Talked to Larry Holmes about his fights with Nick Wells in the amerauters today

This is actually a relevant question to ask him.

"When in doubt, stick it out," was the quote Larry's brother Mark apparently attributed to him, with respect to using the jab in dealing with a southpaw. Mark Holmes was a fine middleweight, sporting a 32-0 record when he stepped up against John Collins. If he had managed to leap that hurdle, he could have found himself facing a formidable gauntlet of middleweight southpaws, so one might imagine they had specifically discussed the possibility of Mark facing Hagler at some point.

Mark Holmes versus Hagler's southpaw half brother Robbie Sims was an intriguing pairing of siblings being idlly bandied about. Mark and Robbie started their middleweight careers at the same time, and with their big brothers as the reigning heavyweight and middleweight kingpins, it was thought by some to be a promotable angle. (Unfortunately, Collins took out Mark in two rounds, then got blown out himself by Sims in one. If Mark had taken Collins, then Mark Holmes/Robbie Sims for the USBA MW Title would probably have taken place next.)

 

so bill ,tell us a bit more about your boxing career.are u amateur\pro weight class record upcoming fights etc....

 

Interesting. Has he packed on the pounds in retirement like Duran, or has he just aged poorly? (How much off the middleweight limit does he look to be?)

 

Bill,you Need To Tell Larry The Next Time Hes In Texas To Look Me Or My Father Up.id Love To Have A Chance To Have A Bbq Drink Beer And Talk About His Classic Wars.i Am Wondering If Maybe He Could Maybe Help Us Out In Obtaining Old Fight Footage.my Father Mentioned To Me That He Was Going To Try To Get In Contact With Ray Leonard About This As Well,they Were On A Couple Of Different Teams Together.

 

Nick Wells Jr. & Bill1234.

Thanks for the update on Nick Wells.

Where was Nick from ????

I used to love watching the Heavyweight Amateur "round robin" between Bobick, Wells, Barry Yates, & the Cubans on Wide World of Sports back in the 70's.

 

he was born in california but was soon relocated to ft worth,texas.and i am on a mission to find those fights from abcs wide world of sports.they are bound to exist,bobick holmes 72 trials on you tube was just recently posted.everytime i talk to someone they go off on how those fights were always on tv.once again if anyone has any way or resources to surface this footage i would be extremly thankful.i ve searched every possible internet sight w/o success. ive got a couple of fights of him but they are w/o sound.

 

Nick Wells Jr:

Now I remember that Nick Sr. was from Ft. Worth.

I think I saw him live in the Texas Golden Gloves a few times,
or maybe some amateur tournaments (I know I saw Jesse Valdez from San Antonio).

I will ask Doug Lord (former Curtis Cokes Mgr) or Dave Gorman (Donald Curry Mgr) or Dick Cole (Texas Boxing Commission) if they know of any
old Wide World of Sports tapes re: those fights.

 

Mark would beat Larry just like when they were kids.

 

Have you ever sparred with the great man himself?

 

weight class?age group?where?etc,....im just showing some interest in what u got goin on!

 

So apparently, those incredible Holmes genes which enable Larry to have somehow retained his phenomenal hand-eye coordination after all these years are shared by Mark as well.

Normally, the legs are the first to go. But if not the legs, and if top physical condition can be maintained, then the ability to take a punch, or the hand-eye coordination are usually the first to desert a boxer. (Sometimes with advancing age, skin becomes less elastic and more susceptible to cuts.)

Ali's stated reason for hanging up the gloves after losing to Berbick was that his hand-eye coordination had definitely left him. This cause was also cited by Ortiz after he packed it in against Buchanan following six frustrating rounds of a bout for which he described himself as being in fine shape. (He looks okay in the footage, but he knows himself better than anybody else could.)

Hopefully, this is a promising sign that Mark and Larry will be alive and well for a very great many years to come.