#1. Ali- Faster then Holmes, smarter, better stamina, movement, chin, almost everything besides power... #2. Tyson- Tyson would have hurt Holmes at some point.. For real... Of course Larry would've been able to defend himself better at his prime, and would have been more mobile, but personally Tyson still would have given him a LOT of problems based on his power and the way he could finish men off. #3. Lewis- Lewis also could box on the outside with a nice left jab, or he could operate in close with uppercuts and hooks. Plus, he has a killer right hand, which Larry seemed to always have trouble with For me anyway.
Holmes can match up well vs. Most. He could out speed most / reach / box most, but he also had an excellent chin and stamina to survive the punchers. I think bigger fighters than Holmes who also had great skills such as Lewis or Klitschko would give Holmes problems. I also think an aggressive attacker who could deliver body shots, and stand up to Holmes power such as Tyson or Jeffries could also trouble Holmes. I like Holmes over Ali, because Holmes was more active and more fundamentally sound.
I think Max Baer is a dark horse with upset potential. He had the big right, a crazed unpredictability, height and reach lacked by many top heavyweights of his day, and excellent 20 round endurance, as documented on film. Holmes should dominate with his jab and superior speed, but Maxie would be extremely dangerous at all times.
I agree with this to a degree, although I think Ali would negate it by using lateral movement, as we know, its much harder to get off with the jab when facing a moving target, plus, Holmes was a bit more mechanical than Ali, which would not help him adapt to someone who is using their legs and attacking off angles like what Ali would be doing. Tyson would probably try and run Holmes out the ring, that seek and destroy tactic would be hard for Holmes to deal with, although who is to say what would happen if Holmes was able to weather the storm? that said, I think Holmes conceded too much ground to negate someone like Tyson, with Tyson, I believe you have to Box and fight a bit, like what EH did, but most importantly, dont surrender the momentum by letting him put you on your heels where by he gets maximum leverage on the front foot for his power punches, keep him in centre ring, or if you can, back him up, admittedly backing him up is much harder, but you must stand your ground to a degree imo.
Tommy, Ali had problems with good jabbers at many stages of his career. Doug Jones, Kenny Norton, Ron Lyle and Jimmy Young come to mind.:deal Holmes is better than all of them, and certainly had a great jab.
so you think just because of that Ali would be beaten? because holmes has a good jab? you do realize Ali was completely green against jones.. and he still won. with norton, it wasn't so much his jab, as much as it was his style and cross armed defense.. I'll give you Lyle but overall Ali didn't look so good, at least Ali finished him off at the end. Ali's win over young wasn't really a W to begin with. but Ali just looked like **** that night... young made him look terrible... which was once again with his defensive STYLE. Ali also had negated many other great jabs with his speed, he neutralized liston's jab, terrell's, and bugners. the reason Ali had trouble with the "jabbers" late in his career was because Ali started to lose his speed, and he wasn't a completely sound boxer. Youre picking holmes based on his good jab? well Ali has faster hands, faster feet, a better chin, more heart, and better footwork.. What's your top 10 mendoza? no doubt the klits are in the top 5... :verysad
tyson tubbs....tubbs was slick if he trained he coulda done sumthin frazier page wlad lennox young witherspoon vitali pinky thomas IM NOT SAYING THESE GUYS BEAT HOLMES/BUT GIVE HIM MAJOR PROBLEMS...ALTHOUGH I PICK PRIME ALI/TYSON/FRAZIER TO BEAT PRIME HOLMES.....
A lot of all-time great HWs would give Holmes trouble... but not very many would be able to beat him. Holmes had tough fights with Shavers, Norton, Snipes, Weaver, Witherspoon, Williams, and others but he won his first 48 pro fights... 21 of them being HW World Title Fights.
I think Holmes himself made a great pick with johnson. He would neutralize the core of Holmes' game with his specialty.