Does Larry Holmes deserve the bad rap for pummeling Muhammad Ali?

No, Holmes absolutely does not deserve a bad rap for pummelling Ali.

They were both pro boxers. They both signed a contract to fight each other. The objective is to win the fight, they both had a job to do and Holmes won.

Holmes had a lot to lose in the fight, his title, his reputation, possibly many millions of dollars.

As a matter of fact, I thought Holmes' deserved respect for the way he handled himself throughout. He won the fight with the minimum of fuss, handled himself with class, and showed a great deal of compassion to Ali and did not inflict as much punishment on Ali a he could have, once it was clear he had Muhammad in his pocket in the fight.

I suspect some are bitter with Holmes about this fight because Ali lost and it shattered their dreams, as they could no longer live their dreams vicariously through Ali's achievements.

 

Was Eddie Hearn to blame for Andy Ruiz coming into the Joshua rematch in bad shape? No.

Everyone blamed Ruiz and his team for not preparing properly.

It's not the promoter's job to train the fighters. It's not the promoter's job to referee the fight or examine fighters between rounds to see if they've taken enough punishment.

Ali's poor performance was on Ali, his trainers and manager, and the athletic commission officials (doctors, the commission chair, the referee, the doctor on the night of the fight) who approved the fight and allowed it to continue after it became a very long, extended train wreck.

Ali's team insisted Ali was looking great in camp and doctors said Ali was okay to fight and the Nevada Commission in charge of the fight apparently agreed with all of them. As the fight got closer, it was clear Ali wasn't looking good, and all of them allowed it to go on. And it was their job to put a stop to it if need be. Once the fight turned out the way it did, all of them passed the buck.

 

Then Dundee walked that corpse into the ring with Berbick when the man couldn't put two sentence's together. POS.

 

Humility is a virtue.

Even Tyson who was a self admitted "megalomaniac" has now calmed down and realized it's a sport at the end of the day.

People say Ali was arrogant but his boasting wasn't the same. He used the heavyweight title as more of a tool when he got older and understood that he would influence and effect others with the title.

Larry is over 70 and still seems bitter. He also disrespected other past greats like Marciano. As big as Tyson and Ali got, I don't ever recall them disrespecting past champions.

Holmes is an ATG and like top 7 or so among heavys but he never had the natural charisma that others had. He's not a likeable person at the end of the day.

Even when Tyson destroyed him he was making stupid excuses like his arm got caught in the rope. It wasn't even competitive; Tyson wrecked from form beginning to end. He barely lasted 4 rounds

 

He's bitter, because people like you STILL bring up Holmes' passing comment about Marciano he made within minutes of his first lost when he was angry ... and 35 years later people like you won't let it go ... yet, for some reason, you seem to be incapable of remembering anything "disrespectful" Ali or Tyson or anyone else ever said about a former champ.

Did Holmes say he wanted to EAT Marciano's children and crush their testicles? Did Holmes ever refuse to stop a fellow champ and instead tortured them round after round for an hour yelling "what's my name?"

Give me a break.

 

Speak for yourself I love Holmes. Larry is bitter and hostile and took absolutely no **** from anyone. He gave his honest opinion was genuinely himself at all times. He gave his honest opinion of Marciano. Ali absolutely did disrespect previous HW champions and thought he could beat them all. See AKA Cassius Clay with Cus to hear for yourself.

Tyson didn't talk about past greats which is fair and yeah Larry got laid out by Tyson but after the fight was over he seemed very complimentary of Tyson. He called Tyson the true champion and picked him to easily ice Spinks.

 

Ali wanted to KO Terrel but couldn't. Not even fighting dirty as sin. Haven't seen the Patterson fights if that's what you meant.

 

what dbblechin and escudo said!!!!

 

you know, I don't really care about charisma, it means nothing! it dosen't mean someone is nice or trustworthy, makes it easier for them to be just the opposite. Besides not having the charisma everyone seems to crave, Larry holmes was a great champion and example for others, worked hard at his craft, in shape, gave his all, and arguably the best that ever lived. And oh yea, he kicked ali's ass big time! LOL Yea, I know he was old, but still nice to see

 

Relax my friend.

My point is that Holmes to this day still seems bitter and he is unhappy about being under Ali's shadow.

Tyson apologized for his statements.

Ali said that he wasn't able to stop him.

And the difference is that Ali fought Terrell and Tyson fought Lewis. They were actual opponents. Marciano wasn't even alive when Holmes made that statement. People say crazy stuff all the time but the point was Holmes is still bitter after all these years and public opinion of you will be lower if you're disrespecting someone who isn't even alive. Ali even said that he doesn't know if he would beat Marciano. He also acknowledged he was deceased.

Saying you could beat a past champ isn't what the point was.

Beating someone who can't even defend himself, yeah that's really something nice to see.

Holmes didn't reach the heights that Tyson or Ali did in terms of acclaim or recognition.

Muhammad Ali was probably the most well known human being aside from religious figures at one point.

Tyson is decades removed from his prime and was still the biggest draw this year in terms of PPV sporting events.

 

Keyboard warrior? He was making a good point, Holmes is a ****

 

Holmes was a small town guy without an complete education who grew up with a chip on his shoulder ... he can be socially awkward and has been at times from the start .. his speaking impediment never helped nor being in the shadow of Ali .. that said, he was an exceptional , courageous fighter in his own right and a very decent person to pretty much anyone that does not wrong him ..

 

In Truth what was Holmes suppose to do? The ref was not stopping that fight, the corner was a bit late in retiring imo. Ali had no right health wise to be in that ring that night. Not Holmes fault. He was paid to fight and he fought.

 

All fine and dandy....but you forget who was it who dangled the lucre to a retired bloated graying Ali?...don king...thats where it starts and finishes....don doesnt do that the fight doesnt ever happen......

 

Perhaps Angie wasnt thinking right after pepe correa brutally beat the holy shhit out of dundee just the year before