...and seen missing on the cover of the 100 Greatest Heavyweight Boxers: The Ultimate Guide. https://www.boxingnewsshop.com/store/boxingnews/100-greatest-heavyweight-boxers/ EDIT: Has anyone read this piece yet? Looks brand spanking new.
I have read it, he was rated pretty high Higher than Dempsey and Bowe who both made the cover and if I remember right he was higher than Holyfield and as well
Holmes just seemed boring to watch. He gets no respect because he beat an old Ali, and got destroyed by Tyson as an old fighter himself. People remember those two fights more than the good wins he had and the loses to Spinks. I for one respect his car hurdling and flying kick abilities.
Not sure he's actually being dissed in the mag, but in boxing in general It took a while for Holmes to get respect .He got ripped in to for beating Ali , which is all he could have done , and then for the comments regarding Marciano . But it seems he's getting more respect as time moves on . He should do ,imo ,he s an all time great .
Holmes is pretty much universally respected as a fighter, he's a top 7 heavyweight staple imo. Also, John L. Sullivan isn't on the cover either, but everyone admires and respects him because, y'know, he's generally considered the father of the Heavyweight division.
Why the f*ck is Bowe on there but no place for Johnson, Liston, Frazier or Holmes? Clearly trying to sell the product to the younger market...
That's my take, only Louis and Ali were greater (and neither by a huge margin imo). Best jab ever in heavyweight history, fastest hands and best footwork after Ali...watch the Shavers I fight to see how cool and pristine he could be. Watch Witherspoon to see just how much of a champion's heart he had. Finally, watch all the fights from 77 to 82 to see how phenomenally effective his approach was: he almost always struggled a bit, even against not-so-great opponents...the beauty was how he started timing and consequently dismantling them. Leroy Jones actually looked pretty good in the early rounds against Larry...take a look at how that fight ended. Watch the Snipes fight...totally lucky punch that Holmes didn't see coming, but rocked the hell out of him. Incredibly, Larry was gaining control all over again before the end of the round. Ali, Marciano, and Holyfield had that heart like that...it's in my book the truest indicator of a great fighter.
If you want excitement, Norton (that fight was easily up there with Bowe-Holyfield imo), Witherspoon, Mercer, Cooney, Snipes...geez, I think even just those examples covers that.
Then your letting too much personal opinion cloud your judgment or you never watched the mans career unfold. Something is amiss here. Love him hate him dont matter hes still a top 5 ..top 3 for me HWC eeaassiillyyyyyy
He acted like a disgruntled ignoramus with a huge chip on his shoulder. Not surprised he is overlooked.
Larry Holmes deserves respect for: Pressing on in his pre-title days despite being labeled as a sparring partner and as someone who had no heart (by the likes of Howard Cosell, among others). Beating tough-as-nails Roy Williams despite breaking his hand. Easily dominating an Earnie Shavers, whose stock was high after his gallant effort against Ali a few months before. Beating Ken Norton in a helluva war despite an injury to his left bicep. People now like to say that Norton was past it. Even Norton himself has said that he lost motivation after Ali III. But, as someone who was around at the time, I recall a Norton who had an impressive '77, had something to prove, and wasn't ready to simply hand over his newly minted title to the likes of Larry Holmes. Taking on, and easily beating, unbeaten future champion Ossie Ocasio, who had just beat top-5 rated Jimmy Young twice. A Holmes-Young fight was all but a done deal, but Ocasio spoiled that. Despite being sick (and don't we hate to go to work when we're sick?), turning back the challenge of motivated future titleholder Mike Weaver. Would Lennox Lewis or Anthony Joshua, in similar condition, have been able to turn back Weaver's challenge? For taking on a motivated, fresh off the kayo of Norton, Earnie Shavers and getting up from THAT RIGHT HAND. For taking on, and easily beating, undefeated Leroy Jones, who was NABF champ and who held a win over Mike Weaver. For giving Scott LeDoux a title shot. LeDoux's wife was battling cancer and LeDoux needed money for her medical billls. For his graceful handling of still-mouthy Muhammad Ali. This bout cemented Holmes' title claim. For easily beating ex-champ Leon Spinks, who was red-hot after beating Bernardo Mercado and who several writers picked to win. For getting up after being knocked down hard by then-undefeated Renaldo Snipes. For turning back the challenge of motivated, tough, undefeated Gerry Cooney; and for dealing with all the racial aspects surrounding the fight. For rarely losing a round while in his prime. For turning back, albeit barely, the challenges of undefeated Tim Witherspoon and Carl Williams, both of whom would live to fight another day. For trying to unify against WBA champ Gerrie Coetzee, a fight that was ** this close ** to happening. For impressively beating undefeated David Bey, who was on a roll and coming off a win over soon-to-be WBA champ Greg Page. For his against-all-odds 90's comeback, post- age 40. Larry Holmes loses points for: His behavior after the Spinks fights. The fights against both Leon and Michael. His complaining that he never got his "just dues". Never unifying the titles, especially when he could've given Weaver a rematch in '81 or '82. (Of course, Gerry Cooney ($$$) was very much in the mix for both Holmes and Weaver at that time). For not fighting Greg Page, Michael Dokes, Pinklon Thomas, or Gerrie Coetzee (and a Weaver rematch). That said, looking through several sets ratings from that period, those were the only guys he didn't fight. They're pretty significant omissions, however. (But... those guys were all losing to each other, losing to Holmes' victims, and handing the WBA and, later, WBC titles around while Larry was undefeated champ.) His career, post-Michael Spinks. Yes, above I gave him props for his 90's comeback, but I wish he'd taken the Hagler route and left boxing behind after that disputed Spinks II decision. Larry Holmes deserves a ton of respect for his contributions to boxing. At his peak he'd be, at the very least, a stiff challenge for any heavyweight in history. As another poster said, he's definitely in the top 7 among all time great heavyweight champions.
