What Was Larry Holmes Greatest Fight?

I think it’s a tie between Cooney and Norton. Both were great fights and both were of high importance

 

Holmes didn’t have great competition but Weaver was a one of his toughest opponents. He never looked very good and usually was getting whipped by good opponents and then all of a sudden he was knocking the hell out of you. Shavers big puncher but bad skills and slow. Norton was good but was bad against big punchers which Holmes was not.
Ali was washed up and had a medication issue but Holmes showed supreme skill in totally outclassing him. That may have been his most impressive effort.

 

The Norton fight was entertaining but I don't see where fighting a 35 yr old, always vulnerable Ken Norton to a close decision is that great of a performance. It should not have been that close.

 

Perhaps viewed as ironic in some ways but the overcoming of extreme adversity can count for a lot in the perception of a great (greatest?) performance.

Some champs might encounter greater adversity due to the particular quality level of their era’s opposition and/or specific negative circumstances surrounding the champ otherwise.

At the end of the day, however it comes to pass, adversity is what it is.

The ability to overcome adversity draws on several, invaluable intangible qualities.

At least as I see it, when considering fantasy match ups, when an imagined match will likely come down to or mostly down to pure heart, determination etc., the well proven ability to uphold same can take some fighters, per forecast, that much further into ultimately successful outcomes.

Just imo, Holmes was the epitome of the guy who, once you hurt him, you better be that much more wary of even more savage offence coming your way. A terrific ATG quality.

 

Well, at the time, since Ali had lost, Ken Norton was really the best heavyweight in the world. So, I'd agree, that the Norton fight was his biggest win (in terms of his career).

In terms of "bigness" ... the Cooney fight was just a huge event. Really big. In fact, had Larry lost, he'd probably still be considered a pretty solid heavyweight champion. He had made a lot of successful defenses at that point and was 39-0. But the way he beat down Cooney really surprised people. He almost did too good of a job taking Cooney apart. Because people began thinking Cooney had been overrated instead of just giving Larry credit for beating the holy hell out of the top heavyweight contender in the world.

The Mercer win was probably my favorite, just because it was so unexpected. I was so happy for him. And Mercer was in his prime. Larry just boxed his ears off. It seems weird to rate that as Larry's best win, but he was least likely to win that fight, more so than the others.

So, I wouldn't argue with any of those three.

I also agree the Leon Spinks defense gets overlooked. At the time, that was definitely an impressive win. Spinks not only had beaten Ali (which, if you were alive then, was such a huge deal ... only the third time it had happened in nearly 20 years and 58 fights), he had also just beaten the number-one contender Bernardo Mercado in a fight Leon really wasn't supposed to win. Yet Leon wasn't in that fight with Holmes at all. Holmes ate him alive.

But I wouldn't say it was his greatest win.

Witherspoon doesn't rate as high for me because he was virtually an unknown. That was really the first time Witherspoon made a name for himself. And Larry wasn't expecting what he got. I'm sure Holmes would've performed better in rematch once he knew what to expect. More of an off-night instead of a greatest win.

 

"Always vulnerable" Norton? Nobody in 1978 thought that.

Norton was 40-4, most thought he should've been 42-2 and the defending heavyweight champion in 1977 after the last Ali fight '76.

When Holmes fought him, Norton had beaten everyone he fought as a pro except Foreman, who was retired.

Once Ali lost, and Spinks ducked him, Norton was seen as the best heavyweight in the world. Not someone who was "vulnerable."

Had Leon defended against Norton first, like he was supposed to in 1978, Norton likely would've killed him.

So, Holmes beating Norton was huge.

You're clearly someone who came in later after Norton's career had wound down. Nobody at the time viewed Ken Norton as vulnerable. Certainly not to Larry Holmes, who usually fought on undercards. Although six years into his career, Holmes was rarely in main events to that point.