Somebody mentioned Lindell Holmes in another thread, so I wanted to ask who was a better fighter. Sometimes they reminded me a little of each other.
I don't know, but, one night at the Forum in LA, I saw Holmes hit somebody (maybe Steve Darnell?) with a left hook that left the perfectly horizontal to the floor, like they were levitating, before they crashed.
holmes was a solid fighter, he was trained by bill miller, the former trainer of toney. yeah, the darnell v holmes fight is legendary around detroit, just like you described.
Not a million miles away from each other, though Holmes had more firepower and was just as durable.Kinchen was a lot like Michael Watson as well, though not quite as sharp technically.
James Kinchen was robbed against Tommy Hearns and would have kayoed Hearns in the early rounds if not for Hearns blatantly bear hugging Kinchen to keep from getting knocked out. Kinchen is the better fighter than Lindell Holmes.
I still cannot get over Holmes losing to Darrin Van Horn. I thought the fight was a gimme and pretty much a setup for Lindell and he looked horrible in there. I sure didn't see that coming and thought he would steamroll the guy. Funny how deterioration sets in on certain fighters and just how quickly a guy can slip so far down the ladder.
the interesting thing about Kinchen and Hearns and had Hearns fought Lindell is that most guys who fought Hearns got a boost by it being Hearns, and they fought their best fight. Sort of like a hometown basketball team. They play better when at home with the crowd. Lindell Holmes and Thomas Hearns were actually friends I think. I saw a hidden camera show in 1990 and Tommy was playing a joke on some guy who was hired to help him,and Lindell Holmes was his sparring partner.
