When exactly was Holmes' last 'prime' fight?

He looked pretty good beating up bums and Parkinson's patients

But spinks was a step up the can crusher

 

No proof what so ever that Hopkins is on HGH:-(, HE'S just a 1 in a million blessed with good genetics, and a very strong work ethic...

Wlad Klitchko has taken some punishment knocked cold by Sanders, and put in the hospital by Brewster, not to mention the first Sam Peter fight, he took an alarming amount of shots to the back of the head, and throw in the PURRITY fight a really long time ago when he took another beating...

You gotta remember the insane amount of sparring, guy's do over a long 15-20 year career, and intense training it puts an unbelievable amount of wear and tear on the body...

 

Well, in a physiological sense, most people, athletes and non-athletes alike, are probably 'past it' by the age of 24 or 25. Once a human reaches physical maturity (around 17-20-ish), the only direction from that point on is down. All bodily systems are likely at peak functioning capability within a very short window once physical maturity is reached. So, in that sense, I guess, yeah, Holmes was past it. But balanced out by experience, clean living, dedication to ones craft, I doubt Holmes was that far past it in a performance sense in 1983.

 

Those are only 3 fights in a 65 fight career and they all happened a long time ago. Brewster never hurt Wlad..Wlad was killing him until he mysteriously became so fatigued he couldn't even stand up (very strange).

 

True. Cooney's team brought him along terribly

 

it very well might be near Cooney. He was not a worn out fighter when he fought Spinks, and in retrospect a 35 year old man is not that old at heavyweight. I think Spinks was just a better fighter than Holmes. And I respect Larry, but Spinks was incredible. Once he avoided Larry's jab all he had to watch was the right, and he could do that.

 

I always wondered what that was about. If Gerry really had the heart for boxing. He could demolish guys with that left hook, but if he really had his heart in boxing like the legends always do, he would have fought at least 3 times a year and learned the game and been seasoned by 1987 when he fought Spinks. But even after years of being a professional, Spinks was too experienced for Cooney, who had been inactive, and then Foreman. Had he fought 3 times a year or two in the 1980s. He could have been back in the title fight picture against guys like Dokes Tubbs or anyone else. Pinklon Thomas. he might have done well and won a title.

 

The last we saw of the real Larry Holmes was Tex Cobb. Afterwards, Larry slid into mediocrity, winning some, barely escaping others in life and death struggles against 15-0 fighters

 

Nobody will agree with this, But to me it was the Ali fight.

That was the best Larry. That was his night and he was perfectly prepared and focused. The other thing he did in the fight was to throw the best left hook off a jab he ever threw. Usually it was a swipe. Against Muhammad, it had real snap and was the first time I ever saw a good snappy left hook from him.

The problem is the opponent had nothing that night so those skills went to waste, so to speak. Larry didn't need his A#1 game that night. His B game gets the job done.

But after that Ali bout, Larry slipped. Now he was a guy that slipped down the ladder slowly & that's unique in the sport of boxing. But he had the style and footwork and mobility to go along with that jab to make his descent slow and easy, as opposed to falling of a cliff the way most guy's do.

Most guy's lose a fight and there is a major rebuilding project to do to resurrect things. Holmes was cut from a different cloth than that. A slow erosion. The rare breed that can continue on as champ even though sliding down. but still, an erosion.

I like the 77 against Shavers #1 through the Ali bout best.

 

I've often thought Holmes looked best in the Ali fight. He looked the most fit, his punches were the sharpest, & he seemed the most focused. He also looked pretty sharp against Berbick.

I think Holmes went into cruise control around 84 so his performances were uneven.

 

Tex Cobb was the last prime Holmes fight.

 

Zadfrak's post is a good one.
Holmes looked in superb shape that night.
Back then fighters tended to decline post 30 and Holmes was 30 at that point.He won the title aged 28 which was a fairly late age to win it (back then)...when compared to his recent predecesors ..Ali /Frazier/Foreman/Spinks..

 

Holmes peaked in 82 v.s. ****ey mentally, very similar to Johnson v.s. Jeffries .. physically he was at his best in 1980 or so ..

 

When he dropkicked Berbick.

 

Probably the Cobb fight.