Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes

Prime Holmes UD Prime Tyson in fast paced and hard fought battle.I see the movement of Holmes and his jab ultimately prevailing.

 

Many forget Larry at his best had very good stamina and the strong legs to go 15 rounds.

 

Tyson wins 10 out of 10.

Holmes spoiled and fought to survive the first few rounds while Tyson was patient..........the moment he started to open up he got KO'ed flat. Same outcome every time, Holmes starts to fight, not to play safe and one or several right hands are putting him down for the count.

 

Holmes was so completely outclassed it's hard to imagine any other outcome, no matter how prime he was. Especially since he continued to fight at a fairly high level later on. He was fighting to survive the whole fight and never landed anything serious. I think Holmes gets way too much of a break for this fight, Tyson was far and away the best prime fighter he ever faced and look what happened.

 

Tyson couldn't stop James Tillis. Some thought Tillis deserved the decision. Sure, that was 1986. But even in 1987 he was taken the distance on 2 more occasions. When Tyson beat Holmes he also fought Tubbs and Spinks later that year. Tubbs was fat. Tony won the first round by using movement. He couldn't sustain it though with his weight and in the 2nd round stood flat-footed with Tyson. The damage Mike inflicted on both was when they went to the ropes. He ko'd them shortly after. Spinks was scared. He was there to cash in. Even if he wasn't terrified of Tyson he still would have blasted out in 1 round.

Holmes had legs to move all night. He wouldn't be against the ropes where Tyson could do damage. Larry was too versatile and tough as nails in there. If Tyson had a chance it would be in the first half of the fight. If it goes beyond that Holmes wins it.

 

A good win for Tyson no doubt.But this was not prime Holmes and he had that layoff.
I think it is comparable to Tyson - Holyfield.you would not say Holyfield beats prime Mike for sure, would you?

 

I think prime Tyson beats Holyfield. But Tyson wasn't dominated nearly as bad imo by Holyfield as Holmes was by Tyson.

 

Holmes seem to lose concentration at times in title fights. He was floored
by Shavers and Snipes and was rocked by Witherspoon. Tyson would
was one of boxers most ferocious finishers. Tyson would finish off what
the others couldn't . Tyson by ko in 10 rds.

 

Holmes would have stopped Tyson late.

 

I think its a bit unfair to judge Holmes too much on that fight, in the same way other "past it" greats cant be judged on being shells of themselves. but I do think Tyson had the style to give prime Holmes problems, the power and inside work of Tyson could put Larry down and as said, Tyson was a finisher. I also see Holmes's slick boxing skills and jab being an issue but Tyson was a tank and could take it, he would keep coming forward to land that shot, which as also said, would likely land. I edge towards Tyson landing something big and finishing Larry, but I also thing its highly likely Holmes out points Tyson, or even gets a TKO late in the fight where Tyson is less energetic. so basically the same as everyone else says lol

 

Sooo Buster Douglas is better than a prime Larry Holmes? a 30 year old Holmes would have cut up and battered Tyson far worse than the club fighter who did.

 

I got prime Holmes

 

No he wasn't. Nor was he better than Carl Williams, Tony Tucker, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, Razor Ruddock, Jesse Ferguson etc.

Look, Cus knew what he needed to blitzkrieg through the wave of Ali clones that were running rampant on the heavyweight scene in the 80's. Tyson was born and bred to wreak havoc on the style that Larry Holmes presented. Holmes was tailor made for Tyson.

 

The 'Ali Clone' theory doesn't stack up all that well, really. There aren't too many Heavyweight Boxers one could name, who seriously looked as though they were even trying to emulate Ali.

I can see that Tyson's aggressive style may well have been geared to "blitzkrieg" the opposition of the times. However, Tyson's style remained exactly the same from the outset; from one opponent to the next; until the end - no matter the style he was facing. The "Holmes was tailor made for Tyson" line is, therefore, somewhat of a sweeping statement and not to be taken seriously, in my opinion.

Moreover, as Tyson's record shows, the 'blitzkrieg' approach needed to yield match-winning results in the first half of the bout. After the half-way mark, Tyson's chances of stopping his opponent fell through the floor.

Of the times that Tyson went beyond round 4, he was, on paper, as likely to either go the distance or be handed a stoppage loss, as he was to win himself by stoppage. This ratio swings much further away from the blitzkrieg objective, as the rounds go on.

I honestly can't see Tyson taking a decision from Holmes and yet I see Tyson needing to be able to achieve this, against a prime Holmes. The rusty, older Holmes nearly got through 4 rounds. Not only can the prime Holmes make the distance but he can also force a stoppage of Tyson, in the later rounds.