Tyson, Holmes...who did think / want to win?

It was Tyson's time. Just about everyone was rooting for Holmes at the time,hoping the old champ could turn back time just as everyone was rooting for Ali when he came out of retirement to face Holmes eight years earlier.

 

Tyson at that stage was in the form of his life and was applying all the skills at his disposal. Tyson at his 100% was too much for Holmes at good 100%.

 

I was only 15 when this fight occurred, but even then I knew Tyson would win though I was pulling for Larry.

 

I was pretty neutral as far as support went. I,like most people,knew that Holmes was going to get thrashed. Tyson was in awesome form and Holmes was 38 years old coming off almost two years inactivity

 

i disagree that prime tyson would beat prime larry. Tyson enjoyed a HUGE intimidation factor over most of his opponents. You can forget that here. Of all the heavyweight champions I've ever seen, I could argue that, with the exception of Joe Frazier. Muhammed Ali, Sonny Liston, and George Foreman, Larry Holmes has shown the least amount of fear.

Tyson's record against "Holmes-like" opponents, is not very good.
Holmes' record against "Tyson-esque" opponents is very good.

In the beginning, Holmes would seek to neutralize Tyson's speed and power. You can forget the washed up version of Holmes who faced Tyson in 88. I know for fact that Holmes had only 4 weeks to train, after being out for nearly 3 years.

Neutralizing Tyson's speed would not be too difficult because it's his hands that are fast, not his feet. Holmes can move well enough to keep Tyson out of range with his jab and range. This would cause Tyson to miss a lot of punches early. It also allows Holmes to tie Tyson up when he comes close.

Everyone loves to think that the puncher will always score a knockdown before losing to the boxer. I hear this a lot with ALI against Louis or Marciano or Tyson. The truth is that it's not that easy for any of these fighters to knock down a prime ALI. It also would not be so easy to knock Holmes down.

By round 4, Tyson is becoming frustrated and throwing fewer punches. He's starting to slow down. Round 5 is a big round for Holmes. He's landing the jab with pin-point accuracy. The next three rounds are the same but with Tyson slowing down. He lands some body shots but pays the price as he comes in. Holmes nearly goes down in the 7th but he corrects himself and boxes from a distance. Tyson's left eye is half shut, due to swelling.

In round 9, Tyson rushes Holmes to the ropes where Holmes counters with a stiff uppercut. Tyson staggers backward and Holmes drops a huge right on the jaw. Now it's Tyson who nearly goes down as the bell sounds.

Round 10 is much like 9 with Tyson's eye swelling nearly shut. He's still trying but missing by a wide margin as Holmes begins to zero in on the eye.

In round 11, Holmes lands another sickening uppercut. Tyson backs to the ropes and Holmes fires away, sizing with the jab and landing hard right hands. Tyson's head snaps back and Holmes opens up with both fists as the referee steps in to stop it.

Holmes by TKO in 11

 

How many Tyson-like opponents did Larry face during his reign? I can't think of any.
On the flip side, I think Tyson faced several guys who were 'similar' to Holmes in size, style, and skill-set. I'm not saying they were as good as a prime Holmes, but they had a Holmes-like style.

 

:huh larry faced big punchers

 

I was a Holmes fan up until the frustration of him not unifying the title and avoiding the top guys so it was a breath of fresh air to see Tyson walking through the guys that were struggling with one another. I was on the Tyson bandwagon and he answered the question of Holmes and right hands. I thought Tyson was going to win because he was a better fighter than all of the guys Holmes fought up until then. It is a matter of styles and IMO Holmes always loses this one

 

:goodI totally liked that one and agree with you on it.

 

thank you.:good

 

Man this was a very long time ago:yep, i remember rooting for Larry, (didn't like Mike) but deep down i knew he had to fight a near perfect fight to win, any mistakes and he would be on the canvas, sure enough he was on his ass 15 minutes later..

Larry was 38, but a young 38, he wasn't a drinker or a druggie, 4 years later he whipped Mercer, and gave Holyfield fits...

 

That's it??? Big punchers??? And so just cos a HW can punch, that makes them similar to Tyson? What utter tosh. And if you're referring to wild-swinging Shavers, that's even more laughable.

 

Richie Giachetti, Holmes trainer said: ' Just before the Tyson fight, id seen a look in Larry's eyes that id never seen in any of his previous fights. It was the look of FEAR'

 

please don't tell me tyson hit harder than shavers.