So this is one I hadn't watched in probably close to 20 years but I could still hear in my head Al Albert's call in round 2 "Oh big right hand by Ferguson and Holmes is rocked he's just about ready to go" so as I was going through some of my tapes tonight (I have over 1,000 VHS tapes and yes my wife agrees with you it's insane) and stumbled across this one and thought yes as I'd been thinking of it over the past few months. I knew Jesse rocked him badly with an overhand right that went right thru Holmes's jaw which Jesse is usually a left hooker so landing a devastating right was shocking a little but you literally could not land a harder right then Jesse landed on Larry. It was PERFECT!! And like I said I remembered that overhand right from round 2 but as I'm watching this fight what I didn't remember was that Ferguson is landing heavy rights and lefts in every round and really giving Holmes a tough fight and possibly is doing enough to make a case for a victory in this fight!! Very entertaining fight! I don't believe this is one that has ever made its way to YouTube so I'm glad I stumbled onto my tape tonight because I'm thoroughly enjoying it with beer in hand..
Sounds like it might be worth uploading? I liked Ferguson. He had as much talent as a lot of much higher regarded fighters. I can believe some of his results reflect on the amount of notice he was given to take fights. People "in the know" knew he was pretty good if he was well prepared. That is for sure. He was certainly a live opponent for Tyson. You dont see so many Heavyweights like Jesse now and there really were so many of them then. When Tyson beat Furguson it was actually an underappreciated win for Tyson because Ferguson was an underappreciated fighter at that point even though he had a good record and a more genuine run of fights than Tyson had up until that point. Being beaten by Tyson automatically made a journeyman out of the guys he beat, but Ferguson was one of the few who who Was not really a journeyman beforehand. He won an ESPN tournament which was at least evenly matched. It was no surprise to me when he turned over Mercer.
Great story. I'd like to watch this fight too. Holmes even at 45 was tough as nails and had great chin. So he had that even, close fight vs Ferguson and took some bombs and never went down. In his next fight Holmes challenged McCall for the WBC belt and almost got a win. I think the fight was fairly even, 6-6 in rounds but McCall had great 9th round when he landed numerous bombs on Holmes' chin and judges scored in 10-8. It costed Holmes a draw as two judges gave McCall one-point nod. And in Ferguson and McCall fights 45 y.o. Holmes took devastating punches and never went down. Admirable!
Ferguson was good. He was very fast at his best and threw nice crisp , clean combos to head and body in good form. I think he was better than Witherspoon.
Prime for prime? NO Witherspoon almost beat a version of Holmes that was much better than the one Ferguson fought. Witherspoon had slightly better defense, better jab, more power, more strength. Also, Witherspoon didn't have sparring partner syndrome - something that often cost Jesse in close fights I have to say, though, Jesse beating an out of shape Mercer was awesome. Ray had a great chin and heart, but he just didn't have the defense or smarts to be a champion.
Agree.. Yeah I remember the first Mercer - Ferguson fight wasn't televised, it was on the Bowe - Dokes undercard.. Bowe's two title defenses didn't warrant ppv back then, just regular old HBO. So I had a guy who could get me those fights not shown. I have 100's of them. They are entertaining because the HBO crew is in place but they call them like they know they aren't being shown (because they aren't) so they say hilarious things, things they'd not say during the live broadcast.. I recently dug up my Bonecrusher Smith vs Greg Page fight, this is another of these fights this one on showtime. Back on point so I received the fight only a week or so after it happened and was startled at how Jesse just pummeled Ray throughout. Now Ray had an iron jaw so he took everything but Jesse couldn't miss. I remember during the between rounds period at one point Jesse did contemplate quiting, everyone of course knows that Mercer was offering him a bribe to lay down. The HBO crew to their credit talked about this during the fight at first sort of tongue in cheek and then with more seriousness as you could actually see these events attempting to unfold before our eyes. I remember HBO implying things like well if Jesse wins this he's done no one will take him on as an opponent again, almost being like well this poor guy may be outa work after this. Not assuming that he could actually possibly make a run and be a contender again.. So the rest is history basically at this point. Mercer blew he's second possible title shot, the first losing to Holmes and losing what was possibly his fight vs Holyfield which of course became Holyfield vs Holmes and now here losing what was his guaranteed title shot vs Bowe which of course became Bowe vs Ferguson., Jesse fought hot and cold for the rest of his career but had some good wins sprinkled in here and there down the stretch, I remember enjoying seeing old man Jesse take out contender at the time Samson Pou'ha on HBO when he was advancing in age!! Guys like Jesse I have such a connection too since they fought so frequently on the boxing shows I watched growing up.
Yeah Holmes was as tough as nails, you could hurt him but good luck finishing him, Larry in my opinion is in the top 5 all time at HW.
I'd say Jesse beating Douglas was better than a come from behind stoppage against Frank Bruno. Spoon was a bit wild. Ferguson threw punches with slightly better technique imo .
