Where do you think Larry Holmes shoud be on a P4P list and HW list?

[Sugarj]

My reason for strongly believing Frazier would `smoke` Holmes is that Frazier in his fight with Ali in 1971 was relentless and also he showed in his fight with Ali in Manilla that he was an unbelievable pressure fighter and Holmes is not in the same league as Muhammad Ali was in 1971, Ali hit Frazier with well over 1000+ punches but Frazier done all the damage up close, i cannot see how Holmes could keep Frazier off of him as he does not have the footwork or the speed of punch that Muhammad Ali had, Ali used his uppercut very effectively against Frazier but it was not enough and with Frazier's bobbing & weaving style it is very difficult to keep him off with the jab no matter how good your jab is Frazier slips it and gets inside and IMO that would be curtains for Holmes

Hell, We're both fans of the Fight of the Century and I guess we both differ in our assessments. But Frazier didn't do very much in the first four rounds of that fight........and to be honest Ali wasn't particularly fleet footed either after round one.

Frazier may well have been able to beat Holmes that night, but not in the first four rounds. He'd barely started smoking at that point, I think I gave him a share of round 3 but to be honest he only started to catch fire in round 5.

Thrilla in Manilla too, granted Frazier did some good body work in round 3 while Ali played Rope-a-dope. But round 5 was Frazier's first dominant round.

I know your not much of a fan of Holmes's dancing, but his leg speed and mobility in the first Shavers fight and also in the Cooney fight too (a few years later) at least to me seem, superior to Ali's in 71 (For me Ali didn't really get his legs back till Norton 2, a couple of years later).

Frankly Holmes's dancing in Shavers 1 is an excellent lesson in fast, elusive footwork. I think it'd be a while before Frazier was blasting in left hooks with any real consistency. That said, 15 rounds is a long time to stick and move. Frazier's chance would arrive at some point......I just dont see it as being remotely early on.

[VibesMan]

I rate Larry very highly. Number 3 on my HW list but I grew up watching the guy so I'm maybe a little biased.

Ali ranks above him for obvious reasons and Louis has to for longevity alone.

Holmes is the HW I come back to most often when considering HW H2Hs. I honestly see him beating Louis, Dempsey, Foreman, Holyfield.

His resume was hardly electric but has some good names on there as well.

I just think his mix of jab, decent power, great recovery skills and will to win is a great mix plus you have to respect his time at the top.

The fact he lost to Spinks does cloud his legacy a little as he was still a live champion regardless of the fact he was past prime. People can argue he should have got the nod but the facts are he let it be a fight that was close enough to go either way (certainly first time)

The one I'd love to see prime4prime is Tyson - Holmes.

Sometimes I see Holmes jabbing Mike to a standstill in about 10 but sometimes I question whether Mike just gets home too fast and often. He may not have hit Larry harder than Shavers but I do think he connects more often.

Anyway, a great fighter.

[r.burgundy]

top 5 heavy for now.top 30 fighter all time