I'd give Tubbs more of a chance than Thomas, though Thomas was the one guy Larry geniunely seemed to avoid so maybe he could win as well.
After Thomas's big win over Witherspoon he seemed to fade quite fast he was struggling immensely vs Weaver and needed a big punch out of nowhere to turn the tide so I'm not sure. Tubbs in 1985 was in peak form though he'd comprehensively outpointed Bonecrusher & Page that year. So based on those performances he'd have a good chance against Holmes of that time. All in all I'd give Tubbs a better chance because he seemed to be better form in 1985. And his handspeed & movement would give Holmes alot of issues just like Spinks's movement troubled Holmes.
Good point s. If either Tubbs or Thomas were in shape, then I say they're in with a good chance of beating Larry. Tubbs of course hardly turned up in shape.
Both of them had a good chance of beating this version Holmes. You can argue Carl Williams did it, but didn't get the decision and Pinklon and Tubbs were better fighters than him at the time.
Larry probably trains harder for either of them than he did Michael, whom I think he took lightly. But Holmes was also burned out, so who knows. I’d favor Larry as the more consistent guy to edge either by decision.
After all these years I’m still not fully convinced that Larry Holmes beat Carl Williams. I won’t call it a robbery but it was hardly a decisive win over a novice. Then there was Spinks who legitimately defeated Holmes in his first fight at heavy. If Thomas or Tubbs are in shape ( a big IF ) and the judges are fair ( another IF ) then those are fights Holmes might have narrowly lost in 1985-86.
And if he did lose to either, then there's a rematch probably. He may have more chance defeating one of those two than Spinks.
Tubbs would stand a great chance but Thomas had faded since his 1984 best. I'd give Tim Witherspoon a very good shot at beating Larry in a 1986 rematch.
