Larry Holmes - Top 5 Notable Wins

Rummy nails it again.

Interesting choice with Ray Mercer but I’m not sure I’d argue unless you put Shavers I in there.

Nice recap of each fight in giving us the action, the magnitude and the analysis.

@Rumsfeld is undisputed.

If you’re looking to do a similar one, I’d like to see your top five Arguello wins.

 

Rummy does the best boxing videos

 

Another fantastic professional type effort. The only win that would put any pressure on these would be the initial Shavers match imo but you've gone for the example showcasing heart. Perhaps Shavers 1 could also have been mentioned in the closing credits but i'm nitpicking. I would have picked the same five.

 

Yes and no.

He is a fan of Boxing, however he put the Ghost of Mike Tyson as one of Lennox Lewis's best 5 wins and that right there shows that he is limited or biased........

 

Maybe biased ..limited not in the least

 

Cannot agree more.

The best win for any great fighter are the ones between two men who are regarded the worlds best two men in that weight class at that time.

When Larry beat Norton, Kenny was regarded the best in the world. Not Spinks. So beating him at that moment was a win to decide the best in the world.

Shavers then beat Norton easier than Larry had, This would have made Ernie the guy I think would have been seen the next best guy in the world after Larry. So fighting shavers, right after he had that win over Norton, is another fight to decide who is the best in the world at that time.

When Larry beat Cooney, I think Cooney was widely regarded the next best guy in the world, so beating him, Larry won another fight to decide who was the best in the world at that time. After that fight Larry remains the best guy in the world. I don’t care what the other governing bodies put forward, Larry remains unbeaten and the lineage of the other belt is not based on the worlds best.

One fight that got away was Gerrie Coetzee in 1979. When Coetzee beat Spinks in one round, Leon’s fist fight since losing his title to Ali, Coetzee should have been put forward to meet the guy regarded the best in the world not John Tate. Larry Holmes was the best in the world.

The fact that fight did not happened meant every other champion resulting from the John Tate line was really passing a “leading contender claim” rather than an actual crown or even a claim to be the next best heavyweight in the world.

Same with the Greg Page nonsense. Larry fighting Page was not going to decide who the best guy in the world was since Page had already lost to a guy Larry beat. It would have been a nice defence but no more of a key fight than David Bey was And never a fight with somebody regarded as the second best in the world.

I don’t think Tate, Dokes, Weaver or Tubbs ever won a fight that made them appear to be the “widely regarded” second best heavyweight in the world. They only proved to be a Good contender but that is all. Each only ever got themselves into a position to prove they could beat another contender, but nothing really to separate them from anyone else in the ratings.

In truth Pinklon Thomas did represent one of these “world best decider matches” since Pinklon legitimately beat Witherspoon easier than Holmes had and clearly looked to be the second best heavyweight in the world. However the window for their fight was small and both Larry and Thomas would lose fights at around the same time.