Evander Holyfield’s Son Evan Works On Channeling Manny Pacquiao

Evan Holyfield, son of former world heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield, has admitted that he is channeling Manny Pacquiao’s skills.

After an impressive 16-second TKO victory over Nick Winstead on his pro boxing debut, Evan is bound to make his own name in a sport his father once dominated. And while the young Holyfield starts to follow Evander’s footsteps, Evan revealed that his style is more likely to resemble Pacquiao’s boxing than his own dad’s.

During a recent interview with Omnisport, Evan named the Filipino legend as the “other person” he looks up to in boxing aside from his father, Sporting News reported.

"The person I most look up to other than my father when it comes to boxing is Manny Pacquiao,” Evan said.

"I grew up watching him, and besides my dad, he's the one person who really got me into boxing,” Evan continued.

According to the 22-year-old rising boxing star, he feels like he was already able to copy some of the “footwork” of Pacquiao. He also noted that he’s still working on the speed and combinations of the eight-division title holder as he knows it’s “hard to duplicate.”

"I feel like I take a lot of stuff from him, including his footwork. Even though his speed and combinations are realty hard to duplicate, I try to work on that too,” Evan stated.

Looking back, Evan admitted that it took some time before it all became clear to him that his father is a legendary boxer. He even recalled how his father introduced him to boxing. And based on his recollection, Evander taught him and his brother Elijah a thing or two in boxing and before they knew it, they were already competing at a community multisport event in their home state that very same day.

"My Dad brought us downstairs and taught us the 'one-two,' and before you know it, me and Elijah were having our first fight. We ended up in a tournament on the same day at the Georgia Games," Evan recalled.

"When I think of my father as a boxer, it actually took a couple of years for it to soak in and for me to really understand him as a boxer. When I was younger I really only saw him as a father, Evan revealed.

Evan went out guns blazing in his debut. He landed a flurry of shots on Winstead from the outset and eventually knocked the 21-year-old down with a strong left hook. Referee Robert Hoyle immediately stepped in and called the fight.