Shavers I was a great win, he won every round I think. Earnie is arguably the hardest puncher of all time but in reality he wasn´t that great a boxer. He didn´t have the greatest chin (up to this fight he´d been stopped by Ron Stander, Ron Lyle and Jerry Quarry and floored or hurt badly by Ali, Bob Stallings, Jimmy Ellis and Roy Williams) or stamina. He nearly beat a shot Ali in his last fight but faded and was nearly stopped in the last. Ali lost his next fight 7-0-1 Leon Spinks! Personally I think his Norton fight (fighting with an injured arm) was his best performance. Though I have Holmes winning more rounds than he´s credited for he still had to dig down deep to keep a rampaging Norton off him in the last round of a great fight.
Good post. You are putting it mildly regarding the oft-exaggerated Shavers. By any metric, I don’t think I could call that his best performance or win, even allowing for the paucity of serious competition he faced throughout his career. Norton is a good shout, because Holmes was not quite 100% & had a clear style disadvantage, & I agree with you that he won the fight clearer than is often stated, but then Norton was past his best, which has to be weighed against Holmes. When Holmes was back to fully fit, he still wanted nothing to do with Norton again (a pattern that would repeat throughout his career with all difficult opponents, to the detriment of his legacy). It may depend on what we mean by, “best,” which will be for the OP to clarify. Is that best performance in his prime, at his most capable & switched on, or is it best allowing for him being old, or in some other way less than at his pomp? If it’s prime, I’ll probably take the Norton fight, or perhaps Cooney. If it’s allowing for age & other weaknesses, certainly the win over Mercer.
Best performance was Shavers 1, Cooney, or Mercer (or Cobb, if a crazy mismatch like that counts). Best FIGHT was Norton, by a mile -- that's as good a technical HW battle between two pure boxer types (of very different styles) as has ever been recorded on film. If you wanted to show someone who has never seen HW boxing before what it's all about, that might be the exact fight to show them. Followed by Foreman-Lyle just to show them the other end of how it can get.
Theres a few strong candidates. Vs Shavers 1, Cobb, he dominated them from the opening bell winning every round looking very sharp in the process. Stoppages over L.Spinks, Ocasio, Holmes looked very sharp in these fights and of course the memorable knockdown of Ocasio with the jab. I also think his performance against Berbick is underrated, Berbick came to fight and was competitive in alot of the rounds. But Holmes still won near enough every round in a very good performance looking sharp and in good shape. His most stand out win in the 80s has to be against Cooney, although Cooney was competitive for 10 rounds. Holmes still looked very sharp and showed Cooney there is levels to this game. The fight vs Norton showcased Holmes's stamina, bravery, was it his best performance ? Probably not but it's definitely his most exciting fight. And finally Mercer fight has to be up there because it's one of the best performances for a fighter over the age of 40.
I mean, honestly, that WAS a good performance. He won every round except for the round where he tripped over his own feet and the judge ruled it as a knockdown.
I'll say Ray Mercer. I believe Holmes was 42 years young, looked old and fat and slowed down quite a bit since his heyday. He was also a grandfather thrice over. Undefeated Mercer was coming off his two best victories in Damiani & Morrison and doesn't have a better run at any point in his career unless you prefer him losing squeakers to Holyfield & Lewis followed by a controversial victory over Spoon in what are considered veteran performances. Still, Holmes beat Mercer more convincingly than Holyfield, Lewis and Spoon.
I haven't seen Mercer's fight with Witherspoon. I need to. As to Holyfield and Lewis, both of them played right into Mercer's strengths, fought the fights Mercer wanted them to fight. Holmes made it his fight. A mid-range contest for points, and he still had enough left in the tank to teach Mercer a lesson there. Don't give Mercer the war he wants, don't give him the toughness contest.