I'm a little surprised so many here think Witherspoon won that fight, to me he just didn't do enough for the belt, and for most of the fight Holmes looked like the champ. Holmes' cheer-out-loud performance against Witherspoon in the ninth round, after being out on his feet, is one of the most amazing depictions of championship heart in boxing history imo, and to me that was the last fight where Holmes truly looked great (though he was impressive against Mercer). I personally had Truth ahead by two points. Larry lost that fight, the first one to Spinks (I had Spinks ahead by two on that one), and of course Mike and Evander. All that said, paper aside, Holmes to me is a two time champion...I had him by five points in the second Spinks fight. It remains a heartache to me that he just couldn't seem to summon the effort necessary to dominate Holyfield and McCall in the later rounds of those fights, after eight rounds I had him ahead on each fight. Same could be said for the Spinks fights. I recommend watching that Witherspoon fight again to see just how much Holmes ring general-ized that fight. His experience helped him edge it, but in ways that might seem subtle upon casual viewings.
I doubt Thomas or Page would have done any better than Witherspoon had Larry fought them. They would have both been decision wins imo, but Larry might have stopped Thomas in the late rounds. I still feel that Larry was the best fighter in the heavyweight division right up to the loss by Williams. But I believe his decline came after the Tex Cobb fight...just watch how sharp, snapp, and accurate Larry is in that fight. To me that was a show of Heavyweight Greatness that nobody at the time could match, and though it's only my opinion I feel even that Larry would have kicked the tar out of Tyson, even during Mike's '88 prime (he would have just kept putting that thumby jab in his face and catching him coming in with the right). Sadly, it was only five years later when, as a new grandfather, he took on the best heavyweight since him.
I’ve posted a few times on this board how little I’d seen if Greg Page. I’ve had a chance to see a few more fights and don’t think he’d give Larry much trouble. Athletic guy and pretty tough but just not a good fighter to me. Weird style that reminds me of someone mimicking a fighter. Definitely had gifts though. Thomas might’ve given Holmes trouble and he would’ve gone the distance. Close fight against mid 80’s Holmes but I think he’d still lose.