What is Larry Holmes's legacy if he beats Michael Spinks and retires 49-0?

I am thinking he would secure a top 5 spot all-time among the heavyweights, 15 or 20 all-time pound per pound.

 

Same ballpark.

 

If him and Marciano were both the only Heavyweight champs to retire undefeated at that record, either Larry's rep grows or Rocky's shrinks but no way both legacies wouldn't have changed in one way or the other.

People are even more fight record obsessed these days than in the 80s.

 

1. Michael Spinks wouldn’t be as highly regarded if he’d lost to Holmes.
2. Holmes wouldn’t have had the 90s comeback to add to his legacy, but wouldn’t have the Tyson loss.
3. Same strengths and weaknesses of title reign other than Spinks fight.
4. Never had an aura of invincibility.
5. Sympathizers give him a pass for Tyson anyway.

 

I was a child but I remember that match. Larry Holmes intended to write boxing history and equate himself with Rocky Marciano.
But boxing history was written by someone else - Michael Spinks.

Please correct me better boxing connoisseurs than me.

It was the twelfth or thirteenth attempt (Bill Conn, Archie Moore ...) for the LHW champion to challenge and beat the HW champion.
If Holmes had won, or reached almost 50-0 (or more), that would surely have secured him third place in ATG HW.

 

I have him at #4 regardless. If he retired at 49-0 I think people might be arguing for a top 3 spot somewhere.

 

Better than it is

 

I do think the general public would rate him higher though.

 

It does'nt really change it one way or the other.
First fight was close and I thought Holmes clearly won the rematch.
It was just a matter of an aging slowing Holmes having difficulty against a smaller faster fighter. Every fighter getting up their in age and slowing is going to have difficulty against faster fighters, even faster less skilled fighters. In Spinks case he was faster and he was highly skilled.
Holmes status today even with retiring undefeated would'nt have been much different than it is now in that beating Spinks the naysayers would have pointed to him having beaten a light heavyweight, and since Spinks did'nt do anything spectacular at Heavyweight after the Holmes fights, wins over Spinks for Holmes would'nt have weighed all that much.