Editing Evander Holyfield (section)

===Comeback===
[[File:EHolyfield.jpg|thumb|Holyfield vs. [[Lou Savarese|Savarese]], 2007]]
Holyfield was initially criticized for his ongoing comeback; but he was adamant that his losses to Toney and Donald were the result of a shoulder injury, not of old age. Holyfield had looked better in his first four fights since Donald and appeared to have answered the critics who say that he lacked the cutting edge and ability to follow up on crucial openings that he had in his youth.

Holyfield defeated [[Jeremy Bates (boxer)|Jeremy Bates]] by TKO on August 18, 2006, in a 10-round bout at [[American Airlines Center]] in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]]. Holyfield dominated the fight which was stopped in the second round after he landed roughly twenty consecutive punches on Bates.

Holyfield defeated [[Fres Oquendo]] by unanimous decision on November 10, 2006, in [[San Antonio, Texas]]. Holyfield knocked Oquendo down in the first minute of the first round and continued to be the aggressor throughout the fight, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 116–111 and 114–113 twice.

On March 17, 2007, Holyfield defeated [[Vinny Maddalone]] by TKO when Maddalone's corner threw in the towel to save their man from serious injury in the ring.

On June 30, 2007, Holyfield defeated [[Lou Savarese]], knocking the bigger and heavier Savarese down in the fourth and again in the ninth round, en route to a unanimous decision win. This was Holyfield's fourth win in ten months, two of them by KO. This victory finally set the stage for Holyfield's title fight against [[Sultan Ibragimov]], for the WBO Heavyweight title.

====Holyfield vs. Ibragimov====
{{Main|Sultan Ibragimov vs. Evander Holyfield}}
On October 13, 2007, Holyfield was defeated by Sultan Ibragimov. Although unable to defy his critics by winning a fifth Heavyweight title, Holyfield refused to be backed up by the young champion and even rattled him in the closing part of the 12th round. The fight was mostly uneventful, however, with neither fighter being truly staggered or knocked down. In most exchanges, Sultan was able to land two punches to Holyfield's one. The result was a unanimous decision for Ibragimov, with scores of 118–110 and 117–111 twice.

====Holyfield vs. Valuev====
{{Main|Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield}}
He told [[BBC Scotland]]'s Sports Weekly "I'm gonna fight, be the heavyweight champion of the world one more time. Then I'm gonna write another book and tell everybody how I did it." On December 20, 2008, he fought, at the [[Hallenstadion]] in [[Zürich]], [[Switzerland]], the WBA Heavyweight Champion [[Nikolai Valuev]] for a paycheck of $600,000, the lowest amount he has ever received for a championship fight. At the weigh-in, he weighed 214 pounds, Valuev weighed a career low of 310 pounds.

Valuev defeated Holyfield by a highly controversial majority decision after a relatively uneventful bout. One judge scored the bout a draw 114–114, while the others had Valuev winning 116–112 and 115–114. Many analysts were outraged at the decision, thinking Holyfield had clearly won.<ref>[http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2491554&brand=null&videoId=3784246&n8pe6c=2 Dan Rafael Breaks Down Valuev's Win – ESPN Video – ESPN] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224122514/http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2491554&brand=null&videoId=3784246&n8pe6c=2 |date=December 24, 2008 }}. Sports.espn.go.com (December 20, 2008). Retrieved on October 3, 2011.</ref> There was talk of a rematch in 2009.

The WBA did their own investigation into the controversial decision;<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090729165421/http://sports-odds.com/fight/123008-nikolai-valuev-win-over-evander-holyfield-under-investigation.html Nikolai Valuev Win Over Evander Holyfield Under Investigation]</ref> "As the World Boxing Association (WBA) always cares about and respects the fans' and the media's opinion, the Championship Committee has ordered a panel of judges to review the tape of the fight between Nikolai Valuev and Evander Holyfield, for the WBA heavyweight title" read a statement from the WBA. The organization also expressed that they "will give a decision accordingly in the following weeks." Many speculated that an immediate rematch would be the most likely scenario, but this never materialised. Valuev lost the WBA title in his next fight against [[Great Britain|British]] boxer [[David Haye]].