Holmes hostility toward Foreman

Jealousy. George has a congenial personality which caters to endorsements. Larry has a grating personality. Also Larry wanted to fight George in the mid 90s and it didn't happen. Larry missed out on a big payday by that fight never happening.

 

I think Holmes wanted very badly during his reign to be a popular champ, recognized for his greatness. He had the substance and skills to back it up. But he never got what he wanted.


Then in the 90s, Foreman was able to achieve incredible popularity just by being a jolly old fat man who was always joking. Furthermore, Foreman did not have the talent at that point to merit such popularity.


I think Holmes, already bitter for never getting the recognition he wanted, was further embittered by seeing a guy like Foreman get so much recognition that he may not have deserved.

 

green with envy foreman made way more $$$$ during his comeback and holmes comeback was kinda boring

 

Larry probably wants to be his friend.
I remember only ten or fifteen years ago when Larry was saying Tyson and all the 90s heavyweights (Lewis, Holyfield etc.) were rubbish, and how Tyson would have been knocked out by the Quarrys, Nortons and Bonavenas of Ali's era.
Recently, I saw a video of Larry and Tyson together doing some question and answers thing for fans, and Larry was totally kissing Tyson's nuts.

 

All right...................what are you up to? :blood

 

That's just a part of Holmes and his personality. He always felt unappreciated for his accomplishments in the ring, and wasn't above letting you know about it.
I'm pretty sure Foreman wasn't about to let Holmes get him in the ring and show that Larry was the superior fighter. Yeh, Holmes was all about the money, but you know he wanted the satisfaction of making Foreman looking foolish in the ring as well.
Foreman would occasionally hold out that possibility of a fight, and then back off to **** off Holmes. I think he liked doing that.

 

Money and popularity .. Larry felt George was a huge con man in his comeback, was certainly jealous about the money he made in and out of the ring and felt in his heart he could beat George but George wanted no part of him .. that's Larry .. sometimes it's real, other times it's hype and often they blend into one ..

 

It was all basically a case of professional jealousy as well as the natural inferiority complex that Holmes had, no doubt stemming from the self realization that he wasn't as warmly accepted by the fight community due to his charisma deficit. Instead of Holmes filling the void of Ali's absence as a star of the boxing scene, there was the menacing spectre of Mike Tyson, who only made matters worse by crushing Holmes in their meeting and then the brilliantly self-reinvented George Foreman with his dramatic and successful comeback stealing even more thunder from Larry. Even eclipsing Marciano's mythic 49 and 0 was denied him..and of all things, on account of a lightheavyweight (albeit a champion) in Michael Spinks. A classic inferiority complex, coupled with his natural tendency to be bitter...and a huge target for that bitterness was the loveable grill salesman who really, as has been noted already, didn't owe Larry anything.

 

Prime Foreman egdes Prime Holmes in a thriller .

 

What you're basically saying is that Larry was/is a cu-nt.

 

I'm a Holmes fan too. Holmes is a biter old cat. Such is his charisma.

Sub in Holmes for Jimmy Young in the 1970's vs Foreman, and Holmes resume goes up.

Foreman backed out of a mid to late 1990's clash between the two.

 

Excellent response. The funny thing is Holmes was a millionaire many times over, so go figure.

 

yeah