Was Larry Holmes made bitter by the lack of respect

[Dynamite Kid]

Was Larry Holmes made bitter by the lack of respect he got or would he have always been outspoken and and bitter regardless?

I get the feeling Larry would of loved to have been embraced and that he wouldn't of been as outspoken as he was if he had gotten his props that he deserved from the get go.

I think it made him bitter but by the same token i guess you could say it also drove him onto be great.

What do you think?

[CarlosG815]

I think some people are just like that.

Look at Paul Malignaggi. That guy gets more props than he even deserves and he never shuts up.

Joe Frazier was the same way and he got a lot of respect his entire career.

[Jim Jeffries]

Holmes and Mayweather Jr both learned the hard way that crapping on ATGs is not the way to garner respect from fans.

Larry gets plenty of respect these days though, most people have then in or near their top 5 ATG HW list, and consider him to have possessed the greatest jab in HW history.

[mhager91490]

Was Larry Holmes made bitter by the lack of respect he got or would he have always been outspoken and and bitter regardless?

I get the feeling Larry would of loved to have been embraced and that he wouldn't of been as outspoken as he was if he had gotten his props that he deserved from the get go.

I think it made him bitter but by the same token i guess you could say it also drove him onto be great.

What do you think?

I think that you're probably right, people didn't view his beating of Ali as a passing the torch moment, they seemed to think he was stealing it, a lot of people weren't ready to see their hero leave and Larry basically forced him out. I've always enjoyed Larry's style, more-so than Ali in all honesty but he wasn't as marketable as Ali, came along at the wrong time, beat the wrong guy to be on top and just wasn't as dominant a performer as Ali much of the time.

The only problem I have is with some of his fans, they relate the negative stigma he got during his career as an excuse to say that he is underrated. I have never understood how someone who is almost universilly rated in HW top tens, mostly in the top 5 is underrated.

[JAB5239]

Was Larry Holmes made bitter by the lack of respect he got or would he have always been outspoken and and bitter regardless?

I get the feeling Larry would of loved to have been embraced and that he wouldn't of been as outspoken as he was if he had gotten his props that he deserved from the get go.

I think it made him bitter but by the same token i guess you could say it also drove him onto be great.

What do you think?

Holmes would have always been outspoken in my opinion. I didn't like a lot of things he said but he never came of as a phony to me. He didn't just say things to get attention. I can respect that, he was real. I do agree some of that bitterness drove him to be a great fighter though. He was never willing to just lay down.

[miron_lang]

Holmes would have always been outspoken in my opinion. I didn't like a lot of things he said but he never came of as a phony to me. He didn't just say things to get attention. I can respect that, he was real. I do agree some of that bitterness drove him to be a great fighter though. He was never willing to just lay down.

As a kid. I hated Holmes for beating Ali. Ive always rooted againts him and was really dissapointed when he kayoed Cooney.

Now I realize that he's one the Great Heavyweights of all time. So many title defenses. TOP 5 at least of all time definitely at Heavy. Only Ali and Louis are clearly ahead of him.

[Ray*]

Holmes came in at the wrong time, He came when all the top guys in the 70's were going out and the problem was people didnt give much respect to the next generation coming through, He was bitter in a way because of that, He felt he could have compete and beat all those guys in their prime and in a way i think he would have compete with them.

[Dynamite Kid]

I think that you're probably right, people didn't view his beating of Ali as a passing the torch moment, they seemed to think he was stealing it, a lot of people weren't ready to see their hero leave and Larry basically forced him out. I've always enjoyed Larry's style, more-so than Ali in all honesty but he wasn't as marketable as Ali, came along at the wrong time, beat the wrong guy to be on top and just wasn't as dominant a performer as Ali much of the time.

The only problem I have is with some of his fans, they relate the negative stigma he got during his career as an excuse to say that he is underrated. I have never understood how someone who is almost universilly rated in HW top tens, mostly in the top 5 is underrated.

Holmes would have always been outspoken in my opinion. I didn't like a lot of things he said but he never came of as a phony to me. He didn't just say things to get attention. I can respect that, he was real. I do agree some of that bitterness drove him to be a great fighter though.He was never willing to just lay down.

That was an excellent was of putting it mhager91490.

Thats the thing i admired most about Larry Holmes JAB5239, if you were gonna beat him you would have to rip the title from him. I think there is something to be said for guys that earn what they have got instead of these fighters that get it given to them.

[BritishBoxing92]

Was Larry Holmes made bitter by the lack of respect he got or would he have always been outspoken and and bitter regardless?

I get the feeling Larry would of loved to have been embraced and that he wouldn't of been as outspoken as he was if he had gotten his props that he deserved from the get go.

I think it made him bitter but by the same token i guess you could say it also drove him onto be great.

What do you think?

larry holmes is very underrated...people didnt like him because he beat muhammad ali not even on points....the fight had to be stopped at the 11th round when the bell went...plus him and ali were sparring partners but holmes wanted to make it to the big time...people also forget that Holmes beat guys like George Cooney and Earnie Shavers..

[bojangles1987]

Larry Holmes had the unfortunate spot of following up Muhammad Ali, and no matter who that had been they would have faced constant comparison. Holmes wasn't as good as Ali, and the guy I'm sure heard it all the time.