Muhammad Ali v Larry Holmes 1975

Holmes didn't have enough know how.

He'd be thoroughly outboxed.

 

If they fought in 75, Ali would win


If they fought in 76 Ali would lose, and then win the rematch in 77

 

I think Ali would scrape it - Holmes lacking some experience at this time where as Ali was reasonably still in fighting shape.

A 78's Holmes would beat him I think.

 

Holmes was 200 for Yarborough in April 1975, and 203 for Rodney Bobick on the Manila undercard. Ali was a physically powerful 225 pound championship round specialist. Muhammad took the fight to the ropes at a defensive Bugner, attacking at a brisk clip in torrid conditions. Larry had never gone past seven rounds at the time of Malaysia. Charlie James finally took him the ten round distance two months after Ali-Bugner II. At no time was Holmes ready to challenge for a title before Shavers I in March 1978.

 

This seems pretty reasonable. Ali was the best HW in the world in 1975, Holmes wouldn't beat a world class HW until three years later.

The only reason to think he would even be competitive is his own accounts of how he fared in sparring against Ali. But those are very much his own. There's for example an account in Hauser's book of how Ali spanked Larry in sparring because he had gotten to full of himself. Hard to know if it happened like that, but it should at least be as believable as Holmes' own accounts.

 

holmes wins by unanimous decision,holmes jab is what does the trick ali would be backpeddling all night and with holmes doubling up on his jab he catches ali all night,:think

 

This is it really.

 

Ali definitely outboxes Holmes, but after 75 its all holmes for a ud

 

This is a facinating one actually...from the pov of when one fighter overtakes another...in '75 you had Ali still great, Frazier still greater than anyone expected until he proved it in Manila, Foreman shell-shocked after Zaire, Norton gethering momentum after the Foreman shellacking leading to Yankee Stadium...and Holmes learning & ultimately (partly due to Father Time) outlasting them and being the last man standing at the end of the 70s.

Then the sub-plot of the likes of Young, Lyle & Shavers...

Anyway back to topic!

Pre-Manila, Holmes gives Ali a terrifically close fight - maybe slightly controversial - but not quite enough know-how to win on points against an Ali who very rarely saw a close decision go against him (Young & Norton 3 for example). Similar to Holmes-Witherspoon in '83 anyone?

But Holmes, goes into an Ali fight in '75 as a boy...comes out a man...and Ali would know better than to take his chances in a rematch!

 

Considering how Ali typically spent his sparring sessions during this era (or public exhibitions, for that matter), getting accustomed to the experience of taking punches, it surprises me that Holmes would take any credit at all for being competitive in such a situation. Those who shared the ring with Ali in these situations typically knew better. Hauser's account is interesting, because that was a side of the latter day Muhammad not often revealed.

To Larry's credit, he did admit in his book that Ali was much, much weaker in the clinches when they fought in 1980 than he had been while sparring leading up to Kinshasa half a dozen years earlier.

 

According to the account, Larry bragged to a reporter that he was a better fighter than Ali. Ali got wind of this and taught Holmes a painful lesson in their next sparring session.

 

I agree with most here, Ali by easy UD.

 

Agreed.

Ali was still great in '75 & beats a green Holmes, but no way does shot Post-Manila Ali beat him.