Larry Holmes vs Joe Louis? 15 rounds

Seventh round. 1:57. Joe punches Larry’s heart through the back of his body.

 

Very tough call here. My HW 2 and 3 all time. Louis then Holmes. When this was done befor I remember alot of posters had Louis stopping Holmes because of Larry dropping his left hand and getting caught. I just don't see a prime Holmes getting KO'd. I believe this one goes to the cards. A real pick em for me. 50/50 fight IMO.

 

This one's tough.

Far too much, I think, is made of this whole "Oh, Holmes is a sucker for a right hand" stuff. No he wasn't. To suggest that means that one thinks it held him back or at least forced him to come back from the brink and was a serious Achilles heel. He went undefeated in his first 48 fights. That suggests the flaw, if it was that, was held very much in check. If either of these two was susceptible to right hands, it was Louis, not Holmes.

It's not an easy thing to ponder because Holmes would probably have to alter his normal game plan of imposing himself physically on a smaller opponent. Holmes wasn't always a jab and dance guy, when he knew he wasn't in danger or was the stronger guy, he set down and walked you into a corner. He was very smart and very adaptable. Don't think that's a good formula against a Joe Louis, however. Here, he'd have to fight a smaller man as he would a bigger guy, wary of his opponent's power. If Holmes sensed danger, he got cagey and elusive. That's what he needs to do here. If he does, I pick him by decision.

 

You don’t have to be a sucker for anything to wind up getting hit with every punch in the book vs the Bomber.

 

Holmes by decision Louis struggled with movement and Holmes's movement and jab would be massive problems for Louis who's never fought a guy the size of Holmes with his skills, movement, reach.

As for Holmes being a sucker to the right hand wasn't Louis hit over and over again with right hands by Schmeling in a one sided loss ? I know Louis improved after that fight but still it wasn't like he didn't have issues in other fights he was floored 10 times and had struggles in other fights. I can't imagine a prime Holmes being behind on points vs a fighter as small as Billy Conn after 13 rounds for example.

But all in all both fighters are great and are capable of beating one another but I think Holmes's jab/movement would be the difference. Although if Louis does get Holmes in serious trouble I'm not entirely confident Holmes would survive as Louis is a lethal finisher.

But I'll stick with my original pick for Holmes.

 

Holmes at his best was an all-time great ring technician with a lot of tools at his disposal. I think the combination of a 5 inch reach advantage, one of the best left jabs in boxing history, great lateral movement, excellent defense with a solid chin, and underrated power (Holmes doesn't get enough credit here--he could bang pretty hard) is simply too much for even a peak Joe Louis. I'd go with Larry in a UD or late round (13th-15th round) stoppage.

 

I’ve always been up in there on this one. I think it’s 50/50. But if Holmes has any chance of winning this fight he needs to be 100%. If he gets careless or sloppy ( as he sometimes did ) he could be badly hurt.

 

I would favor peak Holmes 55:45.
Because of: chin, job, skills... and besides, he is bigger than Louis.

 

Holmes at 210 pounds would be slower than Louis, his movement would be beneficial but not to the degree where Louis wouldn't be able to keep up with him.
As for the jab, both guys had excellent jabs, and excellent defences against jabs, but I like Louis' head sway, slipping, parrying, counter jabbing and countering to prevail. No one beat Louis in a jabbing contest, but maybe Larry would be the one to match him. His lack of offensive arsenal to work off the jab compared to Louis is a problem, but he does have the power to wear Joe down.
Chins are equal. Both guys got dropped repeatedly but recovered well.

Who was Holmes fighting at 22 years old?

No one could see Louis being troubled by Conn either and yet he surprised them all. Conn would be a handful for everyone with his speed, durability and stamina, two of these attributes being pretty much unseen in the higher weight classes.

 

Holmes would be faster on his feet than Louis with a significantly longer reach.

Louis may of been 22 years old but he wasn't exactly a novice he'd had 24 pro fights and had beaten the likes of Carnera, Baer, so it's not like Louis was a green prospect he was world class at the time he lost to Schmeling. But I will admit Louis did improve after the loss of course.

Conn was 174 pounds some reports say 168 pounds there's not a snowballs chance Holmes would be in a life death struggle with someone as small as Conn needing a come from behind KO. Louis struggled with Conn's movement more than likely Louis would also struggle with Holmes's movement and reach.

 

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Joe Louis wins this one, no doubt at all!

 

When pitting ATGs against one another, I can never be sure about any outcome. How can you have “no doubt” that a man who proved himself a top heavyweight would lose any given fight? Thinking “more likely than not”, sure. But no doubt?

 

Holmes does well keeping Joe off him with the jab in the first round, and even staggers him with a surprise left-right in the second. It isn't long before Joe is slipping Larry's jab and landing his own. Holmes hates guys that have great jabs, so he seems unhappy and is mostly trying to keep moving.

Louis lands a corker of a right hand in the 4th, making Holmes' legs shimmy, but the latter comes right back and lands some great jabs and even a nice left-right combo toward the end of the round.

By the 6th it's obvious Joe isn't going anywhere. Holmes tries an uppercut but Joe steps back and lands a brutal right that puts the former down. Larry gets up, shaking his head and seeming not terribly bad, but he makes the mistake of walking right toward Louis upon resumption and Joe lands a freakishy powerful combination. Larry loses his legs completely.

Louis in 6

 

This to me is the crucial point. Holmes never had a good answer for someone who could jab with him. Louis’ jab is arguably better, & at least on par, with Holmes’. It’s less noticed because he simply didn’t rely on that punch, the way Holmes did on his.