Larry Holmes best Performance with Poll

Tough to say. He was pretty impressive against Leon Spinks. I think there was some personal animosity...
I also like some fights from the speedy, younger pre world champion Holmes, like against Shavers I.
Recently I watched maybe one of his most boring fights against Alfredo Evangelista. He was just too superior.

 

I guess technically, in terms of domination, it was Cobb. They could have fought 20 rounds and Holmes would have won every single one of them.

But aside from that, Cooney or Shavers 1. He looked damn good in there. Although there is a sequence I love from the Norton fight where Holmes circles Norton on his toes, throwing quick flicker jabs -- a quick straight up Ali impersonation. It was effective because Norton wasn't expecting him to just completely change like that.

 

For me Shavers 1 he dominated Shavers from the opening bell in an absolute boxing masterclass his punches looked razor sharp and he looked totally in the zone that night.

 

Yes. Cooney and Shavers 1 are my picks too. Flawless performances vs highly dangerous fighters.

 

His fight against Snipes in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena (the place that hosted Robinson’s last fight). Snipes hit Larry with a crushing right hand. Holmes was out. He was seriously hurt. Larry showed the true heart of a champion to not only get up but win the fight. I thought Holmes when done when he was dropped. The man had a HUGE heart.

 

Cooney was a one armed fighter and Shavers was an old man.

 

it was his first real purse — $100k, which as per google, would be about $400k today. his initial goal with boxing was to save up $100k cash, enough to buy a house and have a nest egg saved, and if he had to go back to driving a delivery truck after, that would be fine.

but he knew if he won that fight, he’d get a title challenge, and then all bets were off for earnings if he could win that. So he was super in the zone, fighting for his family’s financial security.

(This is all from his book. He never had quite the same motivations as other guys)

 

Op add Cobb

 

Cobb might be his most dominant performance against a top contender

 

Cobb was a fringe contender, he'd lost two of his last five. Shavers would have been at least a few places higher.

 

He literally beat Shavers and Mercado, was very competitive against Dokes and aging Norton. Fringe is probably the right word but he is underrated

 

Yeah he definitely wasn't a top 5 contender or anything.

 

It’s ironic that in three of his five actual prime fights against mediocre opponents listed in the polls, he struggled to win convincingly, yet in threads here, he dominates all-time greats with ease.