When exactly was Holmes' last 'prime' fight?

Holmes slipped a little after the Cooney fight. You could see he wasn't his best when he barely edged Carl Williams just a few months before the first Spinks fight.

 

I think Gerry Cooney was the last opponent to see a fully galvanized Holmes.

 

I would say the 1984 fight when he KOD, James Smith, after 84, he started to slip, the next year he was beaten, (controversial) by Spinks...

Holmes had a helluva run, almost 8 years as champ...:deal

 

Holmes was already well past it by 1984.

 

Holmes was past it by the time he took on witherspoon in 83

 

Holmes looked sloppy against Scott Frank. Impressive wins on paper over Marvis, Smith and Bey came after that but whilst only great fighters could match those wins on paper Holmes did not look as good as usual doing it.

 

It's possible that Witherspoon was simply a better fighter than most of Holmes' pre-1983 opponents, so naturally, Holmes didn't look as good or as dominant against Witherspoon as he did in the years 1978-1982. In 1983, Holmes was only 34, not exactly grandfatherly in any sense. But who knows. Maybe all the years of training and fighting got to Holmes early.
In contrast, Archie Moore and Bernard Hopkins were not even in their primes yet at that age!

 

February, 1983; NBC SportsWorld against challenger Lucien Rodriguez, before Holmes' tough title defense and split decision victory over at the time undefeated and future two-time champion Tim Witherspoon.

 

I hear ya, i have a really hard time buying that Holmes was past his best in 83, not so only 34, and he seemed to have a healthy lifestyle, no drugs, trouble with the law , excessive boozing etc, the only thing with Holmes was that he had a nasty temper....

Witherspoon in 83, just caught Holmes on an off night...

Hell Wlad Klitchko is 38, 4 years older than Holmes in 83, and still considered to be in his prime, heavyweight fighters don't age as fast as smaller fighters...

 

Wlad is a defensive fighter who really hasn't taken much punishment in his career. Same goes for Hopkins although I think he is on HGH.

 

This late peak argument can be taken too far.

Tocite the most exceptional specimens, due to genetics, great training, or other factors as the norm rather than the exception is as wrongheaded as using small swamers who got hit a lot & were out of their peak before 30. Or a Tyson who lost his mental edge & smart strategy.

IF Holmes had an off night & Witherspoon excellnt in '83, he was shortly afterwards off peak.

Still means very few might have beaten him. I recall announcers kept saying he had "no legs" & he kept winning.

But most HWs even are past their very best by 34.

 

Yeah, the Tex Cobb fight is probably right.
Holmes prime years were 1978-'82

Athletes in all sports do last a bit longer these days, due to significant advances in injury rehabs, key hole surgeries and better use of the available medicine (aka PEDs).

 

After the Cooney fight,Eddie Futch stated that Holmes would have stopped Gerry a few rounds earlier a couple of years prior to the bout taking place. Nonetheless,it was probably Larry's last great performance

 

I'm thinking that if Gerry Cooney had seen more than 54 seconds of boxing action in two years prior to facing Holmes it might have been a few rounds later