20-Bout Run (Ali vs Holmes Comparison)

He was well managed, but not as carefully as some other was. Lavorante, Moore, Jones and Cooper was live contenders. Especially Jones, who seemed to reach his peak at that time. Kind of risky to take on someone who'd just KO'd Folley, and, of course, it nearly backfired.

I think an ageing Chuvalo was the best scalp Foreman had before challenging for the title, and for Holmes it was Shavers but not much else of note. Frazier had Bonavena and Chuvalo before Mathis. Tyson had Tillis before Berbick.

Guys like Liston and Louis really took the tough route, though. In Louis' case it was also a bit cunning, though, since he took on big names that were a bit on the slide. But all in all he took an impressive route to the title.

 

Mongol Ortiz was 10-13-0....Prator did stay the distance with Holmes but was KO'd by Coetzee and Ledoux the same year as he fought Holmes and was KO'd by Cooney and Bobick and Randy Stevens the next year

Prator was not a good fighter, Al Jones was a build-up fighter but lost to Jose Garcia and drew with 0-5 James Youngblood just before he lost to Prator...Jones lost because he broke his hand and could not continue which he broke 3 times before....It was Prators best win but nothing to make anyone take notice...Jones also had a draw with Luiz Pires who was getting KO'd by every contender he faced

 

Ali fought better, but you could say Holmes risked more by picking bigger fighters with more of a puncher's chance.

 

Just FYI, Prater was not a "nothing fighter". I knew him personally and sparred with him when he was staff at the Indy PAL in the late 70's. Very tough, very talented, and several of his losses were "financially motivated" let's just say. He had a messy divorce right after the Holmes loss and couldn't see his kids for some time afterwards and was near destitute from what I understood. Took fights for money and knew he could make more cash as a competitive but guaranteed loser. Mercado fight was particularly rank, BTW.

I'm not an anti-Ali guy, but Holmes' opponents look weaker in retrospect. He sought out better guys than he had to. Ibar Arrington was well regarded at the time as was Young Sanford. And who ever fought Roy Williams or Earnie Shavers on the way up? Prater was well thought of and associated with the Dundees at the time as well.