Anyone see '79 Larry Holmes losing a classic matchup? I don't!

I tend to think (most of the time) that Larry would handle Foreman, but then sometimes I remember the trouble Larry had with Weaver, Shavers (second fight, got caught), Norton in his prime, (and Witherspoon slightly after prime) and wonder if someone as big, strong, powerful and aggressive as Foreman would overwhelm him. Foreman had the size and strength of Norton and Witherspoon, and the power of Weaver (at least) and Shavers.

 

What's funny about it? I know, Holmes is ten times Foreman's superior when it comes to skill, but i've recently watched Holmes fight Weaver, and see him do very little to prevent getting hit for 5 rounds straight before finally ending it. Holmes' overconfidence may well be his downfall against a big, powerful hitter like Foreman.

 

He wasn't over confident when he saw a major threat. He would see Foreman as a big threat as he did Shavers in the first fight and Cooney. Those fights he boxed, IMO, his best 2 performances.

 

Marciano eats hard right hands all night long en route to a lop-sided decision loss or getting stopped late...

 

Frazier

 

Foreman was stronger than any of the fighters Holmes fought.
If Holmes sticks 100% to strong boxing skills he would probably get George tired late. If he gets careless, Foreman stops him. As far as the Frazier
of '71, Holmes is really in for a tough night and probably loses.
A motivated Ali could beat him.

 

Holmes never fought anyone close to a Top 15 heavyweight in his prime, so it's impossible to say. Lower tier fighters will always make someone look great/dominant. Unfortunately with Holmes, we'll just never know how he would have looked against another ATG.

 

Its absolutely great to read somebody giving The TRULY Great Larry Holmes some well deserved props .. I watch Holmes in his prime and ive never seen a more fluid Heavyweight with every shot in the book ..

Having said that, i dont like comparing fighters from different era's, considering that 1 single punch can change the destiny of a fight especially in the heavyweight division .. I think the fairest asessment is to put Larry Holmes in with the greats of all time at Heavyweight. I personally think that on any given night, the top 10 guys could all beat each other, you could have Holmes beating Ali, Ali beating Louis, Louis beating Tyson, Tyson beating Marciano and Marciano beating Dempsey etc etc ..... All these guys are so good and stylistically different that predictions of a categorical top 10 are futile .......... What i would say, is that ive heard people comparing Lennox Lewis in favourable terms to Larry Holmes and for me that is a total disgrace .. Holmes is 3 times the fighter of Lewis and every boxing fan should really know this ..

 

Prime Tyson saw a flaw in Holmes' technique when they fought
and said:

"Uh, oh....now he is going to get it".

Probably the same result if they fought in their primes.

 

'Probably' is an easy word to use considering Holmes was 5 or 6 years after his prime .. You could use that very same argument for Tyson v Holyfield .. 'Probably' isnt a great word to use in boxing !

 

Ok.....Tyson "cold-cocks" Holmes with a massive uppercut and leaves Larry as a crumbled pile of flesh and bone.

Tyson saw the in-built flaw Holmes always had.....just as Joe Louis had and Ali had in their particular styles.

Louis had his Schmeling, and Ali had his Frazier/Norton that exploited them.

 

Again that theory comes into the 'Probably' realm .. I personally think a prime Holmes would have dealt with Tyson better than the way Holyfield dealt with him, but again my argument is in the 'Probably' realm as is yours .... Nobody is right or wrong, its how we view the styles .. And when you say the 'in-built' flaws in Holmes, its pretty clear to any boxing fan the 'in-built flaws' of Tyson, every boxer has flaws, its whether the opponent has the skill and the guts to expose the flaws that important ..

 

Tyson took seemingly ages to get rid of an old man, an admittedly tough one. This fight has very very little bearing on how a peak Holmes would fare.