Very good posts here,..Holmes was a near great fighter but he barely slipped a punch in his life, his defensive wasn't that great as noted above....and Tyson showed how at sea he was against crouching weavers
Not to nitpick but I am pretty sure he was "The Easton Assassin" Holmes for my money. I think he is a mountain to high for Dempsey, and stops him in 8-10 rounds
In the 1st couple rounds, Dempsey comes out bobbing and weaving trying to get inside. Holmes' jab doesn't agree with those plans. He uses the jab to keep Dempsey on the outside. He has reasonable success in doing so. However Dempsey notices a fatal flaw, when Holmes throws his jab he always leaves his left down by his sides instead of using it to block punches. Dempsey still decides to take it easy until the time is right. None the less, everytime Holmes throws a jab, Dempsey goes over it with a viscious right. In round 4. Dempsey feints a right, and catches Holmes with a huge left staggering Holmes. Holmes tries to clinch but it's of no use, Dempsey gets out with ease and hits Holmes with a straight left knocking him off balance then hammering him with a lethal right. Holmes goes down, the round ends. Holmes is saved by the bell. In round 5 Holmes, who's still hurt keeps his distance. He starts boxing a much more ferocious Dempsey who's eager to finish the job. Dempsey is seriously getting outboxed here. In round 6: Dempsey throws a right misses, and is met with a huge left. Staggered, he tries to retreat to the ropes. Holmes follows him and hits him with a furious storm of rights. Finally Dempsey goes down. Much like when Ali got up in TFOTC, everybody is shocked. Holmes continues to go after Dempsey looking to finish the job, he puts Dempsey on ***** street yet again. But the bell rings to end the round. This time it's Dempsey who's saved by the bell. In round 7: Holmes has gotten more comfortable. He starts exchanging more with Dempsey. Dempsey has now decided the time is right. Holmes who has not fixed his issue with dropping his left when throwing a jab, throws it again. This time Dempsey goes over with a viscious right that would knock most fighters out. It only staggers Holmes. Holmes goes to the ropes. Dempsey follows him and hits with 2 lefts to the body and a huge right upstairs. Holmes goes down. The crowd is again suprised as Holmes gets up yet again. This fight has developed into a classic. Holmes who's leading on all scorecards, is just trying to survive the round. Dempsey knowing the end is near, moves in for the kill. Holmes is trying to stay away from Dempsey. Dempsey cuts the ring, and eventually closes in on Holmes. Dempsey unleashes a viscious combo consisting of lefts and rights to the body. Holmes in one last blaze of glory tries to finish off Dempsey with a huge combo. He hits Dempsey with a huge left jab and follows it up with 2 lefts and a right. He throws a huge right cross that will surely finish the job. It narrowly misses as Dempsey counters with a huge left hook, followed by a huge right uppercut that came from hell. It knocks Holmes out cold. Dempsey KO7 However both fighters stocks are raised after this fight. Holmes chin is especially praised despite the KO, which nobody would've got up from.
At least I do not believe Kovalev would KO Marciano, Dempsey and Joe Louis....as you believe SeaMust. Tunney was the far greater technical fighter. Feinting, blocking, slipping, footwork and counters to vital areas of an opponent. Those days the finer parts of the game were stressed and taught. Fighters such as Holmes and many other modern hwts never had that type of skill set.
Find that quote. Seriously. Find it. I will find you the 50 times I said that Marciano would beat every other sub-200 pounder. Holmes was bigger, longer, stronger and a faster puncher. Holmes beat powerbrokers like Cooney, Smith, Witherspoon and Shavers x2 and Weaver. Holmes beat undefeated heavies in Ocassio, Jones, Snipes, Cooney, Witherspoon, Frazier, Frank, Bey, Williams and Mercer. Tunney was a guy who fought at heavyweight for a New York minute, a guy who never beat a quality fighter over 200 pounds, a guy who managed in 66 fights to never face a black opponent, a guy whose heavyweight resume is highlighted by a victories over Dempsey and Gibbons in their last fights. Please.
Not getting involved in any feud, but Mr perry I feel is correct in assessment's of Tunney and golden age boxing teaching and talent... I imagine Mr arcel would pick Dempsey over the Holmes he trained and thought well of
I don't need to search for your quote. You made it quite clear that Kovalev the pansy who can't take it to the body from weak punching Ward would KO three of the hardest punching hwts ever to live. Guess who told you that Kovalev was completely unproven? Size and having a long jab does not mean you are skilled in the fine aspects of boxing skill. Try to know more about the sport than you know about picking good fighters from bad.
Man. If only there had been some way for boxers like Larry Holmes to learn how to feint, slip punches, use footwork, and throw counters! It's a shame that all the gurus and masters proficient at teaching such secret arts died off before his time, taking their rarefied knowledge to the grave with them. I wonder if modern boxers will ever learn this craft, or if those skills are now gone forever.
To which version of Dempsey should we compare the 38-year-old Holmes who fought Tyson, 15 years into his career as a heavyweight boxer after a nearly 2 year absence from the ring? PS - Never slipped punches?
Yes they are! I find myself avoiding discussions in which some of the old champs are pitted against modern giants such as Lewis.