You might be right in your pick, but on your final observation you couldn't be more wrong. Holmes was exactly the kind of fighter that Schmeling excelled against.
You do realize that it was Louis's reliance on the jab as his primary weapon that got his ass handed to him right?
Like who? Holmes style was greatly influenced by Ali, with his own twist on it. Guys werent really fighting that way in the 30s
I don't think Holmes is really comparable to Ali stylistically though. He's a very different fighter, he likes to sit on his punches much more than Ali. Much less movement, definitely not enough movement to be otherworldly to 1930s fighters. After all, Gene Tunney retired just a year before Schmeling's reign, and he had better movement than Holmes IMO.
Your understanding of boxing styles is way off. Holms fought nothing like Ali. Everything Holmes did was technically correct, while Ali threw the boxing book out of the window, and relied almost exclusively on reflexes. Holmes's style was far more like an orthodox boxer from the 30s like Lee Ramage, than it was like Ali's. Ali was far more like a 30s boxer who relied on reflexes, like say Jimmy Slaterey, than he was like Holmes.
This. Ali was more like Roy Jones than he was Larry Holmes. Holmes was much more fundamentally sound.
Ali has often been credited with influencing Holmes style. They were long time sparring partners and at least Ring Magazine gives credit to Ali for "mentoring" a young Holmes. That's more along the lines of what I'm talking about, and I certainly see shades of Ali in Holmes. Much more so than I see Holmes comparable to genevTunney or any of the Great Depression era fighters
In my opinion, this is another example of styles causing problems for the eventual winner. I would pick Larry Holmes to win, but I believe there could be some scary moments for Larry along the way. Max had the style to trouble Larry Holmes.
A certain poster denigrates any boxer born before WW ll. It's his prerogative. However a misplaced affection for anything old can as easily lead to erroneous conclusions as a misplaced affection for all things current.
It might well be the case that Ali played a role in mentoring Holmes. It may even be the case that he influenced him towards a defensive approach. The fact remains that they were nothing alike stylistically, and if you cannot see this, you need to go back and learn the basics of boxing technique. They fought defensively, and had two hands, and that is about where the similarities end.
No you specifically said Holmes was taylor made for Schmelling, and that Schmelling had success against similar styles.....so which ones did you mean? Just want to punch up their video and if they indeed fight like Larry Holmes then I will concede that you have won the argument
Holmes is not a particularly unusual kind of boxer, he is just unusually good at it. There are technically correct boxers in every era. If we use Louis as an example, he fights in a different stance to Holmes, and is much more heavy handed. However they are both technically correct, and they both base their style around the jab. The kind of counters that worked against Louis, would work against Holmes for the same reasons. The only difference is that Holmes might come with a better plan.
