Muhammad Ali Vs Larry Holmes Fighter Comparison

In terms of fundamentals and actual boxing Holmes. In terms of Boxing savvy, God given gifts like athleticism, power, durability speed, endurance etc Ali easy. An example really on how much intelligence in spite of form and a sturdy chin overcoming “skill”

 

Off the top of my head
Holmes: heavier jab and better right uppercut. Didn't get hit as much from a career perspective. Not quite as good a chin but very resilient.
Ali: Much better wins, much better left hook and left uppercut, faster hands and feet, ridiculously great chin. Jab not far from Holmes' level, but quicker and perhaps overall more accurate.

 

Holmes did mix his attack to the body at times. Ali almost never threw a body punch.

Holmes worked his jab overtime. He sat down more on it to get pop behind it. Ali had a faster jab and in his prime there has never been anything like Ali's jab but Larry depended on his jab more.

Ali was stronger physically and I think he hit a little harder though neither were huge punchers.

Ali had a better lefthook.

Their right hands were both very good. Ali had more power IMO.

Holmes was able to throw a better uppercut, more fundlementally sound as he fired it.

Footwork had to be Ali though Holmes has excellent movement as well. Larry could set traps.

 

Fundamental might be a sweeping statement thinking about it now, hm. If I was wanting to teach a fighter I’d want him to imitate Holmes not Ali. Larry had a more varied collection of blocks, levers and parries all of which he employed much more often.

As much as head movement no longer being vogue as the first line of defence is probably a mistake, it would be better to use blocks, parries and levers rather then moving your head the way Ali did. Larry also seemed to understand the jab better to me, although that’s very debatable but I think his stuff he did was more thought out, Ali got into his own head during a fight and made things work which didn’t age well, Larry seemed to adjust better and think more.

 

Ali of 64-74 v Holmes of 78-82: that’s as good a heavyweight fight as you could wish to see.

 

Ali's greatness can only partially be explained by hand speed, foot speed, jab, hook, endurance, chin, etc. Where he stood apart from everyone was his will, ego, personality, belief in his own greatness and his humanity. He had a unique talent, but his spirit made him indomitable. Over the years his physical gifts withered but he never stopped growing as a man. Holmes was a superb fighter. Ali was a great fighter and a great man.

 

I don't think Holmes could defeat peak pre-exile Ali. I don't think anyone could.

The best, most competitive fight I could imagine between the two of them would be when they were both about 30 years old. '71 Ali vs. '78 Holmes. Holy crap would that be a fight.

 

Or even the Ali who beat Foreman v the Holmes who beat Cooney.

 

Holmes had better fundamentals and Ali had more athleticism.

I don't know if Holmes had as much of the high end stuff, though. It gets forgotten, but at the time Ali was lauded for how he put his punches together, and his jab to the body, pull counter, lead right, double right, check hook, ride and counter the left hook etc. were stuff that other HWs just didn't do back then.

But I need to watch more of Holmes before I say that he didn't do this stuff. He had the basic fundamentals down pretty well, though. Especially the jab of course, which is one of the all time jabs.

 

Very interesting post!

I assert that Larry had a more varied bag of tricks, used them more often and perhaps had even more up his sleeve than Ali. Ali didn't pull out the advanced techniques like pushing the opponent off balance, turning him around after he throws a shot, etc as often as Holmes imo. Ali relied much more on single techniques like pushing the head down in clinches to tire the opponent out (at times to a fault).

 

Ali was better at throwing combinations. He would let his hands go and really try to hurt a guy if he sensed weakness. Ali had more variety in terms of how he'd throw his jab: he'd change the angles, the timing, sometimes just flicking it out a range finder or distraction, sometimes to score points, etc. While Holmes was no slouch in durability, Ali was tougher (especially to the body). Head movement and footwork go to Ali, but again Holmes was no slouch and could also be remarkably evasive. Counters would also go to Ali since he was just excellent with that pull right hand counter, check hooks, etc. One last advantage people rarely give Ali credit for: he could actually plant his feet duke it out at mid range with people. Holmes tended to shy away from exchanging if he could help it and preferred slowing the pace down to "box". Keep in mind I'm not saying Holmes was a chump, just that Ali was scrappier.


Holmes jab had more power and I would also say a bit more accurate. Sometimes Ali would just "spam" jabs in a general direction while Holmes would target the eyes, nose, cheek, etc with great precision and it showed when his opponents looked pretty cut up. Holmes had the better uppercut (a punch Ali didn't frequently throw to begin with) and was a more consistent body puncher. Holmes had better defensive fundamentals. When Ali couldn't sway or use his feet to avoid attacks, he used a very basic high guard. Holmes would use both hands to parry, swat shots mid swing, and had less holes in his guard than Ali.


I would put it this way: Ali was better overall. Holmes had less exploitable holes in his defense and was more technically sound on offense. Ali was better on offense and his defensive skills were a wild card with him either looking great, average, or terrible since he was so lacking in traditional schooling. Ali was a bit tougher and had more natural talent.