And I also think it's a specific blow to the manhood of many to be bested. It is a fight after all. Foreman seem to have taken the defeat to Ali as demasculating in some way. Yeah, that one is a beauty. The best one is when he seriously claimed that he beat a good enough version of Ali for it to have real significance, though. He more or less tried to pass it off as Ali was prime. Merchant, Bert Sugar et al had a hard time keeping straight faces.
Maybe old man Holmes says that now about ali but back in the day before his fight with ali was made he stated ali was past his best. after the ledoux fight ali jumped around playing to the crowd. when asked what holmes thought of the former champion calling him out Larry said something like "its sad, he knows he dont got it no more but he misses the attention and the limelight, ..when he was champ he told me he was too old to beat me. AND he still knows that. but now I am the champ he wants to fight me? he knew then he couldnt beat me, why now?..hes so past his best he is no chalenge to me, muhammad just misses the fans, but if the moneys right.."
Foreman, I think, is a big phony, but at least he knows how to play to the public. I still think that George is still basically the same guy he was back in the 70's, but he's learned how to refine his public approach. Kudos to him for doing that I guess. With Holmes, you know what you are getting.
At the start of the HBO programme on the night of the fight, Barry Tompkins said something along the lines of "Larry Holmes, a 38 year old Grandfather, tries to Reclaim Former Glory, but he has a Menacing 21 year old standing in his way!" Tyson was at his peak, Larry was past his! That 1-2 combo by Tyson in the fourth, a left jab then a right, which lands right on the button, is a thing of beauty. Holmes didn't even the two punches coming! You have to give Larry for getting up after that - he was very durable was Holmes, & probably had the best recuperative powers of any HW in history! Tyson was just too good for him!