Elijah Holyfield in following in the footsteps of his father, Evander

Holyfield. The six-year-old tae kwon do student at Oh Do Kwan Martial

Arts in Fayetteville fought in his first national tournament recently

and earned a gold medal.

Holyfield competed in the 2004 Junior Natioanl AAU Tae Kwon Do tournament

in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. There were 15 competitors in his division and

Holyfield fought in three matches, capturing come from behind victories

in each of the matches to win the title.

"In each of the matches, Elijah would be behind his competitor

and I'd have to remind him that he needed more points to win the

match and move on" said Joaquin Bonilla, head of Oh Do Kwan Martial

Arts and Holyfield's instructor. "He wanted to keep fighting,

so he mounted some very big comebacks."

Holyfield stated that sparring was his favorite part of tae kwon do.

He has only been sparring for a year, but he has proven that he can be

successful. previous to his participatin in the national tournament,

Holyfield earned a huge state championship trophy in March.

After winning the gold medal at the national tournament, Holyfield said

that he was very happy, as there were lots of pictures taken, high-fives

and hugs. His family was very proud of his accomplishment and Elijah's

efforts earned lots of praise, especially from his father.

"I'm very proud of him," said Evander. "He got tired,

but he stuck with it. He outworked the other kids."

Holyfield feels that the tae kwon do class, which his daughter, Eden,

also participates in, has helped reenforce lessons of discipline and

respect.

Bonilla aso offered lots of praise for the younger Holyfield's

efforts in the tournament, stating that Elijah has the "same heart

as his Dad." He continued by stating, "Elijah has the heart

of a champion. he did not want to lose and he wasn't going to lose."

The next thing for Holyfield to take on will be first grade at Landmark

Christian School, which he is looking forward to. When not practicing

tae kwon do, he enjoys playing football, baseball and track, riding horses,

playing drums or piano and swimming. He is a bundle of energy who aspires

to one day be a black belt. With the right coaching from his parents

and Bonilla, the sky is the limit.