:deal This is how I see it. If forced to fall off the fence one way or another, I would land on Holmes sisde. I think it would be extremely close...and although I think Larry gets sold short on here recently especially H2H, I find Max a bad style match-up for him. I would love to see this one.
Yeah, Holmes is some unbeatable superfighter who wins fights against Top20 hws by default and Louis was green when Schmeling beat him. Makes more sense than Schmeling beeing a tough stylistic match-up and this fight beeing close.
Shavers hit him a clean shot with that right hand once and I give Larry props for weathering it - Max, due to a far better delivery system, will hit him once a round and therefore has a BETTER chance imho. I like Larry but Max is a scarier fighter for him than Earnie.
I respect Schmeling. A tough guy, a gentleman and heroic figure, who handed the Great Louis his first loss. I just dont see Schmeling countering or boxing his way to victory unless something unforseen happens during the bout. Holmes has to many tools.
Holmes has many tools and is a higher class of figher. No doubt about that. But hist best tools are what Schmeling feeds of and his biggest weakness is Schmeling´s biggest strength. It´s an aweful, aweful stylematchup. If there is a figher made to beat him, stylewise, it´s Schmeling. The only reason I don´t pick Max to do so, is because Holmes´physical advantage and his "skill" to be at his best when hurt. That is a close fight, and I guess a very fascinating one, and one where I don´t know who to pick. It´s Schmeling´s style-advantage versus Holmes´ physical advantages. I don´t know what will prevail but what I am sure of that it won´t be easy for either one and that it will be close though.
No. Not happening. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=162Qk7ARqNY&playnext=1&list=PL211F4F67CB226D7E[/ame]
Schmeling was green when he fought Sharkey the first time round, and based his entire style thereafter on re fighting this fight. It was this fight specificaly that prompted him to develop tactics for countering the jab.
Why do people think Holmes only has a jab His jab was great but he has every punch in the book, throws them in combination and has speed in all of them, his right maybe quicker than Schmellings, its a great counter punch in his own right, and he can throw it as a counter uppercut too, not looking good if you're a smaller man And when has Schmelling ever fought someone with a jab in the realm of a Larry Holmes and please don't say Louis, who couldn't control competant opponents with a jab As for people talking about Holmes beign susceptable to being ko'd, well in his prime he never was, Schmelling was Schmelling was robbed son
Holmes excelled at controling the tempo of a fight with the Left Jab. A punch he was quite proficient at throwing as he used it copiously. Sharkey demonstrated that Schmeling could be hit by the Left jab and that it was an effective punch to use against him. Sharkey easily outboxed and controled their 1st bout and reduced Schmeling to lunging tactics and swinging at the air. I expect that Holmes, with an infinately better Left than Sharkey, better footwork, along with his physicality, and arguably the better boxer, would make the same fight against Schmeling while cruising to a realitively easy UD reguardless of Schmelings counter punching ability.
Holmes´right was not faster than Schmeling´s. Get some glasses, mate. But yeah, that´s what I want, if you pick Holmes don´t do it as some instinctive reaction but give some reasons like this dude did. Schmeling´s not Butterbean, ya know? Schmeling never fought someone with a jab like Holmes that´s true, Louis had a great jab though and Schmeling took it away. Holmes never faced a stylistical disadvantage like he would in Schmeling though. That´s why I think it will be a very, very tough fight for him and I don´t know who I´d pick. Who said Holmes was susceptable to beeing KOed? People say he could get knocked down and that´s true. Ah, yeah, wonder why Sharkey couldn´t repeat the same feat in their second fight despite Schmeling fighting an aweful fight. Can it be because Schmeling improved and adapted?