Former world heavyweight champion boxer’s son makes WWE wrestling debut… as the 27-year-old follows in his father’s footsteps by appearing in the promotion

The son of a former world heavyweight champion boxer made his in-ring debut on Tuesday night.

However, unlike his father, the 27-year-old was not stepping between the ropes to make his professional bow in prizefighting.

Instead, the former American football running back has made the transition to the world of spandex and suplexes for his first appearance in WWE’s developmental territory NXT.

Elijah Holyfield, son of former undisputed cruiserweight king Evander, signed a developmental deal with WWE last month after a knee injury cut his NFL career short.

After representing the University of Georgia at collegiate level, Holyfield spent time with the Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals between 2019 and 2022 but did not progress beyond the practice squad.

On Tuesday he made his professional wrestling debut in a dark match prior to NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Elijah Holyfield, son of former heavyweight champion Evander, appeared during an NXT event

27-year-old had previously played American football before a knee injury curtailed his career

Taking on fellow former American football player Anthony Luke, Holyfield wrestled under his real name – something that is somewhat of a rarity among fresh recruits in the company.

Pictures taken from the match appear to indicate that both Holyfield and Luke will feature in the upcoming reality TV show ‘WWE LFG’ which is set to be broadcast in early 2025.

The series is set to see existing stars mentoring aspiring talents as they compete to earn WWE contracts.

While Elijah’s debut marks a first in his career, his father is no stranger to the world of WWE.

In 2007, Matt Hardy had been scheduled to face his on-screen rival Montel Vontavious Porter in a boxing match at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

However, after MVP was forced to withdraw through injury, he was replaced by Holyfield who turned on the villainous MVP before congratulating Hardy inside the ring.

Elijah is one of Evander’s 11 children, that also includes light middleweight boxer Evan Holyfield.