Though I'm a fan of Mike myself, I have to ask the question: who did Mike knock out that was better than a young and fresh Jimmy Young? Since we really can't count 38 year old Grandpa Holmes...an over the hill Trevor Berbick and Pinklon Thomas? Were they really any better than Young? Bruno? definite no there. Spinks? An overblown light heavy (something Mike himself proved). Just playing devil's advocate because I'm curious how others feel about this. I personally think Mike was both a far better overall puncher (except for the right hand) and massively better finisher than Shavers ever was.
Mike was the first guy to ever stop Pinky, Tubbs, Biggs, Holmes and Spinks....Spinks survived Cooney's bombs and twice beat a Holmes who had a decade plus on his career, so I don't think he was a blown up lightheavy any more than tiny Mike was blown up. He also obliterated a champ in Berbick, who in a long career was only stopped one other time, in his 12th fight.
There are several interviews where Larry Holmes says the best fighter he ever fought was Ken Norton....and the hardest puncher he ever faced was Earnie Shavers
Years ago...Larry Holmes actually had his own boxing forum like this one ...he was the moderator...and every once in a while he would pop up and answer questions
And the answer to every hypothetical matchup was ..” ___ couldn’t deal with my jab”. Rocky Marciano...Sonny Liston ...Jack Dempsey...Michael Dokes ...Pinklon Thomas etc etc
Ask Holmes who would have won between him and Ali both at their best and I guarantee he would say he would have.
Yeah, I heard him say that he beat Norton with only one arm because he torn his bicep or something. That’s not really giving much credit to Norton by saying that.
He cried after the fight and said nothing could ever be taken away from Ali. It's in the postfight...kind of beautiful, really.
He was really trying to hurt Ali during the fight though, some of the body shots had Ali screaming in pain according to those at ringside and in the corners. It’s kinda a myth that Holmes was holding back. He was trying his hardest to stop Ali and only eased up in the later rounds when it was clear that Ali wasn’t going down but was just going to carry on standing by the ropes taking the punishment as best as he can.
If you watch how Holmes finished guys who were hurt, both before and after that fight, you might change your mind about that. Look at how he mauled the hell out of Shavers in the second fight, how he ceaselessly pummeled Spinks until the stoppage, Frazier... He didn't do that to Ali. The excess damage occurred due to a terrible ref, and a Dundee who fed too much into Ali's pride to stop it five rounds before it actually did. Holmes was much better at finishing people than that. He could have stopped him many times before that.
None of those guys could take punishment like Ali did. Holmes was hitting Ali just as hard as he was hitting the others that he stopped especially during the rounds where Ali was still taunting him . There’s a chance I could be wrong but the way I see it anyway
Holyfield pushed Tyson around like a grade-schooler. Bonecrusher was able to tie Tyson up and Mike couldn’t muscle his way out of it. And what does Williams getting knocked out have to do with how good Tyson’s jab is by comparison?
