I watched his fight against Norton last night and was impressed with is jab but not so much withhis reluctance to throw power punches. What have being Larry Holmes greatest performances?
Good question Philly-Tough Before winning the WBC Championship over Ken Norton in June 1978 Best Performances; 1) March 1978.........(W Dec 12)... Earnie Shavers I 2) April 1976............(W Dec 10)...Roy 'Tiger' Williams 3) September 1977....(TKO 7).......Fred 'Young Sanford' Houpe 4) November 1977.....(TKO 10)......Dale 'Ibar' Arrington 5) October 1975.......(TKO 6)........Rodney Bobick 6) November 1973.....(TKO3).........Kevin Isaac Toughest Battle; 1) January 1977.......{W Dec 8}......Tom Prater Least Impressive Performance; 1) August 1975........{W Dec 10}....Charlie James 25 year-old, 6' 3" 209 lb. - Larry Holmes 15-0-0 (11 KO's) goes to Honolulu, Hawaii, for a Tuesday Night Heavyweight Fight at the Blaisdell Center. His opponent, 28 year-old, 6' 1" 186 lb. - Charlie James 22-5-1 (8 KO's). James, owns the Hawaii State Heavyweight Championship, but is really nothing more than a 185 lb. boxer-mover. He does though, have a good chin and can take a decent shot. Offensively, he has an OK jab, but nothing more. Larry Holmes, pounds Charlie James for 10-Rounds, and cannot stop the boxer-mover, who survives by not staying still. Though Larry Holmes wins his '16th' straight bout without a loss, the victory over Charlie James is 'far' from impressive, as the 6' 3" Pennsylvania-Heavyweight could not hurt or down a fighter he out-weighed by 23 lbs.
Thanks a lot. Interesting. The only name I recognise there is Earnie Shavers and Roy Williams (although I know nothing of Williams). Did he have any particular good performances over solid opponents in his title reign. I'm going to have to check out the fights you mentioned, I love watching fighters on there way to the top.
Philly-Tough,,,, Another good performance by Larry Holmes. His '7th Pro Bout', on November 28, 1973 The 24 year-old Larry Holmes 6-0-0 (2 KO's) at a 'skinny' 203 lbs. is brought in as opponent for the 'highly regarded' New York Prospect, Kevin Isaac 2-0-0 (1 KO). 18 1/2 year-old Kevin Isaac, is the 1973 New York Golden Gloves Champion, and many expect big things from this 6' 1" 188 lb.' 'hard-hitting kid'. In Round 1, a fairly even go, as both box and move. But in Round 2, the 'New York Kid' turns aggressive, and floors Holmes. Looking for another knockdown, Isaac gets caught by a Larry Holmes counter-shot, and is floored for this first time ever. In Round 3, 'Skinny' Larry doesn't back off, battering Kevin Isaac for a TKO 3.
Thanks again, theres no footage of that online, I may try and downloadd it if I can. What would you say his top 5 performances where in regards to his level of opposition?
Phiily-Tough,,,, In his World Heavyweight Championship Title Reign, I'd rank them #1... September 28, 1979...Earnie Shavers II No one else could have gotten up from that 'right-hand bomb' in the 7th Round. #2... June 11, 1982.. Gerry Cooney Clearly a 'FOTC' type of bout #3... June 9, 1978... Ken Norton Winning the WBC Championship, in one of the 'gutsiest bouts ever'. #4... February 7, 1992... Ray Mercer A 42-plus year-old, comes back to defeat one of the 'toughest mother-efers' out there. #5...October 20, 1980... Muhammad Ali Put to an end, any question that Muhammad Ali was finished, and there would be no more 'controversial and unjust decisions'. Muhammad Ali, was in fine fighting condition, and many had picked the 3-Time Champion to defeat Larry Holmes, and some by Knock-out. That bout showed many, that Larry Holmes would have been a 'nightmare' for Muhammad Ali anytime in his career.
I'd also add his bouts with Ocasio and Leon Spinks. He was very sharp in those fights. His jab was just blazing fast and powerful against Ocasio. You'll never forget it if you watch it.
YES,,,,,,,,,Muhammad Ali had said so himself. 'That he would beat Larry Holmes, because he was in peak physical condition, better than he had been in 6-years'. Trainer, Angelo Dundee, and Manager Herbert Muhammad wouldn't have put Muhammad Ali in the ring against Larry Holmes, unless he was 'fit and ready', and capable of winning.......
The opening betting line had Larry as the 3-1 favorite, as per the sports books. By as the fight neared closer, an 'avalanche' of minimal money bets came pouring in,,,, which had the betting-odds at near 'Even' at fight time. Muhammad Ali, had looked 'excellent' in training, in the week leading up to the Championship bout. So much so, that Art Rust Jr. 'Radio Sportscaster' predicted a 5th Round Knock-out for Muhammad Ali. 'I've just seen Muhammad in a sparring session. And, I have to say, that I have never seen him punch so hard. He is sitting down on his punches, he is now a hard puncher, not a fleet-footed boxer. No way will this bout go long, as Muhammad has way too much power for his former sparing partner.'
He really had an extreme amount of interesting old articles. Always a nice read and sometimes a good laugh, I miss him. But he also posts on the boxrec forum as Ill Duce.
For me, Tex Cobb deserves mention. Holmes had previously shut out Berbick [at least on my card, as well as that of ringside judge Joe Swessel], but Trevor's aim was to snap Larry's record eight fight HW defense stoppage streak [as I expected], not to attempt winning the title. [This survival ploy did work for Berbick, sustaining career momentum which lasted for years. The Mercado starching and Caldwell draw where only two years in the past then, and Trevor only had John Tate for a high profile win at the time. Going the distance with Holmes got him to Ali and Page, and he was on his way.] Tex was out to win, at home in the Astrodome, at a time when it was speculated Larry's stamina might be fading. Holmes proved he could manage 15 as well as anybody, so much so that nobody in the press I recall reading dared suggest an imminent boxing obituary after Holmes-Witherspoon [instead dismissed as an anomaly, an off-night for Larry, combined with an overachieving one for Tim]. Holmes himself has said he was probably in the best trained condition of his career for Cooney, but I think he may have been in best fighting form for Cobb. [I do not remember anybody willing to bet on Tex failing to last the distance. Everybody settled in with enough beer and chips for 15 complete rounds. We just laughed at Cosell's histrionics.] Larry won 34 of the 36 minutes of Shavers I. I'd tell fans unfamiliar with Holmes to watch Shavers I, Ocasio, Cobb [only after having them read Flash Gordon's brilliant post fight analysis to preempt Cosell's ulterior self-serving bias, which I'd also make sure to thoroughly explain beforehand], then Mercer. Beyond that, I'd have them watch the first ten rounds of Norton, then ask them whether or not they agreed with Mercante that Larry should have had it sewed up by that stage of the bout. Paul Poirier is an interesting second career choice after Mercer. Holmes essentially defeated him with a single rib cartilage breaking body shot, a manner of stoppage Ali never could have managed. Poirier said that right hand [which can be seen rippling through Paul's entire torso upon impact] was the hardest single punch he was ever hit with, surpassing anything Stewart and Tucker landed on him.
