Why did Larry Holmes do so well against Holyfield at 42?

As I've heard, he barely trained for the Tyson fight. Not to mention the obvious, such as Tyson being a faster starter and harder puncher than Holyfield.

Also, going 4 rounds with prime Tyson when you're past it is honestly a good accomplishment

 

False

Holmes had a full training camp vs Tyson

Holyfield does poorly when he has to be the aggressor.......see Moorer I or the vaughn Bean fight...Larry never came to him is the reason that Holy struggled with the old man

 

Holmes jumped into the ring with the best heavyweight in the world in Tyson at the time without proper preparation and after a 2yr layoff (It was a money grab, he basically admitted it if I remember right) Though he returned to the ring 3yrs after the Tyson fight in 1991, he had 6 fights against fighters most would consider tune-ups with the exception of Ray Mercer before he faced Holyfield in 92. Though he was 4 yrs older, He was much better prepared to fight Holyfield thus, he had a better performance, than when he fought Tyson .

 

yea, unprepped for mike, but was doing well and fighting smartly, just got caught, that's all. the mercer win was so cool and a good performance against evander also cool. Larry, GOAT!!!!!

 

Larry foolishly underestimated Tyson and despite coming off two years of inactivity and being 38 years old he thought it was a good idea to jump in the ring with the reigning champ.

Foreman in an interview used Larry Holmes as an example of why he took his time during his comeback instead of immediately challenging for the world title, since it takes time to readjust to competing with top fighters.

Against Holyfield was Holmes very active and wasn’t coming off a lay-off.

 

Even before the two-year layoff prior to the Tyson fight, Larry Holmes had lost his last two fights to Michael Spinks. Controversy over the second Spinks fight notwithstanding,he seemed on the downgrade. The Tyson fight came at the worst possible time for Larry. Still, he gave a decent account of himself until his right arm got blocked by one of the ropes, giving Tyson the perfect opening. He probably would have lost that fight anyway as Tyson was at his peak and nobody at that time looked to pose him any problems.

To Larry Holmes' credit, he fought often and regained a lot of his old form. By the time he chanllenged Holyfield, he was a legitimate challenger facing another ATG . His victory over Ray Mercer was a fine performance. I always wondered how a Holmes-Tyson rematch in the mid-to-late '90s might have gone. I feel that Holmes would have done much better and would not be surprised if he came out the winner. Unlike so many great fighters who fight into their forties and beyond, Larry Holmes maintained his skills. Even in losing efforts against Holyfield and McCall, he was competitive throughout against top fighters from the next generation.

 

He had ring rust and no tune up for Tyson.

 

As everyone else stated he was much better against Holyfield than against Tyson despite being older. It's not as simple as "Holmes was younger against Tyson lolz." He was able to embrace his newfound shortcomings that come with age and adjust to it and work his way around it post Tyson.

 

Considering Holmes fought into his 50's and was otherwise never stopped, I think Tyon deserves a lot more credit.

 

I saw an interview with Holmes where he said that when he was approached to fight Tyson he'd just spent months on the road with his band drinking beer and eating too many desserts. He knew it was a mistake to take the fight but he couldn't resist the $3 million Don King was offering. In the Tyson fight he seems strangely weak and skittish and his timing is awful. He was much better against Holyfield because he'd had six fights in just over a year - including twelve rounds with Ray Mercer. I'm not saying he would have beaten Tyson with a few tune-ups but the Holmes of 1991/92 was clearly better than the Holmes of 1988.

 

Tyson was unstoppable when he fought Holmes.

 

Tyson would have slapped him all over the place no matte what prep he had he couldn`t hit Tyson because his defense and active guard were better than Holy`s.

 

You are underrating Tyson`s ability to bully and finish a fighter compared to Holy, at his prime Tyson was a very good fighter.

 

He was doing well and Tyson would have pitched a shut out on the cards,you could see it was a matter of time before Tyson caught him, Holmes was petrified.