he probably would've beat Larry if they fought years earlier I think if Holmes seriously went all out and started blasting away at Ali like he did at select times... Then Ali would still probably be able to take it and stay on his feet. But it would've been a terrible beating.
We all know Ali story is pretty sad. I am not questioning your account by any means mate - if what Larry said is true then we all know Ali's pride would never let him quit.
Larry started out like a house on fire but as soon as he realised he was facing a shell of a man he loved to death his animal instincts refused to allow him to use those killer shots he could have ultimately twisted Ali with.. He knew how to control the fight late on and just plain beat the guy up... instead of trying to purely crack his dome like he would of any other man with lesser skills on that same night... He was almost a brother to Ali and he wasn't gonna go kill his own blood for a alphabet belt...... He looked releived when Angie did the right thing..... Bundini woulda had his man killed in there .. Compassion prevailed........
Holmes beat on Ali the same way he beat on Shavers and Weaver. Ali may have been a little more resilient, or the referee just let it go on longer.
He doesn't mind talking about it, the only thing that gets him wound up is George Foreman. Larry has said that he didn't want to hurt Ali, he just wanted to win. He was not trying to knock Ali cold, he was trying to get the fight stopped. Basically, he was hitting Ali, but rarely as hard as he could.
I have heard both that he went easy and that he did not... I myself am not sure but I would like to believe Holmes held back.
Much respect to bigcat, said perfectly. Jusr finished watching facing ali for the first time, i forgot how bad it was. :-(
I've had the fortune to run into Larry on several occasions. The time we spoke of the Ali fight (amongst other stuff) was at his last pro fight against Eric "Butterbean" Esch in Virginia. I drove there a few days early to be able to watch Larry train and my girlfriend was doing sports photography. Larry liked her pictures and we were invited to the pre fight press conference and Larry himself invited us to to post party. Just an unbelievable evening culminating with meeting and talking till 6am with Smokin Joe Frazier. Truly an unforgettable few days!
Holmes did not want to hurt Ali, so yes he did take it easy on him. Ali was a real clown prior to the fight, and during the fight. My favorite part of the fight is when Cosell says and Ali is still talking ( Well behind ) then Holmes lands on que, and Cosell quips, but they fight with gloves not words.