Evander Holyfield is a boxing icon whose exploits are known the world over, and not just for being the recipient of Mike Tyson’s infamous bite.

The American powerhouse began fighting professionally in 1984 and, remarkably, only retired as recently as 2011.

His longevity may have tainted his record, with a number of defeats towards the end of his career, but he is almost unanimously recognised as one of the all-time greats.

Holyfield was recently named the 6th greatest heavyweight boxers of all time by none other than Eddie Hearn.

He certainly never dodged a fight throughout his illustrious career, despite the fact that the majority of his opponents were taller and heavier than him. Holyfield was 6 foot 3 inches and weighed 98.9kg for the majority of his fights.

In an era synonymous with great heavyweights, Holyfield fought the likes of George Foreman, Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis, as well as Tyson, in arguably the strongest period in heavyweight boxing history. 

LAS VEGAS - APRIL 10: Evander Holyfield celebrates his eighth-round TKO victory over Francois Botha in their heavyweight bout at the Thomas & Mack Center April 10, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

When he did eventually decide to hang up the gloves and call it a day, his record read: 44 wins, 10 losses, 2 draws.

Following retirement from a sport that requires such dedication and intense training regimes, you would be forgiven for thinking that boxers may want to deviate from that lifestyle and let themselves go somewhat.

A recent post on Holyfield’s Instagram account shows that he has done the complete opposite of that, however.

Despite his age, and the fact that he has been retired for 11 years, Holyfield is in outrageously good shape and looks as though he could step into the ring with a moment’s notice.

Holyfield, who is the only fighter in history to claim the world heavyweight title on four separate occasions, captioned the photo: “THE GRIND NEVER STOPS."

The picture proves that he is certainly not lying, as does the one he posted last year, which can be seen below when he was 58.

Nicknamed ‘The Real Deal’ throughout his career, it looks as though Holyfield has continued to live the boxer lifestyle post-retirement.

Perhaps this is partly due to the fact he never really wanted his career to end; with boxing regulators taking action to revoke his licence as his abilities wavered in the twilight of his career.

He is certainly a man dedicated to his craft and his physique is evidence of that.

You would be hard pushed to find many 59-year-olds in as good shape as Holyfield.