Larry Holmes .vs. John Tate unification match.

Even as early as 1980,Holmes had proven that he was very much the best of the post Ali,Frazier and Foreman generation. He would have beaten Big John handily.

 

If John hadn't suffered the Weaver beatdown, Larry would've had the fight of his life.

 

Anyone want to tell me the best fighter John Tate ever beat to make such a statement ? To me Tate was a poor man's Bowe... less power, less skill, weaker chin.

 

He beat a good fighter in Gerrie Coetzee, also stopped Bernado Mercado, he was definitely a formidable opponent for Holmes.Unfortunately, 1980 was the worst year of Tate's life.

 

I just watched Holmes get outjabbed and outboxed by a guy who looked like Julio from Sanford and Son on YouTube the other day. If Holmes had trouble with Lorenzo Zanon for a few rounds, for Christsakes, then please don't insult my intelligence by saying that a bigger, stronger, smoother boxing John Tate with the stamina to go a fairly brisk 15 rounds in South Africa against Coetzee wouldn't give Holmes a stern test. He also was doing a much better job boxing Weaver than Holmes was before the crumble in the 15th round.

Myself, I figure Holmes has trouble boxing through Tate's guard, gets frustrated and starts head-hunting, and finally out-wills Tate between rounds 10 and 12 for the stoppage in a rough and messy fight. I would have loved to see it.

 

This.

Holmes would get home but it would be a tough night at the office and difficult and sloppy at times. Tate has some decent skills. His size and jab will make it awkward. Good matchup.

 

And Tate held those hands up high. The common denominator in those Holmes fights back then is that all those guys were catchers. Easy to hit and probably the only guy with any inkling of a defense was Ocassio & just what did that guy bring to the proceedings?

I think Larry has to dig real deep with the guy back then. Tate moved and threw combos all night and Larry loves those stationary easy to hit with a jab guys. The face first catchers like Ledoux that follow around the ring with their hands at their waist. No digging deep for those guys was ever necessary. Wash rinse repeat. He'd have to break down a guy like Tate & the only other guy Holmes had to break down was Berbick and that oddball style of his and he surprisingly went the distance & was supposed not supposed to make it to the tenth either. but he was never an offensive threat and didn't have the tools of the 78-early 80 Tate. And Tate was young and not a guy with old reflexes. Old reflexes were never ever going to work against a Larry Holmes back then.

But Arum and King weren't seeing eye to eye and that kind of fight for each guy's title in 79 had about a 5% chance of ever happening.

 

OK but anyone who had speed and skills anything like a Holmes ... Coetzee had decent speed at best and was quite hittable ... Mercado was a tough guy but absolutely nothing like Holmes stylewise.