour whilst training for a career in sport.

Holyfield's original aspiration of a career in American football was dashed when he was told that he was too small. So he turned to boxing.

By 1984, he had compiled an amateur record of 145-17 and a place as a light-heavyweight in the Olympic team that went to Los Angeles.

After marching to the final four, Holyfield seemed on the verge of securing a place in the final when he knocked out his New Zealand opponent Kevin Barry with a perfect left hook.

The problem was that the referee had already cautioned both fighters to stop boxing. Barry was awarded the bout via disqualification and Evander had to settle for a bronze medal.

He immediately turned professional under the banner of New Jersey's Main Events, the promotional organisation that had already signed gold medallists Pernell Whittaker, Mark Breland, Meldrick Taylor and Tyrell Biggs.

Veteran trainers Lou Duva and George Benton were to be his cornermen.

Holyfield regained his title for the second time against Bowe

Making his debut in November, 1984, at New York's Madison Square Garden, the venue of his upcoming fight, Holyfield decisioned veteran Lionel Byarm over six rounds.

His progress was swift, and after just 18 months and 11 fights, he beat veteran Dwight Muhummad Qawi for the World Boxing Association cruiserweight title.

The bout went the full 15-round distance, with Holyfield seemingly on the point of exhaustion from the fifth onwards, but then rallying to win a split decision in front of his home crowd at the Atlanta Omni.

After six more fights, he was the owner of the WBA, WBC and IBF titles and seemingly unbeatable at 190 pounds.

He was ready to move up to heavyweight, with the ultimate aim being a fight with Mike Tyson.

With the help of strength and conditioning coach Tim Hallmark, he grew from 190 to 210lbs within a period of a year.

He began his campaign with a fifth round knockout of veteran contender James Tillis in June 1988, and from there defeated six ranked opponents to earn a No 1 ranking.

When his title shot came, it was against James "Buster" Douglas, the man that had knocked out Mike Tyson at the start of the 1990s.

Holyfield and current trainer Don Turner

In October 1990, at the Las Vegas Mirage, Holyfield dutifully disposed of Douglas after three rounds to become the heavyweight king.

But the stress of being champion soon caught up with him - his wife filed for divorce, and he began attracting criticism from the boxing press for for failing to knock out George Foreman and Larry Holmes, both former champions in their 40s.

In November 1992, he lost his titles to Riddick Bowe after a bruising 12 round encounter, and announced his retirement.

But he found it hard to stay away from the ring, and after hiring Emmanuel Steward - the current trainer of Lewis - he was offered the chance to regain his titles.

A year after losing his crown, he decisioned Bowe to recapture the WBA and IBF belts.

But within six months, he was the ex-champion, after losing to Michael Moorer.

A post-fight examination would diagnose Holyfield as having a heart defect, and once again he announced his retirement.

The bite

Subsequent tests would call that diagnosis into question, and after passing a series of medical tests, he resumed his career in May 1995 with a 10-round win over Ray Mercer.

Later that year, an eighth round knockout loss to Bowe seemed to finally signal the end of his championship days.

But in November 1996, just six months after losing his mother in a car crash, he produced a career-best performance to knock out Tyson in 11 rounds and reclaim the WBA title.

So unexpected was the victory that one could have got odds of up to 25-1 on the challenger winning.

Since then, Atlanta's favourite son has been involved in the ear-biting fiasco with Tyson whilst avenging his loss to Moorer with an eighth round stoppage.

Now remarried and the father of ten children, he hopes to enter the new millennium as the undisputed champion, and the huge figure of Lewis stands as his only obstacle.

But irrespective of what happens on November 13, the veteran fighter has guaranteed his spot in boxing and sports history, and he took no shortcuts.