Larry Holmes: Shavers is why Ali is shaking

Rafael had a blog where he posted a bunch of quotes from Larry Holmes. They were all interesing. Here is what he had to say about Ali;

• Earnie Shavers' punches and their effect on Ali's health: "One of the reasons why Ali is shaking like that is because of Earnie Shavers, 'cause Earnie Shavers hit him every round. Hurt him every round. And Earnie Shavers shouldn't hit nobody like that. But he was -- bang! -- wake him up with another one. And Ali was so strong, so determined, that he would not fall down. And that's one of the reasons why he is probably having problems."

• Why he didn't want to fight the aging Ali in 1980: "No, I didn't want it, because I was put in a no-win situation. If I win, they say, 'Well, you know, Ali was old.' If I lost, they say, 'Well, I told you, he never had it.' So, you know, I was in a no-win situation, but I had to do it. And I won the fight, but I didn't hurt Ali, and him and I remained friends. He got paid a lot of money, and I got paid some money."

• The dangers of taking punches just to prove your tough: "I didn't try to prove nothing. Fighters go out there and prove how tough they are, to take punches and get hit and then later on something terrible [happens]. Ali, he used to lay up against the rope, and they called it 'rope-a-dope?' That rope made him dope. Your body only can take so much. Your head only can take so much. And Ali was getting hit with punches -- believe me -- that he shouldn't have got hit with. He would live on the ropes. You hitting him in the kidneys, you are hitting him on his head. When he has got his hands up here, your hands are hitting the head and stuff like that. And something is giving. That's what happened. And I never wanted to prove how tough I was, how much I could take. I wanted to prove that I could win and not get hit."

 

Here's what he said about Cooney and Formeman;

GERRY COONEY
• The pressure Cooney faced from the white community to beat Holmes in their 1982 title fight: "He had every white person probably in the world on his back 'cause he didn't beat me. 'Cause they was expecting him to win. And he was the greatest thing in the world until he lost. And then when he lost, they said, 'Well, he ain't nothing. Oh man, he ain't nothing.' Why he ain't nothing, because he lost to a great guy like Larry Holmes? And he lost because he had all the pressure. Y'all helped me. White people helped me beat Gerry Cooney by putting all the pressure on him. And he had the world on his back. I didn't. I didn't care less 'cause I am used to it. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. Just pay me. And it was all new to him."

• Racism in boxing: "It was always racial, and it's still racial. There is always gonna be that. And when a black fighter fights a white fighter, it's always racial, it's always that. They always put it there for some reason or another. Maybe 'cause color against color, 'cause it ain't man against man. I mean, that's the way it should be, but it's not."

GEORGE FOREMAN
• Their relationship: "Yeah, we pretend we get along. He don't like me. I know he don't like me. And I don't really care. Yeah, I don't like him either, and I don't care if he knows that."

• Why they never fought: "A guy put $10 million on the table for him and me and he walked away from it. What the heck is he thinking? You fight for $2 million? You are out there. And George Foreman wouldn't fight me for $10 million. But I want to know what's the matter with him. And I'll fight him now. I ain't in no shape and I'll beat George."