Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? - Page 3

Titan1 · 06-06-2012, 12:20 PM

Tony Tubbs also had comparable hand speed to Larry Holmes, but his jab wasn't as effective as Larry's was.Pinklon Thomas wasn't that bad in this area also.

Stevie G · 06-06-2012, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by he grant

His hands were extremely fast, period ... right up there with Ali and Patterson .. I remember multiple title defenses on HBO where Ray Leonard as commentator raved over Larry's hand speed ... he was a gifted fighter ...

Ali's and Patterson's handspeed was signifigantly faster.

Foreman Hook · 06-06-2012, 06:31 PM

If lil Floyd Patterson @182LBS can be included in teh discussion of fastest "heavyweight" hands, might aswell say a Primed 175LB $ugar Roy Jones JR who rehydrated to up to 190LBS of solid super fast-twitch muscle, was way way faster than anyone mentioned in this thread by far, yep even including 1966 GOAT Ali.

Foreman Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook!

he grant · 06-06-2012, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevie G

Ali's and Patterson's handspeed was signifigantly faster.

Prove it ... I disagree .. to begin with Ali and Patterson had completely different speed ... Patterson was like Tyson, exploding in bursts however rarely keeping a fast , consistent jab moving from the outside through out a fight .. Ali had a fast jab but half the time he slapped with his right or arm punched .. Holmes was lightning from the outside with consistency ..

John Galt · 06-06-2012, 09:38 PM

Agree with HE Grant about Holmes consistency. There have been a lot of big, quick heavyweights starting with Ali, then Holmes. Page, Dokes, Tubbs, Carl Williams, and others followed. All of them lost fights, but probably none of them ever lost at their best because their opponent was quicker. It's hard to say who was the fastest, but Holmes probably had the best technique/fundamentals of the big, quick heavyweights.

mochabuzz · 06-07-2012, 01:06 AM

Very snApping jab. Perhaps the best in HW history. People tend to rate him lower bc he was kind of an uneducated asswipe.... But if you can really be honest you must say thAt he was very quick & very smart.... PerhAps the best example of a fighter who worked hArd & utilized all of his talent.

MRBILL · 06-07-2012, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThinBlack

Larry had very fast hands for someone his size.But Michael Dokes and Greg Page could be said to be faster, especially Dokes, who did have that ,oh wow, factor.

Dokes had faster combo's than Holmes, but also lesser power.....

Page had good tools and skills up til around 1985, but then he went to hell in a hand bag...

Holmes ranks supreme in an over all sense.....

MR.BILL

Stevie G · 06-07-2012, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by he grant

Prove it ... I disagree .. to begin with Ali and Patterson had completely different speed ... Patterson was like Tyson, exploding in bursts however rarely keeping a fast , consistent jab moving from the outside through out a fight .. Ali had a fast jab but half the time he slapped with his right or arm punched .. Holmes was lightning from the outside with consistency ..

Ali also threw lightning fast combinations.

Vic-JofreBRASIL · 06-07-2012, 02:32 PM

Yes....I always thought that.....much faster than any other big man in history of boxing....

Senor Pepe' · 06-07-2012, 03:53 PM

Larry's left jab,,,,superior to anyone in quickness, accuracy and power combined.

Fastest hands,,,,the short-armed Michael Dokes.

Floyd Patterson was not as fast as Michael Dokes.

johnmaff36 · 06-07-2012, 04:44 PM

Of course he had fast hands. To suggest otherwise is nonsense

A.J. · 06-07-2012, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by he grant

Prove it ... I disagree .. to begin with Ali and Patterson had completely different speed ... Patterson was like Tyson, exploding in bursts however rarely keeping a fast , consistent jab moving from the outside through out a fight .. Ali had a fast jab but half the time he slapped with his right or arm punched .. Holmes was lightning from the outside with consistency ..

Wrong.

Holmes was "lightning"??? Hardly.

Holmes was a terrific hard jabber but an awkward right-handed puncher who sort of half arm-punched/half-clubbed with his right but rarely hit somebody with a snapping right to drop them. It was embarrassing that he couldn't drop the much smaller and frailer Michael Spinks in either fight, despite his age (he was still champ in the first one), and Holmes used his "clubbing" right all night both times. Whereas Ali could drop people with his right and did so numerous times.

To say Ali slapped, but Holmes didn't, is getting it backwards. Watch Ali-Williams for the best example, but by far not the only example, of correct combination punching.

Holmes had a hard, fast left jab, but no way is the fastest or best at anything technically. Nonetheless, he was a great champion and fine all-around fighter. But the more gifted men were Ali, Patterson, Tyson, Dokes, Louis . . . Holmes wasn't the best heavyweight at ANYTHING, including the jab. His jab was top-5 historically. Overall, his combination of skills and heart made him a great fighter nonetheless.

johnmaff36 · 06-08-2012, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J.

Wrong.

Holmes was "lightning"??? Hardly.

Holmes was a terrific hard jabber but an awkward right-handed puncher who sort of half arm-punched/half-clubbed with his right but rarely hit somebody with a snapping right to drop them. It was embarrassing that he couldn't drop the much smaller and frailer Michael Spinks in either fight, despite his age (he was still champ in the first one), and Holmes used his "clubbing" right all night both times. Whereas Ali could drop people with his right and did so numerous times.

To say Ali slapped, but Holmes didn't, is getting it backwards. Watch Ali-Williams for the best example, but by far not the only example, of correct combination punching.

Holmes had a hard, fast left jab, but no way is the fastest or best at anything technically. Nonetheless, he was a great champion and fine all-around fighter. But the more gifted men were Ali, Patterson, Tyson, Dokes, Louis . . . Holmes wasn't the best heavyweight at ANYTHING, including the jab. His jab was top-5 historically. Overall, his combination of skills and heart made him a great fighter nonetheless.

I wouldnt say Dokes was more gifted

Goyourownway · 06-08-2012, 03:16 AM

Holmes sharp and crisp punching is what always impressed me the most with him.He had pretty decent workrate in his prime but he rarely wasted any of his punches.Loved the way he systematically broke down Ossie Ocasio.

Sardu · 06-08-2012, 03:53 AM

Would have nice to watch Holmes against some of Ali's 70's comp. He was supposed to fight Lyle in early 78' but Ronnie ended up getting locked up for the murder of his then manager.

Lyle eventually beat the charge which you can read all about in his excellent auto-biography from 2010 - Against the Ropes.

Nevertheless, Holmes, despite being vastly underrated coming after Ali, could just plain fight! The man had a will or iron and was one mean and even sometimes dirty mofo in there. He kind of looked pear-shaped and didn't have the physique of Norton, Ali, Foreman, etc. But he could fight as well as any of them.

06-06-2012, 12:20 PM	#31
Titan1 Belt holder ESB Addict Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 4,416 vCash: 1000	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Tony Tubbs also had comparable hand speed to Larry Holmes, but his jab wasn't as effective as Larry's was.Pinklon Thomas wasn't that bad in this area also.
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06-06-2012, 06:31 PM	#33
Foreman Hook ☆☆☆ G$ora ☆☆☆ ESB Addict Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Thugz Mansion Posts: 4,378 vCash: 600	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? If lil Floyd Patterson @182LBS can be included in teh discussion of fastest "heavyweight" hands, might aswell say a Primed 175LB $ugar Roy Jones JR who rehydrated to up to 190LBS of solid super fast-twitch muscle, was way way faster than anyone mentioned in this thread by far, yep even including 1966 GOAT Ali. Foreman Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook!
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06-06-2012, 09:38 PM	#35
John Galt Journeyman ESB Jr Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 225 vCash: 500	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Agree with HE Grant about Holmes consistency. There have been a lot of big, quick heavyweights starting with Ali, then Holmes. Page, Dokes, Tubbs, Carl Williams, and others followed. All of them lost fights, but probably none of them ever lost at their best because their opponent was quicker. It's hard to say who was the fastest, but Holmes probably had the best technique/fundamentals of the big, quick heavyweights.
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06-07-2012, 01:06 AM	#36
mochabuzz Journeyman ESB Jr Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 247 vCash: 1000	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Very snApping jab. Perhaps the best in HW history. People tend to rate him lower bc he was kind of an uneducated asswipe.... But if you can really be honest you must say thAt he was very quick & very smart.... PerhAps the best example of a fighter who worked hArd & utilized all of his talent.
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06-07-2012, 02:32 PM	#39
Vic-JofreBRASIL Vic East Side VIP Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Santos Posts: 13,840 vCash: 1166	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Yes....I always thought that.....much faster than any other big man in history of boxing....
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06-07-2012, 03:53 PM	#40
Senor Pepe' Belt holder ESB Addict Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 4,734 vCash: 500	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Larry's left jab,,,,superior to anyone in quickness, accuracy and power combined. Fastest hands,,,,the short-armed Michael Dokes. Floyd Patterson was not as fast as Michael Dokes.
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06-07-2012, 04:44 PM	#41
johnmaff36 Champion East Side Guru Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ireland Posts: 6,828 vCash: 1000	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Of course he had fast hands. To suggest otherwise is nonsense
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06-08-2012, 03:16 AM	#44
Goyourownway Insanity enthusiast ESB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Challenging you and pushing your body to it's full limit Posts: 1,117 vCash: 500	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Holmes sharp and crisp punching is what always impressed me the most with him.He had pretty decent workrate in his prime but he rarely wasted any of his punches.Loved the way he systematically broke down Ossie Ocasio.
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06-08-2012, 03:53 AM	#45
Sardu RIP Mr. Bun: 2007-2012 ESB Addict Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 2,007 vCash: 1000	Re: Larry Holmes...Some of the fastest pair of hands for a big man? Would have nice to watch Holmes against some of Ali's 70's comp. He was supposed to fight Lyle in early 78' but Ronnie ended up getting locked up for the murder of his then manager. Lyle eventually beat the charge which you can read all about in his excellent auto-biography from 2010 - Against the Ropes. Nevertheless, Holmes, despite being vastly underrated coming after Ali, could just plain fight! The man had a will or iron and was one mean and even sometimes dirty mofo in there. He kind of looked pear-shaped and didn't have the physique of Norton, Ali, Foreman, etc. But he could fight as well as any of them.
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