Does Larry Holmes deserve the ATG status?

He was also clearly past his prime for both fights, especially Williams.

Also, can you point out a better performance for either of those 2? Both of them put on the best performances of their career against Larry, who still managed to beat them when he wasn't at his best.

 

atsch he wasn"t past his best . they looked good for the same reason every other fighter with decent skill looked good against LARRY . Because LARRY struggled with them all !

 

Oh, ok. Holmes at 33 and 35 was not past his best. Holmes clearly slower than he was in the late 70s and early 80s, regularly weighing in 10-15lbs heavier than he had been during the late 70s and early 80s must've been better, right?

 

atsch No he wasnt that far past his best ! :good

 

Yes he was. Even with the torn bicep in the Norton fight, Larry was still clearly much quicker and better than he was in the Witherspoon and Williams fights.

 

he didnt look any better and he was fighting a shot fighter !

 

atsch

 

Larry Holmes is one of the greatest to ever lace em up, its a shame that we didn't get see him and Foreman get it on.

 

It took you exactly two posts to completely expose yourself:

You say he lost when it counted most (please explain what that means)

then

You say he dominated his era.

You can't dominate and lose the most important fight or fights. Just admit you're a hater and move along.

 

A simple analysis about Holmes should consider the following:

1) He was a complete fighter; very good on the H2H basis (positive)
2) His dominance, reflected in his 48-0 streak (positive)
3) His opposition. He fought in a weak era, and many of those fights were against green fighters. He never decided to unify. (negative)
4) Never beat great fighters (Ali's corpse or 1978 Norton are not great) (negative)

Considering all positive and negative factors, I think a fair ranking for Larry Holmes is #5 All Time Great at Heavyweight. He is an ATG.

 

Yes, he d-


Hmm.


Do you deserve a serious reply? Or thread creating abilities in the first place? :think

 

:thumbsup Very fair analysis and conclusion

 

Larry Holmes was a monster man and he didnt take no prisners. Hes nothing like Vlad. He had the heart of a champion and hes most definitely an ATG.

 

:good:happy:happy:happy

 

IMO, Larry was pretty much of a ****.

And still is.



That said, he is very clearly an ATG.

I rank him at 5 or 6 alltime.