I always wondered why old Larry Holmes spent much of his time standing in a corner and/or fighting in spurts, whereas George Foreman never went to the ropes and pretty much threw punches with a more measured pace. Does it take more out of a fighter to be moving backwards like old Holmes than it does to move forward like old Foreman? Sometimes this gave the impression that Larry wasn't making enough effort to win, like in the Holyfield fight up against the ropes and long stretches where it appeared he was conserving his energy. Strangely, I had old Larry winning more rounds against Holyfield than George did. If old Larry fought with that strategy against old Foreman I believe he would take a beating. Yet Larry was so determined to fight George. Did he really believe he'd beat him? If so, what would be his strategy? He couldn't make George take steps backward, and if he went to the ropes he get's pummeled.
Prime Holmes was all about speed and movement. He lost that when he got older,so he compensated with a bit of ring generalship. With George,it was all about power,which he still had when he got older. He was just a bit slower.