LAS VEGAS – A motivated Evan Holyfield needed only 16 seconds to stop Nick Winstead in his pro debut Saturday night.
Holyfield, a son of legendary heavyweight Evander Holyfield, knocked down Winstead about 12 seconds into their scheduled four-round junior middleweight match. Referee Robert Hoyle stopped the action as soon as Winstead went down.
The 22-year-old Holyfield, an Atlanta native who trains in Houston, scored his quick knockout on the Canelo Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev undercard at MGM Grand Garden Arena. He landed a hard right to the body, three hard right hands to Winstead’s head, a left hook up top and another right hand to the head before the overwhelmed Winstead went down.
Winstead (0-2), of Abita Springs, Louisiana, has lost both of his pro boxing bouts by TKO. He protested to Hoyle for stopping their fight so quickly as soon as he stood up.
Holyfield is promoted by New Jersey-based Main Events, the same company that helped his father reach mainstream stardom in the 1990s. Evander Holyfield watched his son’s impressive debut from a ringside seat.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
