Is Larry Holmes the most underrated heavyweight of all time?

[mexicanstyle]

shavers would hurt anybody his punch was pure tnt.

[Dynamite76]

I think Larry is one of the most underrated fighters of all-time, but the main thing that hurt him, like Hagler in a sense, is that his division had the potential to be one of the best, if not the best of all-time, if not for Don King and drugs affecting the contenders.

[cfang]

Holmes underated in his time and overated now. Hes a level below ali. His best win is cooney. Really struggled with older shavers and norton. Great fighter with many great attributes but not with ali and Louis for me.

[HOUDINI563]

Having tough fights where you struggle and win allow a fighter to exhibit attributes of all time greatness. Without the war that was Holmes Norton, without the pole axe right hand from Shavers, Holmes would not have proved he had the will to win and toughness that marks the very best from ordinary.

[QueensburyRules]

holmes could easily be within the top 10 all time he was the klitchko of the early 80s he had no competition easily dominated during his era.

- -Ah, the fatal Lar syndrome still manifest!

Time for some of you to be woke.

Lar the same age as Big George but not part of that Golden era, nor was he part off the storied Tyson era other than a brief sacrificial lamb encounter like George was.

Never held more than a single belt in a multi belt era. That giant sucking sound after Ali, Frazier, George, and Kenny retired was Lar.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda ain't cuttin' the mustard.

[HOUDINI563]

Holmes is actually NOT underrated. He is always top ten ATG and typically top 5. He would beat most fighters as they could not stop his jab. Great heavyweights with strong defensive abilities and powerful right hands would greatly trouble Holmes.

[QueensburyRules]

- -Reiterated:

Lar a single belt holder in a multi title division he helped to spawn, so in no way did he face the best.

His title fight record against standing champs having won their belts in the ring:

0-6 if we include Neilsons IBO belt. I used to hold the forgotten Krakker Box title that I still own.

[HOUDINI563]

Wrong. Multi belts mean absolutely nothing. Just more of a chance that fighters undeserving of being called a champion become a champion. Holmes was the absolutely the new champion post Ali. He beat the three big names at that time...Norton, Shavers and then the unretired Ali. No one else had these credentials. He was the true champion until he lost to Mike Spinks. On the other side of the coin you had a tournament composed of none of the top names where John Tate emerged the winner. Tate had no, zero, nada claim to any championship. All those who came after him as such had no claim to the championship.

[QueensburyRules]

Wrong. Multi belts mean absolutely nothing. Just more of a chance that fighters undeserving of being called a champion become a champion. Holmes was the absolutely the new champion post Ali. He beat the three big names at that time...Norton, Shavers and then the unretired Ali. No one else had these credentials. He was the true champion until he lost to Mike Spinks. On the other side of the coin you had a tournament composed of none of the top names where John Tate emerged the winner. Tate had no, zero, nada claim to any championship. All those who came after him as such had no claim to the championship.

- -Did U watch the Ali fight?

Beware of trick questions!

[HOUDINI563]

Watched it live.

The point is by beating Ali, no matter the situation, Holmes legitimized his title. He beat Ali, Norton and Shavers. Tate beat Coetzee who had all of 22 total bouts at that time.