Does anyone know if Larry Holmes

[{Pito}]

Was left handed? Asking because his right hand didnt seem that great and his left arm was always much more defined and larger than his right.

[Counter Troll]

Holmes had a GREAT clubbing right hand as well as a great right uppercut which he scored several brutal knockouts with.

But his left jab was the most widely used and most effective tool in his arsenal. I think he had more power in his right hand though.

[Tommo1]

He was more of an accumulation KO performer. He was a pure boxer, he did not possess a great right hand at all by comparison to real punchers. I like Holmes but Larry was a dead man whenever he ran into Tyson.

His success against Mercer is admirable at his age. His experience certainly showed. The comebacking Foreman also wanted nothing to do with the comebacking Holmes. Wisely. I think Holmes would take the big lummox!

All in all though Holmes is a great example of how boxers performances are affected by the weight of their opponents. His KO powers drop off dramatically as his opposition gets heavier, whilst genuine KO'ers like Foreman, Tyson, Lewis and the Klitschko's are only slightly affected by the weight.

[joseph5620]

Was left handed? Asking because his right hand didnt seem that great and his left arm was always much more defined and larger than his right.

Definitely not left handed.

[Ray Corso]

toommo1 you really need to study up on dates of fights!! Holmes fought Tyson far beyond his best years! If they fought in their primes Tyson would be lucky to get out with a win!!! Holmes will always be rated above Tyson and the reason is his over all courage and willingness to win which was Tysons down fall!

As to right hands, Holmes had a great straight right thrown behind his great jab and as already noted his inside upper cut was outstanding!!
Holmes had excellant technique and was a true warrior after following Ali who was a tuff act to follow! Ray


I think I remember seeing Larry sign something with his left hand, not positive

[Hop]

"His (Holmes's) left hand was like most boxers' right hand."

-- Earnie Shavers (a bloke who knew a thing or two about powerful punching)

[CHEECH]

i dont know if he was or was not left handed but both hands were thrown straight and fast like lasers, not hammers. also, at his best he was always boxing on balance and not jumping or leaning in on his right cross which imo is why he landed his shots like lasers n not ko powerpunches. larry's like the poster example for y u dont hang around too long. tho he's seems to b in good shape for an older guy, his legacy has suffered as so many think more of the holmes who lost to tyson or outpointed mercer than they do of the master who beat contender after contender during his title run

[Tommo1]

I have seen his early fights and you are correct he fired his shots like lasers, he was an excellent boxer like a rattlesnake.

But you have to look at his competition. A solid bunch of bums.

People look at his Tyson fight and Mercer win because these were his best opponents. It also seems like his decent win opponents in the 80's showed he could not KO them or KO'd them very late. In fact the Witherspoon fight is controversial whether Holmes even won!

Also you can't hide that Holmes lost 2ce to Spinks! That's like Lewis getting done in by Moorer, Wladimir getting done in by Mormeck, or Vitali getting beat by Adamek or Ali getting beat by Quarry not 1ce but 2ce!

[GeneralZod]

I have seen his early fights and you are correct he fired his shots like lasers, he was an excellent boxer like a rattlesnake.

But you have to look at his competition. A solid bunch of bums.

People look at his Tyson fight and Mercer win because these were his best opponents. It also seems like his decent win opponents in the 80's showed he could not KO them or KO'd them very late. In fact the Witherspoon fight is controversial whether Holmes even won!

Also you can't hide that Holmes lost 2ce to Spinks! That's like Lewis getting done in by Moorer, Wladimir getting done in by Mormeck, or Vitali getting beat by Adamek or Ali getting beat by Quarry not 1ce but 2ce!

When you go through 48 heavyweight fights and 20 successful title defenses, chances are you might not be the same man after all that.

[Tommo1]

Yeah no you are right there Zod, I didn't mean to come off unfairly there. He has an admirable record and a true great.

Spinks in all fairness was a good opponent for Holmes anyway and I rate Witherspoon anyway.

I guess what can be said about Larry can also be said about Lennox too, he had a controversial win against Mercer and struggled with some opponents you'd think he'd blow away at the time too.

That's boxing!