Who was his idol growing up? Was he considered exciting to watch? What were his strengths and weaknesses? His best performance. Your all time ranking of him.
I don't know for sure but I'd be surprised if Loughran wasn't one, especially considering that both had masterful jabs and both being from Pennsylvania. Ali was also probably among them whilst he trained with him. I find him exciting, but he was put down for everything at the time so he probably wasn't. Very good all-rounder, has a weakness to an overhand right, doesn't really have a left hook. Not many weaknesses over than that, his strengths are pretty extensive. Obviously his jab, chin, recovering and IQ are among them but he also had decent pop and nice right uppercut and cross. Muhammad Ali 4th best HW ever, unranked P4P.
I remember him sasying his idol was Ali. Not particularly exciting, he was put down (and alternately praised) for being perhaps over-cautious against big punchers. Superlative jab,, strong right, good defense, stamina, iron will. Minuses would be slight lack of power, abrasiveness. Probably the Cooney fight was his best. He showed amazing focus in what had become a circus of previously unimagined proportion. 3rd all-time best heavy.
Ali was his idol , ( he said that, and cried after he fought and stopped a shell of Ali) He was very exciting to watch in my opinion, well schooled, had a mean streak, he wanted to dominate, not just "win"( Unlike Mayweather Jr.) His jab was his biggest strength, best in heavyweight history in my opinion, as far a combination of speed, power, and timing is concerned. Their were faster jabs (Ali) heavier jabs (Liston) but none were better in the combination of the the two. Weakness was a weird susceptibility to the overhand right, and punching power in his right cross/uppercuts. He usually had to land many punches to hurt his opponents. Best performance, Norton, or Cooney, possibly Mercer or Holyfield past prime. In my opinion top 5 Atg .
What was the public's perception of Larry prior to his "carry my jockstrap" comment? I know he followed Ali which was going to be hard on anyone … I started really following the sport with the emergence of Tim Witherspoon and Tyson..
Pretty much everyone that posted before me nailed it. Holmes was a badass and a top five heavyweight for sure. The guy was dangerous well into his forties due to his will and skill.
Who was his idol growing up? I know he looked up the guys he trained with as a sparring partner like Ali and Frazier. Not too sure. Was he considered exciting to watch? Holmes had been in some incredibly exciting bouts but he had his fair share of lukewarm events. He was a warrior no doubt, bur rarely took unnecessary risks or "played with his food" (especially as he got older). His era did not have the colorful personalities of other eras and he wasn't a particularly charming or exciting individual outside the ring (not that its a bad thing). Everyone respected his boxing ability though, and purists adored his timing, speed, and ring generalship. What were his strengths and weaknesses? Holmes greatest strengths were that he took every fight seriously but didn't wear his body out overworking himself in training either. He once joked in an interview that he "became a better boxer when i stopped listening to my trainers. They'd tell me to run 5-6 miles and id say 'for what? I don't have a fight coming up' and id do a light jog for 1-2 miles" (paraphrasing). Holmes was almost always in shape and his greatest strength was consistency; that is, even on off nights the deadly accuracy and ring savvy were there. Nobody made him look foolish or just pummeled him. No need to elaborate on his unbelievable jab or his very painful uppercut. He also mastered the "measure and unload" tactic sticking his left out like a pool player and zapping a guy with a laser right cross. He didn't have many weaknesses but the ones he did have got him in trouble. Against sluggers his low left got him in trouble when backed up against the ropes or in the corner. Against technical fighters he could become impatient or frustrated and lose his cool (see Witherspoon and spinks fights). He had superb footwork when he was younger but a combination of age/weight gain/and lazyness saw a decline in this skill set when it perhaps could have earned him a win or at least avoid punishment in some fights. He continued fighting too long despite having enough money and gained too much weight and lost the reflexes needed to keep up with the elite younger fighters of the 90's. He still earned their respect with his craftyness and he was skilled enough and tough enough to pull off some impressive performances even in his late 30's and 40's. His best performance. I actually think the FIRST Shavers fight was his most impressive win as far as pure technique and boxing ability is concerned. Holmes was on fire and didn't make a single mistake. It's comparable to Ali vs Williams or Mayweather vs Canelo as far as mind boggling picture perfect boxing is concerned. Your all time ranking of him. Maybe #5 in terms of resume and #4 overall skill/h2h ability
I started following boxing in 1983, Holmes was reigning then. I'm from the Scranton area about 90 miles north of Easton. I liked Holmes a lot. At the time though, most people I knew thought of him as nothing special. The focus in boxing at the time was the lower weights. Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Duran, Benitez, even Ray Mancini, and Gerry Cooney even though he was inactive were much more popular than Holmes was. The heavyweight division wasn't revitalized until Mike Tyson turned pro and was knocking everyone out.
Holmes didnt have a boxing idol growing up. He was a big fan of the Phila Eagles Phillies and 76'ers. I found him exciting because I liked his style. Best all around jab in history regardless of weight class. Excellent cross and uppercut. Superb ring general who was also excellent at judging distance. Tight defense. Left hook could have been better as well as body punching. First Shavers fight was a 12 round clinic that was unexpected and rarely spoken about. Norton and Cooney fights are right there too. Top 3 without a doubt
I thought he was very exciting. He got into a lull with some of his challenges, but he was better than most so it looked like he had less opposition. Best performance? Norton. I rank him top 10 heavyweight. Maybe top 5 if pressed. Strengths. jab, stamina I thought and right hand. weakness concentration at times.
I’m gonna respectfully disagree with most of you ...I don’t think he was consistent....I don’t think he got up for every fight ...Williams...Witherspoon ...Bey ...Snipes ...Weaver .....He had a lot of subpar performances
He was a heavyweight that was never a big puncher ....so he was never gonna be has exciting as a Tyson or a Joe Louis
Probably Ali Barely. Some saw him as a copy of Ali. Strengths: the jab.very fast on his younger days. Boxing ability. Weakness: overhand rights. Shavers I best performance. Top 5 heavy.
