Evander Holyfield’s son is making moves in the WWE world (Picture: Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
The son of boxing icon Evander Holyfield has taken his first steps in WWE.
The 62-year-old former world champion, whose fights with Mike Tyson went down in history, will be a proud father today after his 27-year-old boy Elijah Holyfield stepped out in front of a wrestling crowd for the first time on Tuesday night.
He recently put pen to paper on a contract with the sports entertainment giant after a knee injury cut the American footballer’s NFL dreams short.
On Tuesday, he performed in a ‘dark match’, an untelevised bout, before this week’s episode of NXT in front of a packed crowd at the WWE Performance Center.
He took on fellow athlete Anthony Luke in the match, with some fans sharing photos online showing that Holyfield is using his real name in wrestling.
For a long time, that was a rarity in WWE as the company preferred to own the rights to their superstar’s likeness, but they have been more open in recent years.
Elijah Holyfield has made his WWE debut (Picture: WWE)
Elijah is choosing wrestling over boxing (Picture: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Before turning his attention to wrestling, Holyfield represented the University of Georgia at collegiate levels, before joining teams like the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite targeting an NFL career between 2019 and 2022, he didn’t make it past the practice squad, and is now headed for the squared circle.
His match this week was filmed to be part of upcoming WWE reality TV show WWE LFG (Legends and Future Greats), which will show rising talent battling to earn a WWE contract while being mentor by the likes of Triple H and NXT boss Shawn Michaels.
Evander’s battles with the likes of Mike Tyson are legendary (Picture: John Gurzinski /AFP via Getty Images)
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They’ll be joined weekly by regular coaches The Undertaker, Booker T and Bubba Ray Dudley and Mickie James.
‘Literally filled with blood, sweat, and tears, there’s never been a series that combines in-ring action, behind-the-scenes reality, high-stakes drama, and some of WWE’s greatest icons all in one package,’ said Rob Sharenow, President of Programming, A+E Networks.
‘From total unknowns to legends, LFG will give viewers a raw, ground-up, 360-degree view of what it truly takes to make it in the WWE.
‘Our collaboration with WWE has clearly struck a chord with audiences, and we’re excited to continue producing premium content that resonates with a diverse viewership.’
His son isn’t following in his boxing footsteps (Picture: Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
The former world champion has his own experiences in wrestling (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Experience Abu Dhabi)
Meanwhile, Evander Holyfield has his own history with WWE, going way back to 2007.
At the time, wrestler Matt Hardy was meant to face MVP – who joined the AEW roster earlier this year – in a boxing match at that year’s Saturday’s Night Main Event.
MVP withdrew due to injury, and was replaced by Holyfield, only for the boxing icon to turn on him and align with Hardy.
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