Boxing great Larry Holmes has never felt fully appreciated in his Pennsylvania hometown of Easton.

Decades after succeeding Muhammad Ali as heavyweight champ, Holmes is finally getting the bronze - a 9-foot bronze statue.

Holmes plans to be on hand this weekend as a high school marching band leads a parade in his honor and a monument to the "Easton Assassin" is unveiled and dedicated.

Now 66, Holmes grew up in Easton and never left, despite a long, lucrative boxing career that took him to the pinnacle of his sport. He built a business empire that included office buildings and restaurants and devoted time and money to youth organizations.

Holmes says it's "mind-boggling" that a seventh-grade dropout could rise to such heights.

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