Boxing icon Evander Holyfield says he’s “not broke,” and that he’s always taken care of his children, despite reports this week that the three-time world champion’s 109-room mansion in Fairburn was in foreclosure and that he’s behind in child support payments.
“I’m not broke. I’m just not liquid,” Holyfield told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday. “I do feel kind of sad because things have always been positive and now everybody wants to jump on me like I’m the worst person in the world and I went out and blew all my money.”
Jessica McGowan/AJC
The foyer of former heavy-weight boxer Evander Holyfield’s house is decorated in gold and burgundy colors for the holiday season in this 2005 photo.
Associated Press
Evander Holyfiel, left, sends a right to current WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov during the WBO heavyweight boxing title match at the Khodynka Arena in Moscow, late Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007. Ibragimov retained his WBO title Saturday with a unanimous points decision over Holyfield.
• Fayette County news
Holyfield appeared on the verge of losing his home, which sits on 235 acres just south of the Fulton County line, after a foreclosure notice appeared in Wednesday’s Fayette Daily News. Lien holder Washington Mutual, demanding full repayment of a $10 million loan, had scheduled an auction on July 1.
On Friday, Philip Hasty, an attorney for Shapiro & Swertfeger in Atlanta, the law firm representing Holyfield’s lending company, confirmed that the estate is no longer up for auction. Hasty said that the change happened Thursday morning but he declined to comment further.
Holyfield would not elaborate on the foreclosure listing but said “everything is alright with the house now.”