Larry Holmes depending on his age. The punch that knocked Page out by Ruddock wasn`t any harder than the punch Shavers knocked Holmes down with and Holmes got up to win! ATG!
Holmes by a shade...Page was a great talent with big power but his Ali type style makes him vulnerable to Holmes who saw Ali's style alot more than Page ever saw Holmes style..... Holmes is underrated sometimes because of his era but there was alot of talent and he beat everyone in his prime...the issue in his era was it was post Ali fans had post Ali withdrawals sort of placing a cloud over the Holmes no frills era
They were slated to fight in 83 with Page coming off his best performance up until that time vs Snipes. On the same day Holmes showed signs of slippage against Witherspoon. Slated odds for the fight were 8-5 for Holmes. If Page came in motivated like he was against Snipes (highly likely as he and Holmes had some bad blood going on) he would have had a good chance. Holmes was more cultivated and structured but Page had no shortage of talent and had a jab not that much short of Holmes when on song. Holmes would probably sneak past a motivated Page at this time but it's definitely no certainty. If Page showed up in poorer shape (like vs Witherspoon) Holmes would decision him comfortably. Even tho Holmes declined markedly after 83 that time was probably Pages best window as he started to regularly under perform himself. He was superb vs Coetzee but won that fight more so via his power, chin and determination on the night. He happily traded with the big hitting South African and came up trumps.
Remember when Coetzee got that "bionic" fist? Some South African surgeon "arc-welded' his fist bones together, or some story like that? lol
They took flesh out from around the bones from memory, or fused the bones or both. The power difference was dramatic.
If Page came in 218-225, and was motivated, he would win a close unanimous decision. He might even drop Larry to seal the deal, he had underrated power.
I would have went with Page when the bout was talked about. The IBF being created and just handing Larry the crown killed any chance of the fight happening. Page being Page, would give a career best performance on a fight he was always clamouring for. But what he would do next is be a different guy in the rematch and be totally outclassed. But you had Thomas in the wings & his form was probably the best of the bunch by 1984. For a big payday and big spotlight bout, I think Pinky beats everyone.
Holmes did everything better than Page, except for power in the right hand, but above an beyond this, Larry was a true professional, extremely tough, and very unlikely not to be prepared for what an in shape Page could do. He'd beat Page via later round TKO or wide decision. Page has his chance to move into positon again to fight Holmes, but lost to the late David Bey, whom Holmes easily defeated. Looking over Holmes resume of wins, Page would not rate in the top 5.
