Larry Holmes On Marciano, Louis, Ali And Tyson

[Keleneki]

Too bad that Holmes comes across with such a poor attitude much of the time. He is still my favorite heavyweight though, followed by Foreman, Tyson, Ali, Frazier, Holyfield and Lewis, in no particular order. Holmes would have utterly destroyed Esch if he was even 5 years younger! Sorry time for some sleep.

[TheGreat1]

I think he made great points, Those fighter where pretty small and taking alot of shots from small HW's. there is no way most of those guys could take heavy shots like that from VK/WLad/Brewster/Peter/Rahman. It just wouldn't happen. Floyd Patterson was great but his size and strength showed when he fought Sonny Liston.

[brownpimp88]

After reading this I think Butterfly and Larry Holmes are the same person....



EL: A little word association, tell me the first thing that comes to mind. I’ll start with Rocky Marciano?

LH: He was a good fighter, strong and powerful for his size and from what I have seen and heard he was a very determined fighter. You can’t put those guys like Marciano or anyone else in with today’s class of fighters. Fighters today are much bigger, stronger and quicker and not only that but referees, judges and doctors back then were very strict and if your head got busted up the fight would be stopped.

EL: Joe Louis?

LH: Joe Louis was a good Heavyweight, good boxer but he was kind of in the same boat as Marciano, weighing about 190 to 200 lbs. The guys today are just too strong and back then they would take many hard punches to land one. I don’t think Joe Louis could take the punches today fighting in this era.

EL: Muhammad Ali?

LH: Muhammad could take a very good punch. He was slick, he could move, he could hit, make you miss, good hand speed and combinations and one of the greatest fighters of all time in my opinion. He would have been tough for anyone to beat including me. With both of us in our prime I still think I would have won. It would have been very tough.

EL: Mike Tyson?

LH: Mike Tyson would have been a good sparring partner for me and Muhammad Ali because Tyson was a fast fighter and he could punch and throw good combinations. Those guys were made for me and Muhammad because they come straight in and don’t back up but you had to watch out for his punching power but if we could have neutralized that then we would have been fine.

I completely agree with everything larry holmes says. He is my favourite heavyweight, always will be.

[Greatest_D]

I hate when people say **** like; "those people from back then couldn't touch people from today. if today's athletes went back, they'd be gods among men!" O'rly? You do realise they wouldn't have had the same benefits of more advanced training and such, right? So unless they were genetic freaks they'd be on par in terms of physical attributes. I hear this all the time about other sports, mainly football and it pisses me off. "OMG (X) c0uld g0 bak and pwn t3h n00bz LOLZ!!1!11" is so damn BORING!

[butterfly1964]

I hate when people say **** like; "those people from back then couldn't touch people from today. if today's athletes went back, they'd be gods among men!" O'rly? You do realise they wouldn't have had the same benefits of more advanced training and such, right? So unless they were genetic freaks they'd be on par in terms of physical attributes. I hear this all the time about other sports, mainly football and it pisses me off. "OMG (X) c0uld g0 bak and pwn t3h n00bz LOLZ!!1!11" is so damn BORING!

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[Verstyle]

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hey butterfly u hear about that 1 dude

[QueensburyRules]

After reading this I think Butterfly and Larry Holmes are the same person....



EL: A little word association, tell me the first thing that comes to mind. I’ll start with Rocky Marciano?

LH: He was a good fighter, strong and powerful for his size and from what I have seen and heard he was a very determined fighter. You can’t put those guys like Marciano or anyone else in with today’s class of fighters. Fighters today are much bigger, stronger and quicker and not only that but referees, judges and doctors back then were very strict and if your head got busted up the fight would be stopped.

EL: Joe Louis?

LH: Joe Louis was a good Heavyweight, good boxer but he was kind of in the same boat as Marciano, weighing about 190 to 200 lbs. The guys today are just too strong and back then they would take many hard punches to land one. I don’t think Joe Louis could take the punches today fighting in this era.

EL: Muhammad Ali?

LH: Muhammad could take a very good punch. He was slick, he could move, he could hit, make you miss, good hand speed and combinations and one of the greatest fighters of all time in my opinion. He would have been tough for anyone to beat including me. With both of us in our prime I still think I would have won. It would have been very tough.

EL: Mike Tyson?

LH: Mike Tyson would have been a good sparring partner for me and Muhammad Ali because Tyson was a fast fighter and he could punch and throw good combinations. Those guys were made for me and Muhammad because they come straight in and don’t back up but you had to watch out for his punching power but if we could have neutralized that then we would have been fine.

- -Tubsy Lar commandeering Ali jock...only in boxing!

[HOUDINI563]

Holmes comments are mostly ****.

He is spot on the money regarding Ali. No surprise as he knew the era well and knew and sparred with Ali.

He could not be more far off the mark when it comes to Marciano and Louis. Size never bothered Marciano or Louis. Other side of the coin Holmes was a 210 pound heavyweight. This size difference would have zero to do with him beating either fighter.

Of course his remarks concerning Tyson are equally out in left field.

Marciano and Louis would knock out Holmes prime vs prime. Both with right hands. Tyson we already know koed an older Holmes. He would do so with a prime version but it would take longer.

[HOUDINI563]

In 1976 Holmes fought at 205 lbs. At 210 lbs Holmes was never as cut as prime Louis, Marciano or Tyson. At equal body fat Holmes would be a 200-205 pound heavyweight.

[QueensburyRules]

- -Ie a smallish cruzer.