The City of Atlanta will honor hometown boxing champ Evander Holyfield with a ceremony and bronze statue, Mayor Kasim Reed announced late Monday.
I’m pleased to announce that the City of Atlanta will honor Evander “The Real Deal” @Holyfield with a bronze statue in recognition of his exemplary boxing career and his unwavering commitment to our City. pic.twitter.com/cTzCCDyC0d
— Kasim Reed (@KasimReed) November 28, 2017
Holyfield was crowned the cruiserweight and heavyweight champion in his nearly 30-year career inside the ring. Nicknamed “The Real Deal,” Holyfield is the world’s only four-time heavyweight title holder, gaining the belt the WBA, WBC, IBF boxing federations.
His most famous bout, without doubt, is his 1997 match with mercurial rival Mike Tyson. In that fight, Tyson infamously bit Holyfield’s ear in a savage episode that would ultimately put a dark cloud over Tyson’s career and the heyday of the sport.
Holyfield would go on to become a household name in America and crown prince of Atlanta. He would leave his mark on the area’s real estate with the purchase of a 44,000-square foot mansion in Fayetteville, Georgia just outside College Park.
The home, which features a 135-seat theater, 109 rooms, a 100-person dining room and a bowling alley, instantly became a tourist attraction as one of the most lavish homes on the East Coast and tops in the Southeastern United States.
In 2014, rapper Rick Ross purchased the home for $5.8 million in a foreclosure sale.
Today, the Holyfield name continues to be heard on the Atlanta-area airwaves as the boxing great’s son plays for the University of Georgia football team as a running back.