Boxing great Evander Holyfield now fighting crime, gangs

COBB COUNTY, Ga - Boxing great Evander Holyfield is embarking on his next great fight. This time he hopes to stamp out teen crime and gang violence.

Holyfield, The Real Deal Boxing, Cobb County law enforcement officials and the Boys and Girls Club announced the new program called "Knuckles Up, Guns Down. " It provides youth with a constructive way to channel their problems through the professional sport of boxing.

The champ told a group of Cobb County teens, the Boys Club saved his life at the age of 6.

"If I never went to that Boys Clubs, I would never be who I am today. That Boys Club saved me from the neighborhood that I stayed in," the 54-year-old told a group of Cobb teens.

The new program hopes to put Boxing rings back in the Boys and Girls Clubs statewide. They began in Chatham County in Savannah and are now working with officials in Cobb and Fulton counties.

The first fundraiser for the program happens Thursday, October 19 at The Georgia Freight Depot on MLK Jr. Drive. It is a Hall of Fame Tribute and the 55th Birthday Celebration for the Champ.