Did Larry Holmes

That's a good question. I would give a slight edge to the first career: Shavers, Norton, Cooney, Whiterspoon, Spinks. In the 90s he faced Mercer, Holyfield and McCall. Great fighters, but not enough quantity.

 

You obviously weren't around to watch a prime Holmes. If you were you would have never asked this questions. Boggles my mind

 

A slight edge??? WTF is going on here lately

 

First career, but 92 Holyfield is the best fighter he fought.

 

First career. While Holmes fought good fighters in the 90s he was champ in the 80s and set records in how many undefeated and 1 loss fighters he was beating. You can say those records were padded and you don't respect that era but Holmes was at the top of said era regardless what you think of it. In the 90s he had 2 title fights and fought 2 other kinda relevant fighters. Not at all the same thing hes praised for that run because he was in his 40s and winning every non title fight he was in. But that is not the same as being the long tenured champion.

 

Holy was head and shoulders the best he ever fought, and Mercer makes his top 5 wins. McCall would be a top ten opponent. Still, the first career is where the volume was.

Would you put Tyson in the first career? That was kind of in between to me...its own thing.

 

You can argue that 85 Spinks and Norton were on the level of Holyfield

 

I would very, very strongely disagree. Spinks is a great PfP guy, but heavyweight resume is not there. Norton is really just the Ali fights, along with faded Quarry and an either-way against Jimmy Young. Realistically, Holy's heavyweight record is better than both combined.

 

I still think that Holyfield could have struggled against Norton and Spinks.

 

And you could be right, but head to heads are are definitionally hypothetical. In terms of resume and accomplishment, Holy dwarfs what those guys accomplished at heavyweight.

 

I remember one of-if not the most- matter-of-factly-stated but hysterically deluded things I ever heard a fighter say about later guys, or their own accomplishments, was years after Holyfield's relevant fights, so nowhere near Holyfield/Holmes, Earnie Shavers seemed to be genuinely, without trying to dis anyone, calculating in his head "I'd say I beat about-hmm-oh, ten Holyfields, I'd say." in one interview.

 

I don’t know if you’d win the argument, though. Holyfield was clearly a better Heavy than Spinks, & an ageing Norton only takes you so far when you don’t beat him convincingly in your pomp.

 

What I meant was that both could give Holyfield tough fights. But, I think Holyfield beats both. But Holyfield isn't mowing down Spinks like Tyson did and he ain't pulling a Shavers on Norton.

 

That I would agree with. I was comparing their careers in my mind, sorry.