Champion Boxer Holyfield To Get Statue Downtown

ATLANTA, GA — Evander Holyfield, the former world heavyweight boxing champion, will be immortalized in bronze in his hometown, Mayor Kasim Reed announced Monday. The city plans to raise a 9-foot statue to Holyfield, an Atlanta native, in Woodruff Park.

At a news conference Monday, Reed said the bronze statue of the boxer is part of Atlanta's investment in public art. In a $4.4 million program, the city is buying nine artworks that will be installed at sites in Downtown, Midtown and Southwest Atlanta.

Calling Holyfield one of the city's "treasures," Reed said that great cities like Atlanta should have great art that's accessible to all people, WSB-TV Channel 2 reported.

The Holyfield statue is in production and will be raised in January in front of the Flatirons Building off Auburn Avenue, Channel 2 reported.

Image: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, left, announces plans Monday for the statue of boxer Evander Holyfield, center, at a news conference (City of Atlanta).