Larry Holmes Lengthy Interview

Holmes didn't look too confident against Tyson. You can debate whether or not he feared Tyson; I personally think he was fearful of Tyson. But a lot of fighters were afraid of Tyson, so that's nothing to be ashamed of. And Holmes knew in advance about the Tyson fight. Larry was interviewed the night of Tyson/Biggs talking about the fight, so it wasn't as if Holmes didn't have adequate time to prepare (at least training camp-wise).

 

Holmes isn't intimidated just out matched. Youth prevails easily, Larry's veteran clinching only lasts so long. He shows up briefly in the early parts of rd 4 but just not the Larry we remember.

 

Larry wasn't in his best shape. He'd been out of boxing for some time. This has been all discussed in another thread.

 

If Holmes were intimidated, would that ruin your perception of him as a fighter or person?

 

Are you trying to convince me of your subjective opinion ? It wouldn't or doesn't make two shits on the way I would perceive him in or out of the ring. I feel that he wasn't intimidated, he was purely defensive the first 3/4 of the fight, so because he wasn't putting up on offensive display that made him fearful in your eyes I guess. I always remember Larry as not being a quick starter and when originally watching the fight he looked as if he was being smart for an old retired guy. He seemed to be feeling Mike out.

When Tyson fought Bruno the first time, people probably thought Bruno was doing good, Bruno clinched only to throw shitty illegal shots to the back of the head and rightfully getting points deducted eventually for doing so . I do not remember Larry pulling ***** **** like that. Did you think Evander was a great fighter or someone who's leading with his head was his best punch? My point is this, I define intimidation in the form of fighting illegally in order to gain advantage in a fight. Bruno and Evander fvckerfield did so which tells me they had to cheat to achieve higher ground . Holmes on the other fought clean and if anything it would and has done just the opposite of ruining my perception of him.

 

lol

 

Not sure where I was even going with this Anthony , a little too much drinky drink. I re watched the fight and he wasn't Larry that once was . I don't think he was scared though . Money motivated performance by Holmes, valiant but to no avail

 

He does not, he is just frustrated that a guy with such immense talents and god given gifts went out of his way to F it all up.

 

:good:good:good:good

 

I don't think when you've been through in that boxing ring what Holmes had gone through at the point he met Tyson, that you will be scared. The better part of your life has circled around that ring, sparring, learning, training, getting hit in the head constantly. The worst he can do is knock you out and make you look bad, and by scheduling this fight, I don't think that entered Holmes' mind.

I believe Larry thought he was gonna win by being smart, by holding, by doing a rope-a-dope like his idol, I dunno. But I think he was convinced he was going to outfox Tyson, wear him down, and take the fight.

 

I have a hard time believing Holmes was afraid of Tyson I think he doubted whether or not he could hold him off for 12rds. Remember Holmes had been fighting at championship level since 1978 he looked like he was more worried about how his legacy would be affected if he couldn't win. He had never seen any fighter that looked or fought like Tyson who was as unusual for that time as Liston was for his.

Holmes deserves to be seen as an all time great unfortunately he had to be his own advocate. The media was hard pressed to give the man credit for greatness and instead wrote articles blaming a weak era.

 

Great assessment! I remember reading boxing mags, books and articles as late as 1995 or so who still had Holmes barely scraping inside the top 10. Maybe it wasn't until after the Holyfield fight where he finally got his respect, from the fans cheering in the crowd to the media and magazine moguls.

 

I have the Larry Holmes autiobiography, "Against the Odds".

He says he was scared against Tyson. He didn't want to come out of the dressing room, he had clear feeling that he should call off the fight at the last minute, he knew he wasn't ready. It's in the book.
Holmes is a realist.

 

Watching Holmes in his prime I had the feeling no one could beat him at that weight 210 lb of crisp sharp combination punching. He would have been competitive in Ali, Foreman and Frazier's prime. If he didn't have to be the one to beat Ali like he did he would have been more popular but beating up on Ali killed his popularity. It was clear Holmes had all the respect in the world for Ali and when he knew the fight wasn't going to be competitive he waved the ref in the stop it. He was hitting Ali hard and at will. When the ref wouldn't step in he did everything in his power to force the stoppage without Foreman power Ali was just taking it. Holmes has been damned ever since. It's too bad too many fans missed realizing how great he really was when he was fighting. The man had the heart of a lion he took Ernie Shavers best overhand right got up and stopped him.

 

Holmes is one of those fighters that on his day he could beat any boxer.

If anyone wants to understand the importance of "the jab", they should watch Holmes against all of his opponents.