It seems that Larry is somewhat dismissive of Ali as a fighter. Holmes in his book says that he could have beat Ali in 1975 when he was Ali's sparring partner. Larry in the Champions Forever video says he could have beaten Ali, Louis, Marciano, Frazier and the only one that he would have a problem with would have been Jack Johnson. I think he mentioned Johnson favorably because trainer Ritchie Giachetti used to call Holmes "Big Jack". I've heard Holmes say that Ali was never able to hurt him and that as a fighter Ali is overrated. Overall I like the Easton Assasin as a boxer, but I think a prime Ali from 67 would have beaten him. I have the Carl Williams fight, and I have Williams beating Holmes by 2 or 3 points the last time I watched it. The Truth painted Holmes face all night with his own jab leaving Holmes face a swollen mask. I also caught a few of Sonny Liston's fights recently on ESPN Classic, and if Holmes ever got into a war with Liston like he did with Norton or the first Weaver fight Liston would have beat him. I'm not a Tyson fan, but in a way I'm glad Tyson beat Larry's ass to knock him down off his pedestal.
yeah i can see a peak holmes to probably beat ali in 1975 but he's not beating the ali who was champ in the 60s when he was PEAK. Holmes never sparred that fighter!
Holmes was age 35 and tired of boxing and Don King in 1985. His fight against Carl "The Lie" Williams was at Holmes' tail end of his reign.... That was a good fight in a technical sense, but Holmes was only at about 70% of his former self there.... Cheers... MR.BILL
if you think holmes beats ali in ali's prime then i think u might consider abandoning esb altogether.
Kolcade, You're startin' to **** me off dude..... I never said Holmes could beat a prime Ali.... WTF?:twisted: Though I can see Holmes battering a 1976 and above Ali.... That's very possible....:hey MR.BILL:bbb
Holmes said Ali kicked him out if his camp because he was " too fast " for Ali. I think Holmes could have beaten Ali as early as 1977! Its too bad Holmes never got a chance to fight Ali, Frazier or Foreman from 1977-1978. I think he beats them all. If you want a good Ali book, purchase facing Ali, or Dundee's book, the view from my corner. Both are excellent reads on Ali, and ones with more realism than cheer leading.
Has anyone ever talked more **** about his opponents and contempories than Holmes? From memory he also said Cooney would have hammered Tyson. Lord.
Holmes never said that! I think Ali talked more than Holmes. Tyson talked a lot too, and so did Lewis. Holmes did complement Ali quite a bit. He said Ali was one of the few fighters who could throw good punches moving backward. Like it or not, Holmes is the voice of the 1970's and early 1980's heavyweights. He knew them all. Ali, Frazier, and Norton are in no shape to talk. Some fighters like Jimmy Young, and Greg Page have passed on. One thing I would like to know is, what was Holmes prediction on Tyson vs Spinks?
I'm pretty certain Holmes would have beaten Ali in 1977, at least on a fair scorecard. It would be very interesting to see Holmes against Foreman at that time, but watching him beat up on a brave but totally shot Frazier in 1977-1978 is not something I would relish.
We all know Holmes is a prize twat with nothing good to say about anyone other than himself. A first class (Leo) Wanker.
In all honesty Holmes didnt finish Ali when he was washed up. whether he did it out of respect i dont know but coming from these comments i dont think he respected ali that much
Holmes is my man and he's fine............ Holmes gets bitter when he thinks back to the mid-70s...... Holmes was good, but nobody gave a **** since he was promoted and stifled by his loving manager / promoter Don "The" King..... Holmes saw a lot of good fights and decent checks slip by because he was fighting in the shadows of "Ali, Frazier & Foreman." Plus, Don King always cutting & reducing Holmes' fight purse at the last minute..... Remember the scene in the 'Don King' HBO movie were King promised Holmes and his wife $10,000 G's and then handed him $3,000 G's after the fight due to expenses.?.? Well, that **** pissed Holmes off............ I understand....... MR.BILL
Larry Holmes stated in an old interview that outta the 10 Million dollars he grossed for the fight with Gerry Cooney in 1982, he saw only 3 Million of it after all the smoke cleared..... Cheerio..... MR.BILL
Ali didn't try when he was sparring. He let the fighters wail on him. Ali '75 would have beaten any version of Holmes.