New series shows life for the Wade, Cunningham and Holyfield families.
It’s possible you remember Zaire Wade from an adorable picture he appeared in before he could even shoot a basketball. It was taken, in fact, before his father, Dwyane Wade, even played an NBA game.
Pat Riley, then the coach of the Miami Heat, is holding Zaire as the toddler tries to grab his father’s jersey on the day Dwyane, selected No. 5 overall, was presented to local media.
And while Zaire never quite left the public spotlight — his various playing exploits were covered throughout his youth — we’ve never gotten the behind-the-scenes look at his life that a new discovery+ docuseries, ‘Legacy: In the Shadow of Greatness,’ will offer.
Set to release on March 8, with new episodes appearing weekly, the six-part series also tells the story of high jumper Vashti Cunningham and her father, Randall, and boxer Evan Holyfied and his father, Evander.
The series is directed by Jonathan Hock, an 11-time Emmy Award winner who directed five ESPN 30 for 30 episodes.
For The Win got an exclusive early look at the trailer for the new series:
Evander Holyfield said 22-year-old son Evan Holyfield can have great success in boxing if he’s willing to put in the work.
Hall of Famer Evander Holyfield said he doesn’t expect 22-year-old son Evan to live up to his legacy but then set the bar high for the younger Holyfield, a promising middleweight.
“Yung Holy” is 4-0 (3 KOs) since turning pro in November.
“Evan does not have to live up to my legacy, he has to live up to his,” Evander Holyfield told BoxingScene. “That’s what I tell him. He can be better than me, but is he willing to pay the price?
“Evan is a very knowledgeable kid. He had choices to do a lot of things. I told him, ‘Boxing is not for everybody.’ He told me, ‘Dad, I love it.’ Boxing is a tough thing to love, and you have to put the time into it. You need a lot of confidence to step into the ring.”
Evan Holyfield reportedly has taken part in only four official amateur boxing matches but he was a Tae Kwon Do champion and, he claims, he has spent much of the past decade as a gym rat.
He has weighed between 154 and 157½ pounds for his four pro fights but, at 6-foot-2, he could end up at 168 or heavier. His father, who is 6-2½, won the light heavyweight bronze medal in the 1984 Olympics and fought as a cruiserweight and heavyweight as a pro. He has talked about returning to boxing for charitable exhibitions at 57, possibly against former rival Mike Tyson.
The younger Holyfield, promoted by Main Events, is trained by Maurice “Termite” Watkins and works with conditioning coach Tim Hallmark, the elder Holyfield’s longtime teammember. Watkins reportedly was hospitalized with the coronavirus for a month.
“I told [Evan], ‘This is the time you have to work when nothing is happening,’” Evander Holyfield said. “When the curtain comes back up, it will be your time to make a leap. Another fighter’s mentality could be that, ‘This is a time to rest.’ As long as you’re in shape, you can take what they do, but you can give it too?”
He went on: “I know the game of boxing. A trainer is like almost being a father. You owe it to them with time. I can walk in there and say, you need to do this, this and this, because I’ve done it my whole life. I didn’t have anything else growing up.
“I didn’t have a dad who was the heavyweight champion of the world. I did not have a mom with a lot of money. I had to really focus. I gave my all to boxing, because that was the only thing I could do without any help.”
Evan Holyfield said his father is always available to him.
“He’s always there for me through advice,” he said. “We talk a lot, and bounce ideas off each other, all the way down to the business of boxing. If he sees something that I need to improve on, he’ll let me know. He tells me that each generation gets better.
“He wants me to be better than him. I’ve been wanting to chase this myself. It wasn’t a decision I made on a whim. Respect is earned, not given. I have to make a name for myself as my career moves along. I’m really cut for this, and actions speak louder than words. I’ve paid my dues.
“I’m not riding on my father’s name. I’m actually working for my own legacy. I want to be the first father and son tandem in the Hall of Fame. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
Evan Holyfield, the 22-year-old son of Evander Holyfield, ran his record to 3-0 with a first-round knockout on Saturday.
It’s beginning to look as if Evan Holyfield has more than a legendary last name. He’s got hands that move at a rate that land with power.
The speed-equals-power equation was evident in the young Holyfield’s third pro bout, a first-round knockout of Travis Nero on Saturday not far from the Daytona International Speedway in north Florida.
With his dad, former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield, and brother, running back Elijah Holyfield, at ringside, Evan ran over the overmatched Nero, knocking him down three times within 90 seconds of the opening bell for a swift stoppage in a junior middleweight bout.
It’s still a little early to judge just how good he is. He has faced no real challenge from his opposition. He wasn’t expected to.
Nero, of Norman, Oklahoma, is 1-6. In his second fight, Holyfield scored a third-round stoppage of Henry Mendez, who was making his debut. He scored a first-round stoppage of Nick Winstead in his own debut on the Canelo Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev card on Nov. 2. Winstead is 0-2.
His three opponents have only one victory. Yet in each bout, Holyfield, nicknamed Yung Holy, displayed an aptitude for boxing and a prospect’s kind of hand speed.
“With speed comes power, well sometimes,’’ Evan said before his quick work on a card promoted by Christy Martin. “But in my case, it does.’’
