The Ref gave AJ 20 plus seconds to recover and he still waved off the fight … He's going to need a lot more time than that facing Holmes … I mean these boxers have already answered the question for you. AJ lost to butterbean jr … Wilder looked like crap against Fury, self admittingly by the way. Trying to land the outside bomb all night as the only punch in his arsenal, then following it up with a sloppy, off balance hook... Then Fury, yes long layoff, yes good movement for a man his size, BUT that slap jab, low work rate, holding back on Wilder, not getting his right involved enough, and on his back twice. When the competition got better for all these guys, they didn't come thru... and it's that simple … And you want to talk about facing Larry friggin Holmes? You need a resume first and to shine when your competition gets stiffer for you
Holmes couldn`t stop Fury because he didn`t punch as hard as Wilder does and if he tried to finish Fury he`d get countered the way Wilder did and Fury is far harder to hit than anyone that ever went the distance with Larry. Ruiz has a better chin than anyone that weent the distance witn Larry other than Randall Tex Cobb, Ruiz has a better chin than Norton had he would never have recovered from the punches AJ floored Ruiz with.
That`s very harsh on those three, they might have made the top ten today and would have beaten the likes of Joe Joyce who isn`t any better than Bruno who Witherspoon stopped while being out of shape in `86.
Really? Gets up from a knockdown against Joshua and suddenly you declare Ruiz has a better chin than the likes of McCall, Holyfield, Mercer and Witherspoon?
A lot of the sentiment in this thread is in that direction. I didn’t intend to miscategorize you specifically.
Holmes Jab would devastate all these hwts. Holmes with this punch alone would bust them up. Very few could outjab prime Holmes. Over and above this Holmes was an ATG hwt champion. Ruiz, AJ, Wilder, Fury are no where near this level. Maybe one day but I highly doubt it. Certainly none of the four have accomplishments that raise them to any high level.
Holmes beats the hell out of all 4, with his hardest competition probably being Fury because of his size and awkwardness. Holmes had an ATG jab, possibly best ever at heavyweight. None of the fighters mentioned have shown an ability to defend and counter an average jab. These fighters today are very basic in their abilities, and have been winning because of their better athleticism than their average skilled and athletics opponents. Holmes wins big stopping Wilder, Joshua, and Ruiz, ud over the awkward Fury.
Out of em all ,I actually see Fury giving Holmes fits .I reckon he'd get under Larry s skin a little , wind him up and frustrate him . Could turn in to a bit of a foul fest .Fury s style and size advantage would have Holmes have to dig deep . It would go to the cards and Larry would get it .. just . AJ v Holmes would be another version of the Cooney fight with Joshua trying his hardest to take off Larry's Head , but Holmes hangs tough and stop s him ,in around 10 . Wilder would be a hard fought fight with Larry maybe getting dropped and shook up , but in true Assassin style he'd break Wilders spirit and get a late stoppage . Ruiz ? Larry Holmes at his best busts him up and win s every round nearly before koin him in 7 .
I think Ruiz, besides the abovementioned Jethro-Joshua smackdown, would get slapped around the most. Too easy to hit, and Holmes' uppercuts would have him stumbling within 7 I think. But that's just me.
With PRIME Holmes you could see he knew he could control any bout with his jab...,and he could against most opponents. If Larry was having a difficult time you could see him double down his efforts jabbing. Throwing faster, harder...concentrating on its use. It never failed prime Holmes. To best that jab you needed a heavyweight who could counter it with a right hand. They needed the speed, timing, reflexes to beat that jab with a counter right. Few could do it historically IMO. Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali, Tyson and Lewis come to mind.
In agreement . Out of the 4 ,I'd say Larry beats him the easiest .In fact I'd say Larry hammer's him .
