I'd definately put Holyfield behind the Walcott and Charles that Louis fought - no way in the world was he a better or more versatile than these two masters - NO WAY IN THE WORLD. I'd dare say Billy Conn is a better fighter p4p than Holyfield too - he certainly had more to trouble Louis with than Holyfield would IMO - and obviously Rocky Marciano was a better fighter than Holyfield - not only was the prime Louis a way too venomous and direct a puncher - he was also a very very smart fighter - Holy would try his heart out but he just wasn't a good enough fighter for this kind of level - all things being equal James Toney showed how much a true old school smart fighter would show Holyfield up - even a horrendously out of shape and past it Foreman who could barely stand straight and almost threw himself over everytime he wound up a punch gave Holyfield some tough moments - no way prime Louis of Max Baer/Buddy Baer II/Max Schmeling II/Uzcudun etc would stop Holy in side 10 rounds max
Honestly,I don't have any issue with anyone who favours Louis,it's just that it's become such a generic response to automatically favour him through a stoppage in any one of these fantasy matchups.No real analysis,just Louis hits the guy,hurts him,and then the fight is all over.In a way,such a concise prediction is a discredit to Louis as an actual boxer,as well as the durability and toughness of the fighters that he's matched against. It would be refreshing to see someone pick Louis via decision on the basis of his great jab.We've seen Louis control fights behind his jab,and Moorer had alot of success with this punch in the first meeting with Holyfield,but time and time again people just take the easy route and settle with a Louis knockout. I guarantee that you will see references to Bert Cooper hurting Holyield in this thread,too.
Louis by an inevitable ko...Holyfields penchant to go to war and take shots in the process would prove fatal...as Louis could have ko'ed any man...period...that he was able to tag...and he would surely tag Holyfield eventually.
I felt like this is a relevant post... Partially because sizewise, they match up reall well. You could make the case that if Billy Conn was able to outbox Louis and alomst beat him, why not Holyfield ? He`s bigger,faster and with a lot more pop on his shots. However, you take Louis, fast, sharp combination puching, deadly accuracy, and a nice stiff jab... Someone made a Bert Cooper reference, and it makes you wonder... If They got caught in an exchange, and with Holy that`s likely. If Louis hurts Holy, I think he finishes him... Your talking about one of the deadliest finishers in the history of the sport. This is an exciting, very competitive fight !
Holyfield faster than Billy Conn??!!! No way - not even close - Billy Conn was like lightning compared to Holy - agree tho Holy gives anyone a good hard fight
Holy had good combination speed... And I meant that Holy would use a style similar to the one Conn was using up until his fateful end. Jab, speedy (yes Holyfield was fast for a heavy ) combinations and lateral movement. and when Holy would get cocky and try and slug,go for the KO. He would meet the same fate that Conn, did, KO`d...