Larry Holmes vs. Lennox Lewis.

holmes

 

Larry got this. He'd dance like Michael Flatley and have that jab in Lewis' face all night long.

 

Holmes by close decision , his movement making the difference.

 

There's was a thread just a few days ago and I said something along these lines. People seem to think that Larry has mythical prime from 80-82 where before he won a close decision to Norton and after won a close decision against Witherspoon therefore blocking these fights out of the argument when considering Holmes in a h2h match up. In all honesty I'm pretty sure there was very little difference between Holmes in 82 and Holmes in

Another point I'd like to raise is the reach advantage of Lewis. Watch the Tua fight and see how he can virtually shut out his opponent by retreating for most of the fight by backing off and using his feet to slip shots and put his opponent off balance, while sticking that long jab out. Yes Larry probably had the better footwork, but coming forward it wasn't that special. Larry will seriously struggle to dictate the pace of this fight as offensively he isnt explosive enough to get Lewis out of his rythm and timing.

Lewis right hand is also key here. Although not as big as Shavers, he'd find the target far more frequently and would wobble Larry in the middle to late rounds and wouldn't let him get off the hook like Shavers. I feel no one really picks up on Lewis finishing ability on this forum, but you rarely see someone get hurt badly by Lewis in one round and end up surviving the rest of the fight.

Lewis by KO within 11 or a competitive UD over 12/15 (8-4/9-6). At the end of the day Lewis has more ways of fighting this fight and Larry can't force Lewis to fight his. Lewis either stands toe to toe with Larry in a tactical battle of the jabs and straight rights (which Holmes was vulnerable to) or if his head is screwed on properly, he sits on the back foot for majority of the fight, controlling the distance and pace of the fight with his longer jab and makes Larry chase him all night in a slightly boring decision victory for Lewis.

 

I think a peak Holmes has too much pace, too much endurance and too much durabilty and desire. Lewis was way stronger with a harder punch but people forget how awquard and lumbering he could appear against a fast handed box puncher, and he never fought one nearly as accurate as a peak 1979-1980 Larry Holmes. watch the mavrovic fight..As good as he was a prime Holmes would expose that Lewis.

 

But Lennox always hides behind his jab, fights defensively, and cant handle guys his size and reach, so he would get out jabbed, not risk getting KOed so never go on the offense, and he would get taken out of his unorthodox comfort zone (ie he was nearly always an outside fighter and can no longer be that against a superior jabber)

 

As far as I`m concerened, Larry Holmes had THE best jab ever amongst the heavies. why does this matter? Because Holmes would set the tempo with it. And like many fighters, he doesn`t use it sparingly,or as a matter of keeping the opponent off of him, but as an agressive tone setter, and he`d reach Lewis with it . He had good reach, and a ton of snap on it, used it upstairs and downstairs as well. He had MUCH better mobility than LL, and a ton of ring savvy. He also had a chin, that could get reached, but amazing recuperative powers as well. LL isn`t fast enough or busy enough to outpoint Holmes over 15 rds ( yes 15 ! ) So LL would have to knockout a prime Holmes. I just don`t see that happening... Holmes footwork, jab and sharo overhand right/right uppercut would get LL`s attention all night long. Plus, Larry had that bad attitude, always felt disrespected. And I think he`d get into Lewis` head a bit as well. nd, if it turned into a dogfight, I REALLY like Holmes. he had a ton of grit and balls ! Holmes 12 or 15 rd UD.. Larry Homes continues to be a very underated champion...

 

Using Lewis jab against Tua, bad comparison. Can you imagine what kind of chin music Holmes would have played on Tua`s chin ? Hlomes jab was violently fast and heavy...

 

One of the best jabs in the history of the sport, and the HW division.

 

Right on that one !!

 

I've gone back and forth on this fight, even while reading this thread. What caught my attention were comments related to Holmes out jabbing Lewis and controlling the tempo.

While this is likely true and if they had fought would probably happen, the question becomes what if Lewis went to plan B and tried turning this into a dog fight?

Lewis in aggressive mode with that extra 30lbs and a reach and power advantages, could cause Holmes all kinds of trouble. And I don't really know what Holmes could do to counter that version of Lewis.

So if it's a boxing match, it goes to Holmes, but I think a fight favours Lewis.

 

This is as close to a 50/50 fight as you're ever going to get I think. I agree with the consensus, if Lewis decides to box with Holmes he drops a close decision, however if he can somehow make it into a dogfight he does enough accumulated damage to pick up a mid-round stoppage.

 

This is a good match up. I have both guys in my top 5.



Holmes had some trouble vs. boxers who had big right hands ( Shavers, Witherpsoon, Snipes ), but I think part of this was he underestimated them a tad.



Lewis had problems with good jabbers such as Mercer, and Klitschko, and was KO’d twice by one punch right hands.



I think the key question is can Holmes hurt Lewis with his right hand? Can Holmes make Lewis more risk adverse in route to jabbing his way to a decision? I think so. Lewis will always have a puncher’s chance, but that chance is diminished as Holmes’ chin was tested by numerous punchers and passed until he was old and fought a prime Mike Tyson.



I would pick Holmes via close decision.