Larry Holmes vs Ingemar Johansson

true Ernie had more then a minute to finish Holmes.

 

I think Larry is a big favorite to beat Johannson. I think he outboxes him and wins almost every round. On film, Johanson isn't near the level of Holmes. But Holmes did have trouble with right hands, I don't think thats any secret, and Johannson had a good one. His two ko's over Patterson and Machen are big wins, so I guess he does have a small shot here. Still, putting Holmes down and keeping Holmes down are two different things. Holmes by wide decision and actually a later stoppage wouldn't be a big shock.

 

Larry was susceptible to right hands ,but had the best recuperative powers of any heavyweight Ive seen,Shavers hit harder than Ingo and his shot should have killed Holmes ,when Larry got up he couldnt feel his feet thats how powerful a shot it was ,but get up he did.Ingo might score a flash knockdown but his handspeed was only average ,and his left was just a range finder for the big right Holmes would jab him to death ,and mix in quick straight lefts to the body to lower Ingo's European style guard ,then bring his own right over and drop the Swede,Holmes by 7 or 8 rds tko or even a clean ko.

 

No contest, Holmes by mid to late rd TKO.

 

Are we talking a 50's ref, who's much more likely to let Ingo get a quicker start at Holmes after a knockdown - or an 80's ref who might give Holmes a few extra seconds to digest his surroundings and use his length to hold Johansson until he can get "safe" again?

Is there going to be a standing eight count or not? Big ring or small one?

Yeah, Ingo has a chance with one good shot and the follow up - but Holmes wasn't somebody who had weak recuperative powers a few seconds here or there is a big difference.

 

Now come on, you want to have a massacre. A real messy one.

 

Now here's one I've NEVER thought of.
I clearly see a Holmes victory, probably a stoppage somewhere after mid-fight or fairly one-sided decision BUT it could get interesting along the way. Larry could get a tad lethargic at times and that could be where Ingo takes advantage. His jab was deceptive; not a real offensive threat, but a pesky, diversionary weapon that could frustrate you and keep you off balance. Ingo's main plan was to get you thinking about his jab. If Larry gets lazy and starts dropping that left after his jab he could get in trouble.
Granted Ingo didn't have any left hook to speak of but neither did Larry (or Ali either for that matter).
Still, if Johannson were to put Holmes down he surely would be unable to keep him there. At some point it'll be Larry "one-twoing" at will with the ref stepping in to call off the scrap.

One other point I just thought of: Remember a young Cassius Clay giving Ingo a thorough boxing lesson in Miami in 1961. Perhaps Holmes might win a bit easier than we might suspect.

That's all I can think of....:hi:

 

Sure, Ingo could drop Holmes, but Johansson failed to put Patterson down for the count, and Larry had tremendous recuperative powers. Aside from the knockdowns he suffered against Snipes and Shavers, those matches were pretty one sided in his favor. Holmes would lock up a points win by the time the championship rounds arrived, but he'd need to be cautious throughout.

 

Agreed, Johansson tended to knock fighters down several times before being able to put them away. Not the demolishing one punch hitter. Holmes did have a remarkable ability to recover and I am sure would put an end to Ingo before the eigth. Ingemar would have to get past probably the best jab ever to deliver his Hammer which would be a pretty tough challenge in itself.

 

Holmes was hit and floored by some very big right handers, but he normally rose to beat them. He was also too techinically sound, fast and durable for a fighter like Ingo.

 

He has a shot yes, even Cobb had a shot at knocking anyone out. It's what makes heavyweights so fun to watch. Snipes also landed the shot of his life, along with Shavers. It's not like Holmes went down against ever big hitter he faced. It took Shavers 19 rounds to do it.

Guys like Witherspoon, Cooney (I know his main weapon was his left), Mercer, Smith, McCall, Holyfield, and Roy "Tiger" Williams all failed.

All in all, I see Holmes winning a ud over 15 with getting rocked a few times by Ingo's big right, but not going down.

 

The thing that Ingo could do in spades was knock people out with that right hand. His right was superior to anything Renaldo Snipes ever threw, but I think the Snipes kd was a fluke, and I don't think that Ingo would land it on Holmes. It would be a rather onesided beating that would be stopped in Holmes favor after 5. I do think, however that 1958-59 Ingo would have stopped Earnie Shavers in 1. It would be something like what he did to Machen, and far more devastating than what Quarry did to Shavers in '73.

 

I like Holmes all the way. Holmes would be smart enough to circle away from Ingo's right hand. He would break Johansson up with jabs and combos.

Holmes TKO 10

 

Ingo floors him with a right....perhaps...and up until that point, he is being soundly out boxed by the larger, more skilled Larry Holmes and is being jabbed from here to high heaven. Holmes wins a convincing UD or stops Johannson by late TKO with a helpless Ingo being battered on the ropes and the referee stepping in to stop the massacre.