Could Joshua have taken the title from Holmes in 85 ?

Depends really, if you mean literally, at the first bell of their respective fights, pluck Holmes from his Spinks fight and AJ from his Wlad fight and match them then it makes no sense.

If Larry had a 10+ week camp, knowing full well he was facing a decorated, unified champ in AJ then I would say the '85 Holmes boxes his way to victory on the night.

 

Joshua is nothing like Spinks. Mike won by using a high energy high tempo attack never giving Larry a chance get his jab working .Joshua cannot use this method he would be exhausted even this version of Holmes would be the best fighter Aj has met I wouldn't be surprised if Larry controlled the fight behind his jab winning on points or late stoppage

 

Holmes had really slowed down and I don`t think he take a decent body assault with the flab he had developed, don`t know if Wlad was as good a body puncher as AJ is but AJ`s uppercuts to the body are vicious, he would have worn older Larry`s legs out quicker than he did Wlad`s.

 

AJ`s jab is more powerful than Larry`s or Spinks and the jab is the easiest punch to counter, AJ is an amazing counter punch with a better reach than Spinks had.

 

[url]https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/aj-s-top-5-heavyweights-of-all-time.612461/[/url]

 

Yep I see your point,. We'll go with Holmes going in knowing all about Josh and vice verse .He took Spinks light in the first fight but came better prepared for the rematch. I actually have Larry' in control much of the fight and coming through rough patches to stop him in the last couple of round s .Style s make fight s and Spink s was a hard one for Larry to fathom .

 

an amazing counterpuncher would end Wlad early.

WOuld still be a very tight win for Holmester

 

AJ doesn't have half the jab Holmes has. And let's say for arguments sake it's more powerful. Is it as fast..is it as acurate..is it used both offensively and defensively to control distance and tempo..is it as accurate or thrown as much? No its not

 

The lack of success by Holmes sized heavies in the past 21+ years seems like pretty damning evidence against Holmes being able to compete with Joshua. Why cant any Holmes sized guys reach the top?

 

Why is thinking Holmes could beat Joshua any less crazy than thinking Marciano would beat today's top heavyweights a proposition many people here see as laughable

 

He countered Parker`s jab which stopped him from using it Parker`s jab was as quick as Larry`s.

 

Larry really wasn`t that good by 1985 at all.

 

WTF are u talking about?? Dont try an compare Parkers generic jab with the man who had arguably ..IMO the best jab of all time in Holmes. Do you even understand how ridiculous that sounds??. Gain some knowledge before you make these ridiculous claims!

 

I would start by looking at the fighters abilities. Size, skill set, natural gifts like speed and mobility. Larry Holmes was about 6-3 and Rocky was 5-10. Holmes was 210-15 lbs in his prime. Rocky 185lbs. In top shape.

Did Larry Holmes need to take 2 to give 1? No he was elusive, crafty and sported one of the best left jabs in the history of the division. He knew how to keep his opponent off balance.
With Marciano he basically is matching strength and his will but he took damage every fight.

As far as the topic Holmes would win a decision in a boring tactical fight. His experience at the championship level would be too big of a gap for Joshua to cover. Larry would probably make AJ look slow and plodding similar to the way Spinks made him look. AJ not getting off, getting tied up, rinse and repeat. Frustration sets in as well as fatigue. The more experienced champion is going to be able to fight at the pace he wants and still think Cleary in the later rounds.
In 85 he was past it but it's still Larry Holmes.