all holmes had to do was shoulder roll the right had wich he did very effectively many times follewed by an uppercut left hook combo.. he new it was coming ...
And yet he got caught by it many many times even though he knew it was coming..... sigh
I'll tell you the truth, if it weren't for the thorazine in his system in 1980, the Ali-Holmes fight would have been a much closer contest. I think Holmes would still have one a pretty easy decision; but even and old Ali was cagey.
Holmes never faced the beast Ali was when he stopped Williams or beat up Terrell. Ali's tremendous natural ability in his prime would have been too much for Larry, IMHO. Even in Round 8 of their "fight" in '80, Ali, for one fleeting moment, got up on his toes and started snapping the jab, and caught Larry with a double jab, which visibly pissed Larry off. If an old man who's strenght was sapped by drugs can even have a moment of success against a young Holmes in peak condition and at the peak of his game, what do you think a 25 year old Ali would have done?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Muhammad would have an easy time with Holmes by any stretch of the imagination; but I do think he'd beat him.
Okay..So larry holmes beleaves that he is the best heavyweigh of all time and that he doesnt get his credit because he lived in muhammad alis shadow. Now larry holmes was an amazin fighter. He won a fight against butter bean when he was 52 YEARS OLD. Now i know butterbean is no world class opponant (although alot of people think he is) But this is still an amazing feat. He boxed him for 10 whole rounds. Some boxers in there 20`s get winded in 4 round fights. He was in his 50's!!! Not too mention in his prime he beat names such as Ken nortan in a 15 round SD, earnie shavers 12 ud and a 11 rd tko, He beat MUHAMMAD ALI (albeit he was well past his prime), He beat Leon spinks in a 3rd round tko. This is an impressive resume. The guys an amazing fighter. Now Larry Holmes in my opinion gave himself far too much credit, with statements like "rocy marciano couldnt carry my jock strap." But i do belave his skills have been lost in the shadow of muhammad ali.
What do you guys thin? Do you think he diserves more credit or do you think he thought too highly of himself?
I have Holmes at number 6 on my list. he was pretty good, had a dominant career, but there were better heavyweights than Holmes.
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