Prime Muhammad Ali vs Larry Holmes

I'll take Holmes...
Reason being he had a better jab than almost of any of Clays opponents and took a better punch than almost any of Clays opponents.
I know George Chuvalo had a great chin, but he lacked the skills Larry had to ever matter.
Holmes couldn't match Clays hand or foot speed, but he wasnt exactly slow in either category either.
People give Holmes zero credit for beating Clay, and it's true he fought an over the hill version, but his skills still had a lot to do with him making Clay look so bad.
Clay could have still put up a decent effort against a lesser fighter.
Holmes also had a ton of fights, many of them hard fought, but he was still able to perform against top tier guys way past the age Clay was able to. That tells he had a better ticker, and better recovery capabilities.

 

Ali close decision, can someone please explain to me on why they favor Holmes cause i don't see it at all.

When people imagine this fight i get the feeling that they envision post-prison 70s past it Ali when they should be thinking about prime 60s Ali. That Ali had incredibly quick feet when needed and was just better than Holmes at literally everything except the jab and arguably infighting

 

Very close and technical fight. But Ali’s speed comes into play here. If he stays still long enough Holmes is himself fast enough of punch to catch Ali to body and head. But with Ali’s movement he is always a step behind. Closer than people think but Ali close UD.

 

This

 

Very close fight imho. Yeah, Ali is quicker and fleeter of foot but Holmes is technically better and his jab is superior. I picked draw even though my gut feel is that Holmes might scrape by on a points win.

 

This is an interesting idea...especially if Swag means this the way I think he means it. Ali probably became a bit more of a puncher after his exile, and some of those shots he hit Frazier with in FOTC were absolutely no joke.

Yeah, yeah, I hear people making grins and mentioning how Ali wasn't a George Foreman, but I'm the weirdo who believes FOTC Frazier would have worn down and STOPPED Foreman.

Still, I just don't see either man getting a stoppage. 60s Ali wins by SD over 1980 Holmes,...FOTC Ali loses a hard fought, much better-to-watch, close UD. And I see Holmes slipping behind in the final rounds before a Fight of the Year 14th and 15th where he edges it.

 

IMHO, Ali by a wide decision victory. Neither's style is poison for the other, so speed wins this.

 

Ali wins a really close fight

 

So many people sucking Holmes dick...a guy whose best wins were dodgy, either-way affairs against Norton and Witherspoon.

I hate to tell everyone, but Holmes wasn't that great, and he new it, which is why he never rematched Norton or Witherspoon, unified with the WBA titlist, or fought his mandatory against Page. He bragged that he liked to "fight little guys for big money," and eventually lost his title to a LHW.

Ali wins 8 rounds.

 

Nah Holmes was a good fighter, Ali was just better

 

He was good...you don't have 19 defenses without being good. But he wasn't what some people make him these days. His legend has grown all out of proportion to his actual accomplishments.

Some people on this thread have him beating Ali. On another recent thread people were ranking him #2 or #4 of all time. THIS IS PREPOSTEROUS. The impressive wins aren't there.

 

I reckon you are thinking around 10-5 DJ?

 

I didn't say Ali's jab had more power. I said he had just as much on it at the same time it waas even faster than.Larry's. Ali had a little more talent than Holmes therefore he didn't depend on his jab as much as Larry Holmss did.

 

Jesus

 

I know, swag. When I read underinformed posts like that I just think "well, I certainly don't need to defend the greatness of a Larry Holmes. No one does".