Holyfield's pastor ordered to testify

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Holyfield's pastor ordered to testify

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A Fayette Superior

Court judge ruled Friday that heavyweight boxing

champion Evander Holyfield's pastor would be

required to answer questions relating to the

fighter's divorce proceedings.

Judge Ben Miller

effectively quashed a protective order previously

filed by attorneys for the Rev. Creflo Dollar of

World Changers International in College Park, a

ministry with some 20,000 members.

Miller gave

attorneys for Dollar and Janice Holyfield 10 days

to set a date for a deposition to be conducted

within 60 days, or the judge would set a date

himself.

Dollar was

subpoenaed to appear in June for a deposition,

but attorney Lecora Bowen filed a protective

order citing clergy privilege. Bowen claimed the

documents requested were "privileged and/or

burdensome, and create an undue hardship,"

according to court records.

Attorneys for

Janice Holyfield have requested that Dollar turn

over records from counseling sessions and Evander

Holyfield's financial contributions since 1990,

as well as documentation concerning the church's

positions on divorce, adultery and fornication.

Janice Holyfield's

attorneys contend that the fighter gave several

million dollars to the church in the last couple

of months leading up to March 26, when he filed

for divorce. His wife filed a counterclaim, and

the discovery process has led to the involvement

of Dollar and the church.

The champ has

fought five times since his marriage in 1996, and

his earnings during that time are estimated at

more than $90 million.

A motion also has

been filed for inspection of the premises,

meaning the Holyfield mansion on Old National

Highway, but that has not yet been ruled upon.

Janice Holyfield

now lives in a separate residence on the same

property. The Rev. Dollar's ministry is

well-known to viewers of Trinity Broadcasting

Network, which replays his sermons weekday

mornings.

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