Holley Mims was a highly-regarded middleweight during the 1950s and 60s. His overall record 64-27-6 (13 KOs) meant that he spent much of his career ranked among the top ten middleweights. Among his notable fights was a loss to Rubin Carter

Rubin Carter

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter fought professionally as a middleweight boxer from 1961 to 1966. In 1966, he was arrested for a triple homicide in the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey...

 in 1962, a fight that he took on one day's notice (he had, in fact, flown in to New York on the same day of the fight). Mims dropped Carter in round four. As a result of the loss, he dropped out of Ring Magazine's list of the top 10 middleweights contenders.

Mims died of a kidney ailment at the age of 42. He was survived by a wife and two children.