All gave him persistent problems bar Cooney & Mercer. None had a jab, or much of anything, comparable to Louis going for them.
Louis not only had the power to stop Larry, but he most often launched it in unbelievable combinations. His jab was comparable to Liston's, faster though not as heavy and stepped into. Larry would be getting hit too much after a couple of rounds. Louis is the only fighter I pick to stop Holmes. Ali, Frazier, and maybe Liston I see decisioning him.
I see it the same way. Holmes has the better legs and the better jab. And he will effectively use it. But Louis will study him and everything changes by a well implemented counter right landing flush on Holmes Chin during round ~4-6. Despite Holmes has the better Chin and an excellent recovery ability, that shot will totally shift the momentum and Louis will finish him within the next 2,3 rounds. Holmes is a superb allrounder and has a great recovery. But Louis is the best finisher in HW history. And he probably throws the most accurate, best timed, most effective and also most economic power shots we will ever see in boxing. His punch selection will never be matched. I favor Louis 60-40 in their primes.
Whether or not you think Louis would stop Holmes i don't see how you think it would be as early as 6 rounds. Braddock went 8 rounds with Louis. Farr went 15 rounds with Louis. Godoy went 15 rounds with Louis. Conn went 13 rounds with Louis. You also underestimate Holmes's power he had 15 stoppages in 20 of his world title fights he could definitely hurt Louis and get his respect.
These are quite valid points. I might be the biggest Holmes fan here, but even I can't see Joe as being anything but total anathema to Holmes' style (even moreso than Frazier). Joe wasn't one dimensional, he could box. It wouldn't be just one thing that would beat Holmes, it's a combination of things Joe was good at.
Louis looks good on video against most of the competition he fought. But IMO, none of his competition would prepare him for facing LH. I think LH would not be seeing anything he hadn't seen before, JL would be seeing a big, fast, rangy guy with excellent skills for the first time. JL is an unknown against a guy like LH, maybe he would adapt and do well, but when I think of JL vs. Billy Conn...it doesn't give me confidence that he'd do well with LH. JL was well schooled and it's understandable why a lot of people modeled their training/fighting style after him, but I can't think of anybody JL fought who was anything like LH. On the other hand LH fought a lot of people whose boxing style was modeled after JL.