Larry's said it was Cooney and Shavers I, but for me it was Cobb. Norton and Dokes had to settle for split decisions over Tex, who later pushed Buster Douglas to a majority decision. Holmes shut Randy out over 15 rounds on two official cards, and this was the best prepared version of Cobb who ever set foot in the ring. Utter dominance from beginning to end. Later in the match, Tex attempted to step up the pace in the hope that Larry was wearing down, but Holmes matched his acceleration. Holmes-Ocasio should not be overlooked. Jaws did not have a lot of bouts under his belt, but he was coming off a pair of ten round decisions over Jimmy Young, which prepared him for dealing with a great jab as well as any contender of the time possibly could have been. Larry destroyed Ocasio with his jab anyway, the most powerful use of it as an offensive weapon he produced during his career. While it may not have been a prime performance, Holmes-Mercer is a tremendous masterclass exhibition of guile and saavy from beginning to end, and an upset which took place before Foreman-Moorer. I think Holmes-Mercer is more impressive precisely because Larry did it over the distance, while George lost every minute of every round before uncorking the brick which regained the title for him. (To me, Foreman's best late career performances came after Moorer, when he finally showed he could decision a top contender over the 12 round distance.)
This place is gold for noobs like me. :smoke Only Holmes fight i've seen are one where either fighter is washed up and the commentators talking about a once steller career.
Cooney, people tend to laugh but Gerry "the great white hope" was a very good boxer and well respected as a man and a fighter within the fightgame. The way Holmes just battered him where you almost feel sad, that was prime Holmes. I love Holmes he struggled against some , Snipes, Witherspoon and avoided Page but he got the job done and for my money the best jab ever. His personality is such that he didnt endear himself to the public and it seems like everyone was rooting for him to lose. He had some close scraps and actually one of the champs who you have to "take" the belt from to win a decision.
Either of the two Shavers fight. The first was from a technical point of view his best. A great exhibition of boxing skills against an opponent who had given Ali a life and death battle a few months earlier. The rematch forced him to prove his heart as he rose from that monster punch in the seventh. So while it might not have been as technically perfect as the first fight he displayed more facets of his talent. And I agree with Duodenum about the Ocasio fight being one of Larry's better performances. He won almost every second of that fight and looked a real destroyer.
It is sad to see that Holmes had such a weak following for a great fighter. Lets keep this thread going. Can't wait to some recommendations :think:hey:yep
When Dokes and Shavers fought Cobb, he [Cobb] was still a top ranked contender. Holmes, as usual, only fought Randall when he dropped from the rankings to avoid any risks. I do agree that it might be Holmes' peak though, but i'd pick the Cooney bout for that because his opponent was better.
I think the Shavers 1 and Spinks mentions are rippers. I also see Duo's point regarding Cobb, quite a few could beat the quite decent Cobb but few in history could lather him like Holmes did. It was a slaughter. Cobb had a stupendous chin. Long time since i've seen it, but i think it was notable how well Holmes handled the raw bullish Berbick too, tho he was unheralded at the time. I think Holmes (and us viewers) suffered in that he didn't have the challengers to bring out his greatest in his peak period. Who knows how high he would have rose vs a Tyson, Ali, Frazier, Foreman etc. We've all seen Holmes fight down to his opposition, Witherspoon, Snipes a bit etc. Vs dangerous guys like Shavers and Cooney he was tip top tho. Most likely because he had to be.
'Spoon was a clearly better fighter than Snipes (and he put in a very good performance against Larry, who didn't fight great but still won). I think a better eg of Larry fighting down to another opponents level is perhaps the Bey fight, had he been sharper for that fight Larry would've have stopped Bey long before he did, a few years prior he definitely would've. Appart from that good post, mate.
Witherspoon fought Snipes and many people say that he was lucky to get the decision. Snipes was actually very good when he was on form, he looked very good against Berbick for example.
I've been beaten to the punch but this is an interesting one. As said, Witherspoon was actually lucky to beat Snipes the very fight before he fought Holmes. He didn't look the better fighter at the time, and it was only after the Holmes fight that his reputation picked up. I nearly didn't mention Witherspoon as IMO this fight was proof that Holmes was on the obvious decline. I think by Bey, Smith and Williams Holmes was simply past it. Weaver and Snipes tho are great examples near Holmes peak. Perhaps, at the end of the day, it was simply Holmes preparation and and lack of inspiration that dragged him down in these two. He claims he took Witherspoon lightly too. This would of course be a flaw in Holmes makeup, but warriors like Duran (everytime he lost if we listen to some) and many others could be equally lax. The thing is Holmes never let it cost him a fight, well probably excepting Spinks 1.
Holmes looked FANTASTIC in the Ocasio bout. His ripping, blazing fast, powerful jab is on display in its finest and sharpest fashion. He literally plows Ossie down to the ground with it. His wonderful condition, heart, and championship determination were never better displayed than in the Shavers II and Snipes fights. You cannot but come away from those fights with admiration for Larry's chin and championship pedigree after seeing him nailed perfectly on the chin by hellacious right hands that would have put anyone else out cold for minutes. Within seconds, he's firing back at these guys with ferocity. Amazing. I too think Larry was UP for Leon Spinks and Cooney, and recognized that these guys were dangerous and could give him trouble if he wasn't ready. So those are impressive performances, particularly if you recognize that at that point, Gerry Cooney was no easy task given his size and power. I don't think Larry was ever really fully motivated again after Cooney, and started to gradually slip after that fight. By '85, I think he was past it, and due for a loss, as demonstrated by the Williams fight, even prior to M. Spinks.
Shavers 1 , Evangelista, Oscasio, Berbick (who had ko'ed John Tate and easily defeated previously undefeated Greg Page) , Leroy Jones, Leon Spinks, Cooney and Cobb ... David Bey pretty good as well ...