Larry Holmes...did he miss out on Greg Page and Pinklon Thomas?

Ohhh it helps a lot your argument.
Specially this part lmao

. “He said I hear you want a rematch and that’s fine, but you must re-hire Dick Sadler as trainer. I said that Sadler would never work my corner again and Ali responded, angrily, by saying there would be no rematch.”

 

Helps my argument? What argument? I just threw it out there for you. Ali could well have and probably should well have rematched George - indeed. I'd be extremely confident of an Ali win but George deserved a rematch even if he didn't inspire much confidence given the way the initial battle went.

Don't forget to read this bit tho -

When this reporter ventured to suggest that Ali may have avoided a rematch, Foreman instantly disagreed.

“Ali was the bravest man I ever shared the ring with and it all came down to the issue we had with Dick Sadler,” said Foreman, before marginally contradicting that statement. “Strange things can happen in boxing matches, that fighters never mention, and I may have caught him with one punch that he wasn’t willing to take again.

“A really heavy body shot bent Ali over at the waist and it was obvious he was hurt. When the bell rang to end that particular round he gave me a look and I remember thinking to myself, this is the bravest man I’ve ever faced. Despite chasing the rematch I asked myself, many times, if I truly wanted to get back in the ring with him.

“If Ali was a touch scared of fighting me again – I was glad of it.”

 

Foreman said that he was scared of frazier,norton and lewis was the greatest,tarver was just as fast as jones.. Lol

 

Yes, he talked a lot of shyte for sure. At the end of the day Ali should have given him a rematch anyways so it's not like we disagree. Ali had less than zero right to dictate what he did to him. It makes one wonder why.

 

Holmes had two reigns .. Norton to Cooney and post Cooney .. in the post Cooney years, 1983 to 85, Holmes felt his oats and got strategic .. he was not fighting anyone he didn't want to for less than big money .. he could have fought Page and Thomas for sure but there was not huge demand , both guys had very limited windows as top challengers and in fairness multiple times Holmes did fight and defeat the men that beat these guys at crucial moments in their upward arcs .. Holmes beat Berbick who defeated Page and Thomas and then Bey who defeated Page in Greg's second incarnation .. he also beat Witherspoon who beat Page .. it's a combination of elements ..

 

True, but, from a talent issue, Larry never had some of thing Greg had. And that scared him a little.

 

Your joking right

 

Page lost to Witherspoon and David Bey in 1984. I’m sure he loses to Larry, too. One of those “hand-picked” guys, Bey, got his shot because he BEAT Page. So he earned the shot you believe belonged to Page.

Pinklon’s a little tougher option, won a close verdict over Witherspoon around that time. But I don’t think he takes Larry.

Problem is, all of these “Holmes should have fought so-and-so” propositions depend pretty much upon finding an incredibly narrow time frame when the match may have been viable because, unlike Larry, these other revolving-door guys in the 1980s would have one good fight and then lose.

That’s not how unification fights are made. That’s not how big fights are made. Let Pink hold onto that belt for even 2 years and you’ve got a viable fight. Let Page do the same.

To say, ‘Hey, I can find a 6-month period where a guy fought once (or twice) and didn’t lose, Larry should have fought him’ is a reach to me.

 

Apart from selecting Micheal Spinks over Pinklon Thomas I can’t really think Larry did much wrong. He did take lesser fights in order to stay busy when bigger fights either fell through or were impossible to make because the other champion lost his next fight.

 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Like what ? Holmes was as big, faster, as strong, had a better jab, was better conditioned, overall better game, much stronger mentally and most importantly a much bigger heart. What separated Holmes from the 1980's lost generation of heavyweights that included Page, Does, Tubbs, Witherspoon, Thomas, Coetzee, Tucker, Douglas and others , more than anything w mental strength and will. Like all of them he was manipulated and raped financially by Don King, who comes across as a teddy bear today but was a ruthless, brilliant, thug, ex-murderer through out his reign controlling the heavyweight division. The difference was the Holmes gave it all he had, stayed focused, did not drown in drugs while crying the blues. That will and mental strength defined Holmes and that is why , prime for prime he'd beat a very talented but underachieving Page every time.

 

Greg had a certain "it" factor that he never truly realized, but then, his heart wasn't fully in the sport. And Larry better be thankful of that, because if he faced that Greg, it was over. If Tim Witherspoon can arguably beat Larry, then a motivated Greg can beat him, albeit by decision. BTW, Larry was probably stronger, not as fast as Greg, and a definite stronger jab. But Greg was no slouch in the jab department either, and was more agile than Larry.

 

Maybe about 50%.

 

LoL

 

When exactly was Greg not into it ? When Berbick beat him from pillar to post in his big coming out fight on the undercard of Holmes Cooney ? When he lost to Witherspoon in a fight for the title ? When David Bey beat him ? When Tony Tubbs beat him ? I watched Page from amateurs on WWS thru his pro career and he never lived up to the hype. What exactly is his big career defining signature win , flattening a Coetzee that had already been beaten by Tate and Weaver ? I don't see it.