If Larry Holmes had drawn a color line against Cooney, would you still consider Larry the champion?

Since he never attempted to unify the belt, and in fact declined to fight Page and Thomas, there would really be no difference. He would have been the company champion, like he was.

 

Bulls eye !

 

Seeing as he beat ONE top tenner his entire career (who didn't deserve his ranking). I doubt he would've achieved much.

 

Unsure what happens to his resume. Might work out a little better for it, or a little worse. I'd lose all respect for him though. The sporting world was largely past that **** by that time (although not entirely, e.g., the entire attempt at turning Cooney into the great white hope).

I mean, what white kid growing up in the US in the 80's who was into sports didn't idolize a variety of black athletes? Having posters of them on our walls, reading about them in magazines, rooting for them on TV, wearing jerseys or shoes with their names on them? Learning about the former color line in sports as a kid seemed so bizzarre to me, so drastically different than how things in sports were at the time. To have the HW champ attempt to bring that **** back would have been highly offensive. Even as a kid, I'd have been offended.

 

I'd think much less of him as a person.