Larry was extremely admirable in his fight with Shavers and Snipes but Shavers was known for letting guys off the hook who were dropped and hurt and Snipes was green and not really known as an elite puncher. Larry was a great fighter but vulnerable to right hands. Most of the big right hand punchers did not get to fight Larry for some reason or the other or they fought Larry very green 16 fights and under. What good right hand punchers could not hurt Larry with the right hand?
Well 68 guys did not get away from Earnie. That aside, come on Bummy .. Holmes defeated Earnie Shavers, Ken Norton, Mike Weaver, Tim Witherspoon, Trevor Berbick, Bonecrusher Smith, Ray Mercer and fought competitive fights well past forty against Evander Holyfield and Oliver McCall .. sixty nine fights, stopped once against a prime Tyson a bout he was poorly prepared for .. the Tyson fight aside he never did not hit the floor in twenty one years , from 1981 to 2002 .. If you want to split hairs, you can do it against any fighter .. Holmes was an exceptional heavyweight champion and his record proves it .. make your case about his weakness and I'll return serve with like kind...
I did not say who he beat, I said who did not hurt him, Smith was 14-1 and shook him, Spoon and Williams had 16 fights and shook him many times, 18-9 Mike Weaver had him hurt many times and some say the best right hand punchers were Coetzee, Page, My point is Larry was vulnerable and even the old Norton hurt him. Larry used his experience well and was the best of his era but I cant help wondering if he ended up like he did against Tyson vs a great right hand banger Holmes was my favorite of that era but I wish he fought the best, not the young inexperienced but I will except the answer you gave McCall and Mercer and Evander but more of a testimony to Larry experience and boxing ability but he did survive them
Bummy, I've often been curious about if the Coetzee fight had been made, if a "bionic right" hand would have found it's way to Holmes'chin.
Coetzee beat no one in his career but a drugged out Mike Dokes .. He was diced up by John Tate He was KO'ed by Mike Weaver He drew w Pinklon Thomas He was destroyed by Page. He was destroyed by Bruno. He made his career by KOing a near amateur in Leon Spinks on national TV after Spinks lost to Ali and did not have any significant wins in his whole career but Dokes .. if you think this one dimensional, one armed fighter was beating Holmes that's a hell of a long shot ..
I didn't suggest that he would have beaten Holmes...I merely speculated on what would have happened if one of his right hands connected. If Snipes could deck Holmes, Coetzee certainly could have...he had a better right than Snipes.
He's very fortunate he lost to Bobick when he did. Stevenson and his big right hand was the next fight. A bad loss there and just what way does that pro career go? That easily could have made for 3 bad ko defeats---2 to Wells and a Stevenson. That's an awful lot to recover and rebound from. Speaking of Wells, it his his right hook that got him and not the southpaw's left. A southpaw with a nasty right hook is a problem for anyone.
I remember Holmes losing to Bobick and Wells and yes T.Stevenson would have been damaging for Holmes. I never expected the then trial horse 18-9 Weaver to nearly upset Holmes but that fight gave Weaver confidence
I agree Coetzee had Snipes on the floor 2X but he was robbed by King and Snipes got the shot at Holmes. Holmes was more skilled than Gerry but styles make strange happenings, if Snipes could almost blast Larry out, Coetzee certainly would have a chance and thus make for an interesting fight. Page was another when in Shape had a potent and quick sneaky right hand. Thomas was OK and a rematch with a confident Weaver may have been interesting but i agree with you Coetzee may have been able to land thunder better than Renaldo who did pretty well
I think Greg would have decked Larry, but he definitley would have had to been in shape.And when he decked Holmes, Holmes would be in very serious trouble.
Holmes had a weakness for getting hit with rights. But its not something that was unmanageable. He survived the best right handed fighters he ever faced with the exception of one whom he met at 38 years of age and after two years in retirement.
That would give say....Max Schmeling a pretty good shot at Holmes, wouldn't it? I would say Baer and Johansson as well, but Schmeling's right, though not singularly as lethal as the other two I mentioned, had an educated, more strategic delivery.