Larry Holmes vs Pinklon Thomas 1984

Pinklon would be fighting the fight of his life, and his jab would neutralize Holmes, helping him take a close unanimous decision.

 

This would have been an excellent matchup. Both had great jabs. Thomas probably hit a little harder. Holmes could move better. But by 1984 he would have trouble moving around Thomas for the entire 12 rounds and would be forced to fight some of the fight while standing directly in front of Thomas. I think the younger and prime Thomas would win a close decision.

 

Thomas had a great chin. I don't see this ending by ko.

 

Gradham was strictly a tuneup fight after the title shot was secured. Just insert Holmes instead of Witherspoon and speculate what would happen. Forget 1985.

 

Holmes via decision.

 

Holmes .. longer reach, more game over all and Thomas really hand a very weak right hand ..

 

Thomas was strong and had an excellent Jab and was durable, Holmes had an excellent jab and experience. Thomas favored his left but could pop with the right. I think this outcome would be determined but the type of condition Thomas was in, he certainly had a good chance for the upset to unify the titles and I would give him a better chance than Reynaldo Snipes (who almost surprised us all)

 

Yes indeed.

In fact, I believe it may have been KO Magazine which later rated Pinklon's right cross as the worst of all the heavyweight champions. (Not that we should attach excessive meaning to this, as they also ranked Willard as having the worst uppercut, a truly weird conclusion. On film, it looks like Jess has a left hook that really sucks, but certainly not his uppercut.) Regardless of how good or bad the right cross of Thomas was, it wasn't something which would beat Holmes.

Pinklon looked like a one armed bandit in stopping Tillis, but it was all lefts. He would have stopped the then undiagnosed food allergy impaired Quick if his right had been amputated. Michael Spinks had the Jinx right to go with his outstanding left. It took two fine hands to do the job, whether by decision or stoppage, and if only one of those sides really carried an outstanding punch, it had better be the right.

After 1983 and Witherspoon, his next five officially sanctioned title bouts were scheduled for the championship distance, and the last three did reach the final bell. Pink's first two bouts over 12 were an MD win over Spoon where he needed an ice bag over his left eye afterwards, then a 12 UD loss to former Holmes championship distance shutout victim Berbick. His final 12 round win (and last career victory) was a 12 round SD over 286 pound 7-1-1 human dirigible (albeit obscenely talented) Craig Payne. Otherwise, Thomas was little more than a ten round fighter (including the Coetzee draw, where he failed to gas and stop the self-doubting Gerrie) with a flat footed stand up style who would have been both outmaneuvered and outreached by Larry over 15 or 12. (Unlike Pinklon, Tim could move when in top form, and certainly did it well against Holmes. Larry wasn't defending over the championship distance though.)

Forget Holmes-Witherspoon by the way. Larry came in over-trained and was dehydrated from a bad case of the runs going in (part of why his weight was down to 213 from 221 for the Lucien Rodriguez shutout in Scranton seven weeks earlier), yet still won in Spoon's finest career showing. (Holmes averaged ten pounds more through the rest of the 1980s, at 223 or within a couple pounds of that.)

 

So just why was Thomas so inactive after beating Witherspoon in 1984? He didn't fight again until another 10 months against Weaver and then didn't fight again for the best part of another year. I know that in heavyweight terms ,late 20s isn't old at all but could all that inactivity in what possibly were his prime years have eroded his skills to the point that he was never the same fighter again?

 

in 1984 = pinklon thomas ...easily ....

 

I need to watch Witherspoon vs Thomas. I haven't seen much of Thomas but he doesn't impress me with that from the waist jab. Great chin but can't imagine him beating Holmes.

 

I think Thomas certainly poses some major problems Holmes. Larry would eat some jabs. But Larry was also more resourceful and I believ would eventually start dropping some right hands over that jab. Larry would also go to the body with the right hand when necessary. I think Holmes, even at this advanced stage, had more variation to his game, more experience, and more grit than Thomas. Thomas was certainly a talent, but I have a hard time picking a guy who basically peaked for a couple fights over a guy who was consistent for nearly a dcade. Holmes in a tough, close fight.

 

From 1984 onward, Holmes chances against any of the top young heavyweights were about 50/50 in my eyes. After watching his 1985 defense against a 16 fight Carl "The Truth" Williams, I honestly don't think I could have fairly given him the nod if I were judging that bout. Holmes looked as though he had met his match.. In the first Spinks fight he was outpointed.. He should have gotten the win in the rematch but it was hardly a stellar performance. His 1983 meeting with Tim Witherspoon left a lot of questions too. Even a green Bonecrusher was able to hit him regularly enough. Its fine to give him the benefit of the doubt to beat Greg Page, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, Etc, but I really don't think the odds should be too heavy in his favor during the proposed time frames that these fights should have come off.

 

at this stage, Larry is a slouch with little left to fear from opponents. Pinky though nothing great, outpoints the much slower 34? year old

think about it; in just a few months, the same outcome occurred but at the hands of a blown up light heavyweight