Your personal opinion of Larry Holmes, the man.

Larry has always been one of my favourites stylistically. Probably the best jab ever in any division.

I can understand the bitterness after having met the man and talking to him at length several times. There are many reasons but it began at an early age when Larry dropped out of school to make some money to help single mom out. Larry said he always would be quiet around other fighters or press because he didn't want to embarrass himself by saying something stupid. He was also embarrassed by a slight lisp.

After being picked up by Muhammad Ali and utilized as a sparring partner Larry says he became a little more at ease. Hanging with Ali and that crew was like a big family. Larry felt a bit more at home and a bit better about himself after doing so well in the ring with Ali.

Later, Holmes was disappointed after losing to Bobick to qualify for the Olympics. This was to spell disaster to Larrys early career. Without the prestige of medalling in the Olympic games, the money and interest available for the blossoming carrer of a new fighter was very small. Sixty three dollars for his first fight

After all the disputes with Don King and the money he SHOULD be making, Larry was basically fighting for his life as well as family. By the way, Larry is a man whom you never heard stories about taking drugs, DUI's, beating his wife, cheating on his wife etc. etc.. He always put his family first and providing for them meant investing for the future. Smart guy? Very! Looking long term.

Anyway after a long road to the championship wins against Norton and becomes heavyweight champion of the world. Perhaps the number one most impressive title and athlete in the world. The press didn't see Larry that way. Larry was not the rhyming, whimsical, somewhat eloquent spokesman that his predecessor was. The media began to search for another in the mold of Ali to continue the banter and captivate he audience. This hurt Larry and Holmes began to show this hurt in interviews. In a vicious cycle, many in the media saw Holmes as an angry, bitter champ and began not to like him. Holmes, seeing what is printed about him begins to have disdain for the media. One can see the frustration here. That Gerry Cooney is able to receive so much media attention, purse parity and the backing of everyone from the average Joe to the President of the United States. That hurts after all Larry had put into the sport.

In person no one is nicer than Larry Holmes. He is funny, smart and quick. He does indeed feel that most of the fighters today do not have the skill, motivation and determination that fighters twenty years ago did. He remembers that he held a full time job driving a truck and still trained and fought as a pro. He fought more than once per year and not always on PPV. He had to fight top contenders not just whomever made him the most money. So there is a bit of angst left watching the current boxing scene for Larry. Get him going on George Foreman and be ready for a tirade of humor. He is a gentleman and one of the most considerate people in sports that I have had the pleasure of meeting.

After his last fight against Eric Esch (Butterbean), I spoke to Joe Frazier for 4 hours! Another of the true nice men of the sport.

All in all I personally understand how someone experiencing the circumstances Larry did can be a bit opinionated about the sport to which he dedicated himself for so long.

 

I like Larry as a person. He calls it as he sees it and doesn't beat about the bush. Whether he's right or wrong, he'll usually stand by what he says.

I can understand the bitterness to a degree. Sure, he may be predisposed to those feelings anyway, but to a point, the man has a point. I don't hold it against him at all about the Marciano quote, especially as the Marciano family were hardly sporting about Larry attempting to beat Rocky's record. I don't think Larry truly meant it anyway.

 

Overall I like Holmes, I just wish he would cool it down about his attitude toward George Foreman. Seems to be just plain jealousy that Foreman's made more money than Holmes especially with a grill of all things.

 

One tough son of a *****.

He just didn't give a **** if you loved or hated him, he'd whip your ass on his day no matter what.

 

Sounds like a good guy in day-to-day life, credit to him for sound financial planning as well. He just still seems to have a big chip on his shoulder and can't let it go. I can understand how that can build up but damn, time to let it go...he badmouths fighters as if he was still fighting, he really doesn't need to bother any more. He's a legend, he doesn't have to prove anything.

He said Lewis "never fought anyone that wanted to fight", which is insulting a huge raft of guys in one go, proud guys like Holyfield and Mercer and so on. When he speaks normally he's fine, as soon as it goes to talking trash all class seems to disappear and he lets himself down.

I guess that's it. A great in the ring, lets himself down outside it sometimes.

Thing is, of course, Larry wouldn't give a damn about the respect of some bloke from Tavistock. He's his own man and will say what he wants. Great straight-talking sometimes, unfortunate bull**** other times.

 

Larry Holmes is not going to win any popularity contests but his record as a man outside the ring might actualy stand up verry favourably to that of many more charismatic and popular champions.

As far as we can tell he seems to be a clean living man who is nice to his family.

 

A complex but great hearted guy. I know him very well.

 

Fantastic post.

 

I read his autobiography and he came across as a decent guy.

Sure, he could be awkward and came across badly in interviews. He came from poverty, had some **** to contend with, and was not groomed to be a media spokesman. But he explained and apologised for the Marciano comments in the book. He knew he'd done wrong.

He was criticised for hiring white people as well as black in his businesses, but to Larry, it was just about treating people equally and fairly.

He is a good family man, as far as I can tell. So, not the most charismatic champion, (especially when coming after Ali) but probably one of the most decent men to hold the belt.

 

I like how Larry always seems to speak his mind. Unlike a guy like George Foreman, who seems to play the nice guy role and say whatever will help him sell more grills or create a bigger following, Holmes seems very real and totally un-phony! I admire that part of him, even though he does go overboard with his criticisms of fighters.

 

Very decent man with an inferiority complex that makes him come across on camera as being bitter and not as good a guy as he really is.

 

Years ago I used to think he was just a bitter bigot. I have since changed my opinion. Larry never got the credit he deserved while he was fighting it was only in retirement did he start to get credit. His era was very weak but he beat everyone they put in front of him and you can't fault or criticize Holmes for that. Now, Larry seems like a likable guy.

 

After Holmes schooled Mercer, Ray said, "I guess I'd better learn how to box." That's one of the best tributes I've ever found by a defeated opponent to his conquerer. It's one common thing for somebody from an earlier generation to claim newer boxers are lacking in skill. It's another to actually come out of retirement and take younger world class professionals to school.

While Foreman's knockout of Moorer was a sensation, he needed it to win, having been completely dominated in the previous rounds. I think Larry's 12 round decision over Mercer was more impressive, because he had to perform well over the distance to do it. (He also beat Mercer over two years before George took out Moorer. What's stunning to me about Foreman though is that he proved himself a winner over the 12 round distance after regaining the title, with his decisions over Schultz, the undefeated Grimsley and undefeated Savarese. Knockouts can be staged, but there's no way to fake the activity necessary to take a points verdict before a live audience. He also won those decisions after losing to Morrison. I don't think he gets enough credit for this. Many expected that George could only win those matches with stoppages, never on the scorecards. Of course most everybody knows that Briggs was a robbery.)

Having an exaulted public image can be a deadly requirement to live up to. It might be better for Larry's sanity that he hasn't been deified by the media the way Arguello and Ali were. Idolatry is greedily demanding, not necessarily respectful. There is definitely a disconnect between the deplorable way he's been presented by the monarchist press, and the way he's perceived by those who have met him and know him away from the glare of sportscasting cameras and microphones. He's real, says what he believes, expresses his true feelings, and remains well grounded. His commitment to Easton resonates well with the public. Unlike many boxing superstars, he remains consistently accessible to regular people.

I like it that he takes care of himself and his own family interests. I like it that he doesn't allow himself to be exploited and left in ruins, the way so many others have been screwed over. I like it that he sets boundaries instead of taking **** he doesn't have to.

Larry has been called many things, but being a phony is not among the frequent charges. Who's the real George Foreman?

When Holmes first emerged as a prominent heavyweight, he was civil, amiable and well mannered, only becoming bitter when repeatedly and gallingly demeaned, disrespected and diminished after becoming champion. I never believed that nastiness was a part of his intrinsic nature. He was continually baited into that behaviour.

 

Holmes a man who says what he means and means what he says. He's rather authentic. Some might take that for being a jerk. But give Holmes his due. He was never phony.

Outside the ring, Holmes is a rarity among champions. He's still married to the same woman, has never been in major trouble with the law, has been a successful business man, and still live in the area he grew up in. He also has all of his marbles.

 

he talks a bit of **** like saying that tyson and holyfield wouldnt be top 10 in the 70's

but overall he seems a good, straight forward guy