EASTON, Pa. -- Flossie Holmes, the mother of former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, has died at 78.

Flossie Holmes died of an aneurysm Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, her son said.

Larry Holmes said his mother raised him and his 11 siblings alone. Her husband, John Henry, died in 1970.

"To me and to the rest of my family, she was a great woman, a hell of a woman," said Holmes, who held the heavyweight title from 1978-85. "To bring us up all by herself for all those years, that's probably where we get our backbone."

"Flossie's," a restaurant in New Jersey formerly owned by Larry Holmes, was named for his mother.

Besides Larry, survivors include six sons, three daughters and two sisters.

The funeral is Wednesday in Easton.