Was Larry Holmes….”The Greatest”?

[butterfly1964]

Holmes wasn't the greatest. Ali beat far better competition.

Ali
Liston
Foreman
Tyson
Louis
Holmes
Frazier
Dempsey
Johnson
Lewis

[Mike Tyson77]

Let me get this straight. You're basing this synopsis on the fact that Mike kayoed a 38 year old Larry Holmes who was coming off a two year layoff?

Have you ever seen the Snipes or Weaver fights? How about Shavers II?

A prime Larry Holmes would've taken Mike Tyson to school and quite possibly stopped him in the second half of the fight. If Buster Douglas could knock Tyson out.....well.

Have you ever seen the Berbick or Spinks fights? How about the Holmes fight?

Larry Holmes could never beat a prime Tyson. Douglas.....HA! Ya I guess if there are rules that allow you to lay on the canvas for 11 seconds than maby. Maby if Tyson had stopped training for two years and came into fights with hangovers...maby.

[Mike Tyson77]

That list sucks in every concevable way.

Ya right. Jack Johnson would give Larry Holems a beating that would make him cry. Jack Johnson is the #2 greatest HW of all time.

[Easy-E]

Ya right. Jack Johnson would give Larry Holems a beating that would make him cry. Jack Johnson is the #2 greatest HW of all time.

Jack Johnson is extremly overrated. He was great at a time when no one else really was. I actully saw some of his fights this weekend and wasnt remotley impressed.
Ali, Louis, Foreman, Liston, Rocky, Holmes and other would have handled him with ease.

[SquareCircle]

Jack Johnson is extremly overrated. He was great at a time when no one else really was. I actully saw some of his fights this weekend and wasnt remotley impressed.
Ali, Louis, Foreman, Liston, Rocky, Holmes and other would have handled him with ease.

if it werent for johnson's knockout of tommy burns, Louis and Liston probably wouldn't have emerged. when johnson ko'd tommy burns, many, many more blacks became very, very interested in boxing.

bert sugar would have your ass for comparing HW's from separate eras when talking about how good a fighter was. he punked larry holmes on espn for doing that. BUt he's really right, it's about how well each of them did in their own era when you're talking about atg status. Good example is Gene Tunney who I rate higher than Joe Frazier on my ATG list,yet Tunney would get smoked by Joe no doubt. But Tunney did alot more and was a much more accomplished fighter,thus he earns a higher ranking.

[Mike Tyson77]

Jack Johnson is extremly overrated. He was great at a time when no one else really was. I actully saw some of his fights this weekend and wasnt remotley impressed.
Ali, Louis, Foreman, Liston, Rocky, Holmes and other would have handled him with ease.

I guess that's why Bert Sugar and just about every other Boxing historian has Johnson in the top 3. He had one of the greatest defenses in the sport. Not to mention one of the hardest counter punches(Stanly Ketchel came up missing some teeth after one).

Jack Johnson overcame the odds. He became the Baddest man on the planet at a time when black people where wrongly treated as second class citzens. Jack Johnson is truly one of the greatest. Hell, he was still winning fights in his 50's! 82-14-11 isnt a bad record either. Seeing how almost all those losses wheree in his early teens and mid 50's. He also had an 11 year unbeaten streak.

[butterfly1964]

I guess that's why Bert Sugar and just about every other Boxing historian has Johnson in the top 3. He had one of the greatest defenses in the sport. Not to mention one of the hardest counter punches(Stanly Ketchel came up missing some teeth after one).

Jack Johnson overcame the odds. He became the Baddest man on the planet at a time when black people where wrongly treated as second class citzens. Jack Johnson is truly one of the greatest. Hell, he was still winning fights in his 50's! 82-14-11 isnt a bad record either. Seeing how almost all those losses wheree in his early teens and mid 50's. He also had an 11 year unbeaten streak.

Yeah, Jack Johnson is a great fighter, but his power is overrated because people wore small gloves back then, plus johnson had a weak chin.

[Mike Tyson77]

Yeah, Jack Johnson is a great fighter, but his power is overrated because people wore small gloves back then, plus johnson had a weak chin.

Im not saying he's a power puncher, but he did score knock outs in most of his big fights.

Tommy Burns TKO14 (huge one side beating)
Stanly Ketchel KO12 (Knocked out his teeth, and ya he was a middle weight, but one of the greatest)
James Jefferys TKO15 (won every round)

[K-DOGG]

Have you ever seen the Berbick or Spinks fights? How about the Holmes fight?

Larry Holmes could never beat a prime Tyson. Douglas.....HA! Ya I guess if there are rules that allow you to lay on the canvas for 11 seconds than maby. Maby if Tyson had stopped training for two years and came into fights with hangovers...maby.

Of Course I saw Berbick and Spinks. What's your point? Holmes was far better than Berbick...he beat Trevor in his prime, ya know...and he was a better heavyweight in his prime than Spinks could ever hope to be. Spinks was a light-heavyweight with extra flesh and had never been hit by anyone with Tyson's power. Larry had. Shavers hit far harder than Tyson. The reason Mike knocked Larry out was because he was old and hadn't fought in two years. He never...NEVER...would have beaten a prime Holmes.

I understand you're a fan of Mike; and that's fine. Mike, at his best, was a great fighter; but he was no Larry Holmes. Larry Holmes had to pick himself off the canvas against Shavers and Snipes and stopped both of them a few rounds later. Mike never picked himself up off the canvas to win a fight, he faded down the stretch, and, ultimately, he was one dimensional. Larry had great stamina, picked up the action down the stretch, and was multi-dimensional. He simply had too much for Mike Tyson to deal with....too much. Larry would have beaten Mike. Mike might have given him trouble in the early rounds and might even have knocked him down; but Larry would have gotten up and finished Mike off down the stretch. There's no doubt in my mind on this issue.

[Mike Tyson77]

Of Course I saw Berbick and Spinks. What's your point? Holmes was far better than Berbick...he beat Trevor in his prime, ya know...and he was a better heavyweight in his prime than Spinks could ever hope to be. Spinks was a light-heavyweight with extra flesh and had never been hit by anyone with Tyson's power. Larry had. Shavers hit far harder than Tyson. The reason Mike knocked Larry out was because he was old and hadn't fought in two years. He never...NEVER...would have beaten a prime Holmes.

I understand you're a fan of Mike; and that's fine. Mike, at his best, was a great fighter; but he was no Larry Holmes. Larry Holmes had to pick himself off the canvas against Shavers and Snipes and stopped both of them a few rounds later. Mike never picked himself up off the canvas to win a fight, he faded down the stretch, and, ultimately, he was one dimensional. Larry had great stamina, picked up the action down the stretch, and was multi-dimensional. He simply had too much for Mike Tyson to deal with....too much. Larry would have beaten Mike. Mike might have given him trouble in the early rounds and might even have knocked him down; but Larry would have gotten up and finished Mike off down the stretch. There's no doubt in my mind on this issue.

Science my friend.....When Tyson hits you......you stay down. A prime Tyson had a fire in his eyes, a look that said, "Im gonna kill you." He just straight out broke people. He also had the best conner you could ask for until after the spinks fight. A young Mike just refused to lose.

I Pick prime Tyson to beat prime Holmes by UD.