Larry Holmes -vs- Lennox Lewis

Rephrase:

The facts are

(1) Months before the fight he wanted Tyson and said he was training accordingly

(2) After he got layed out, he changed his position to "i hardly trained for the fight, i was just there for the money"

(3) Holmes has a nasty habit of forming his opinion in such a manner that it makes him out to be the best. Random example: "Tyson didn't hit hard, but Shavers and Cooney, they could really hit, much harder than Tyson". Of course, he beat Cooney and Shavers (twice), but was destroyed by Mikey.


And no, i have never heard a fighter before a fight say he isn't training either. But then again, i'd be curious to meet a fighter who knows he is fighting the most dangerous puncher on the planet for months (while in his own mind never having been beaten), and just because he's a stubborn *******, refuses to train just so he can be layed out more easily.


Holmes taking the fight on a few week's notice is just a plain lie. Not that you said that, but some people pretend it was that way.

 

I should check this out because my memory of this is that the fght was taken at short notice. But maybe that's not correct. I do remember when it was announced thinking what a waste of time this will be...

I still can't accept (3) as it's an opinion not a fact BUT again even if i do accept it, many, many fighters do exactly the same thing.

I still wouldn't mention this stoppage as evidence that Holmes would easily be KO'd by anyone in a fantasy match up.

 

No problem, memory can be deceiving. I have an interview that was conducted right before or after the Tyson-Biggs fight, and already there Larry said the fight was a done deal, that he'd been training already, wanted to be the first one to defeat Tyson, etc etc.

Unfortunately i got banned from Youtube for uploading it, but if it wasn't copyright protected i'd share it.

It's not my opinion, it's his words. And i'm not talking about one incident either, but rather a pattern of this kind of behavior throughout his entire career. Indeed, many other fighters do it.

Oh don't get me wrong, that's not what i'm saying at all. I don't think the Tyson fight takes anything away from Holmes' legacy.... if anything, he showed how hard to knock out he was even at his age. He took some monster shots before round 4 as well. I'm just saying that "he took the fight on a few weeks notice", "he didn't train", "he was just there for the money" are just excuses made after the fight. And no, considering his age he didn't need any excuse to lose to a peak Tyson, but i think it's rather lame to make them anyway.

 

Holmes said Shavers and Cooney hit harder, it's nothing new. He still said Tyson was a very hard hitter, and he said Mike was the sharpest puncher. There is a big difference. If I remember correctly, didn't Ali say he was in great shape and ready when he was going into the Holmes fight? Saying things like that help their confidence. Holmes took the fight on 3 months notice, so that means he got about a month and a half of decent training, and the other month and a half was just to get rid of the extra weight. A month and a half isn't enough to lose 2 years worth of ring rust, especially when the fighter is a good 6-8 years past their prime. It just doesn't work that way. Holmes learned from his mistake in 1988 and when he made his comeback in 1991, he increased his competition step by step.

 

The one thing about Lewis, for all his great weapons and physical presence, both of which he could apply to an overwhelming advantage, his boxing often seemed to become hampered by his great hulk.

The screws where not tightened as well on Lewis as they were on Holmes as his classy moments were with fused with moments of uncertainty and fatigue. Lewis had many things that Holmes didn't, but he could not 'stick it' like the Easton Assissin could.

He often confused his polar-opposite strategies of attacker and playing possum to his hindrance. Point in case, Holyfield should have been punished on top of the domination and Briggs should of been taken care of much safer.

Now Holmes is a guy who you could say was a sucker for a punch-up, but he was not half bad at 'em. He possessed that speed, commitment and wind that Lewis' more powerful, but stamina hindering build did not.

They're two boxers who operate on different principles but its Holmes' wind and toughness that stand out. When Holmes met real tragedy in the ring, he steered around it; Lewis crashed and burned when he was hit with a ton of bricks.

Holmes is not going to hit him with a ton, but he is going to 'stick it', that being a beautifully active jab in his face, and contend with the bigger man until he starts to suffer. Holmes is tall, fast, sleek and tough, tough, tough. He could take the heat and physical presence until his hustling style of pure boxing starts to take hold of Lewis' wheel and steers him off the cliff.

When you look at Lewis' weakness', Holmes looks to complete the jigsaw on an anti-Lewis fight plan.

Holmes via late stoppage or points decision.

 

Yeah, like for example when he fought Vitali while beeing fat, untrained and past his prime :good

 

:rofl :rofl Bill you crack me up sometimes man!!! what happened holmes against carl truth williams? sore vagina?

 

I keep hearing about this torn bicep left right and center vs Norton yet here was the left jab pumping out like there was no tomorrow

:boxx

 

You think he was better at age 35, after having been off for a full year, and only having fought once in the previous two years, and only winning 3 of his last 6 matches?. Not to mention, losing to Ferguson, then barely getting a split decision in the rematch. Let's not forget the draw he scored against 7-9-2 Marion Wilson. The only recent fight that he had prior to facing Lewis was against Holyfield a year earlier, who was returning from an abscence and managed to deck Ray. Lastly, Mercer had not scored a meaningul win since 1991 when he utterly destroyed Morrison - The fight right before facing Holmes. Let me clearify that I saw his fight with Lewis, and I'll agree that he showed up well trained and motivated, to give a good effort, but trying to say that he was a better version of himself against Lewis than against Holmes is a very bad attempt at trying spin things in a direction that they shouldn't be.

 

Ted, great post ...

The Mercer that lost to Holmes was undefeated, dedicated , fairly young and was coming off his gretest win to date.

The Mercer that lost a razor thin decision to Lewis was much older, not nearly as dedicated and past his prime. He lacked the extra gear needed to pull away from the younger Lewis.

 

Age is what happened.

 

It hurt like hell to do it, but he did it because he knew it was his only shot. Holmes broke his right hand in the 3rd round of the 2nd Spinks fight, but that didn't stop him from throwing it. Larry had a very high pain threshhold and a ton of will power.

 

So every time he fought a quality fighter he has some illness

Holmes was still very near to his peak against Witherspoon as well.

 

Well then if it didn't affect his performance than why mention it?

 

I thought Mercer was better against Lewis than Holmes. He was faster, more aggressive, an overall tougher fighter to beat than the one Holmes beat.