Larry Holmes comments on boxing's current state, Ali, Lewis, and Frazier...

[brother muzone]

I'm curious what the exact quote would be, regardless, I wouldn't read too much into Mike's words on that one. He's so bi-polar lol.

here you go

YouTube - Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes post fight interview

 

[Sharkey]

I guess I'm in the minority here but I really see Lewis beating Holmes more times then not. I guess he doesn't consider Ali the greatest ever saying he wasn't even that good. So, obviously he feels like he's no.1 I wonder who is no.2 in larry's book

Here's a quote from Holmes discussing who he thinks was the greatest and this is taken from page 296 of Stephen Brunt's 'Facing Ali';

"You ask me who was the greatest, I can't say who was the greatest. You say Ali was the greatest, I say no--he was one of the greatest. That's the kind of argument you would get from me. Marciano was the greatest? He was one of the greatest. Or Joe Louis. He was one of the greatest. Dempsey. Any of them. I think I'm one of the greatest. I don't think I was better than anybody or that anybody was better than me. That's why I put that one of. And I'm satisfied with that. Being one of. One of many. One of a hundred million. I don't care."

It's been about a week since I saw it, but when he gave his induction speach for the IBHOF I seem to recall Holmes saying things quite similiar to that quote.

Also, in regards to the fight with Tyson, here's a few quotes from Holmes taken after the fight, and printed in Gutteridge's and Heller's bios on Tyson;

"My game plan was to tie him up and make him miss and then get in my own shots. But I made the mistake of waiting for him to tire. I fought Tyson not for money but because I was trying to get something back after being deprived of victory against Michael Spinks. I found out that Tyson is better than I thought. There is no question that he's the champion."

And...

"The guy beat me legitimately. I can't make no excuses for that. I just got caught. People will say Tyson beat my ass, and he did. He beat me good. As we all go along, someone eventually gets us, and he got me tonight."

P.S. In regards to a another post I made, around the time that Holmes/Norton was made (signed on April 12th, 1978), not only was Ron Lyle struggling to win a close and "unpopular" decision over Stan Ward a few months previous, which saw the verdict boo'd heavily by the crowd in attendance (and including the press, which stated that "most thought" Ward deserved the win), but Lyle was also dealing with a second-degree murder charge stemming from the New Year's Eve death of a former prison friend and boxing trainer by the name of Vernon Clark. Lyle was eventually acquitted of the charge, but that wasn't until Dec of 1978, and up until May of that year, Lyle spent most of the early part of the year in prison before being let out after shelling out an over $500,000 bond.

 

[djacobox372]

Holmes already explained his loss to Tyson, citing lack of time to prepare & thus bad conditioning.

LOL, so a man that typically looked fresh in the 15rd, couldn't even go 4? Whatever, Tyson was a BAD matchup for holmes, just like Frazier would have been.

That said, holmes is an ass, but he's in the top 3 hw's of all time IMO.

 

[ATTILA the HUN]

Error...
You base that statement on what ??
A 90 kilo heavy (less then 200 lbs) M Spinks beat Holmes twice and M Tyson nearly killed both of them!!!!!!
Thats the truth.

So Lewis would be a quite a bite for him...as big as he is , not to mention that Lewis faced even tougher opponents than Holmes (Tyson, Holyfield, Klitchko, Bowe..)...and actually beat most of them...

Holmes is talking about Ali having easy fights (making them hard??!!) but the truth is HW division was weakest when he (Holmes) fought...I would like to see him fight Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Liston...and ask him then how easy it was ??

I simply base it on Holmes being a much better & smarter fighter.

 

[Dragonstyle915]

I respect Holmes. God-bless him.

But its kind of a grand father love. You love him because you have to and because how great he was to the sport. But damn he is so bitter.

I understand why he's bitter. it's one of those if someone complianed about it id say "Yeah, thats Larry".

But off the record. he needs to realize that people do respect him. He's in the hall of fame now. He was a World Champion. All this bitter hate is something he needs to let go.

he beat up on Ali in the ring already. Why does he have to trash on him some more? Thats just cheap.

Sounds like he's just jealous of Ali and Lennox to me. Honestly.

 

[doubleogsd]

Agreed. Look at his fights from '83 up until Spinks fights. He fought a nobody with 7 losses and then six fighters with under 20 fights. The hwt division was WEAK! Withersppon and Bonecrusher eventaully got belts but I try to foget those years.

I know you aint trying to downgrade holmes or even SUGGEST he was over-rated..... the man defended his belt TWENTY times....only joe louis defended more......Holmes is a LEGEND........far as his comments go.... I was feeling him up until the floyd mayweather comment.......end thread.

 

[sammyhoss]

I know you aint trying to downgrade holmes or even SUGGEST he was over-rated..... the man defended his belt TWENTY times....only joe louis defended more......Holmes is a LEGEND........far as his comments go.... I was feeling him up until the floyd mayweather comment.......end thread.

Yeah, I am trying to downgrade him a little. I hope you can admit that some of his 20 defenses were weak. I know other LEGENDS had some weak defenses also, but Holmes era was smothered with weak contenders. He had great skill and was the best of his time, but his time was weak. He's no Joe Louis, Marciano, Dempsey, Tyson, and no where close to Ali.

 

[doubleogsd]

Yeah, I am trying to downgrade him a little. I hope you can admit that some of his 20 defenses were weak. I know other LEGENDS had some weak defenses also, but Holmes era was smothered with weak contenders. He had great skill and was the best of his time, but his time was weak. He's no Joe Louis, Marciano, Dempsey, Tyson, and no where close to Ali.

you compare him to those other fighters...yet none of them hold the distinction that he did(number of defenses)......Whether his era was weak or not I think is moot.... he was the best in his time just as Ali,Tyson,Marciano etc were in their times...... I guess we agree to disagree.... fair enough.

 

[sushijin]

You could draw the same conclusion about Holmes Vs Ali, but it would be just as stupid in that case.

Fighters have a shelf life in the sport of boxing.

Although you make a good point about fighters having a shelf life, Larry Holmes wouldn't be the guy to qualify that statement in this case. His great success in his 40's showed he had some left, especially when he beat rated contender Ray Mercer several years after he was raped by Tyson. The Ali that fought Holmes was FAR more ring worn, and was totally at the end of his rope. You can't really compare the two cases.

 

[doubleogsd]

Although you make a good point about fighters having a shelf life, Larry Holmes wouldn't be the guy to qualify that statement in this case. His great success in his 40's showed he had some left, especially when he beat rated contender Ray Mercer several years after he was raped by Tyson. The Ali that fought Holmes was FAR more ring worn, and was totally at the end of his rope. You can't really compare the two cases.

very accurate post...... agree 200%.

 

[sammyhoss]

you compare him to those other fighters...yet none of them hold the distinction that he did(number of defenses)......Whether his era was weak or not I think is moot.... he was the best in his time just as Ali,Tyson,Marciano etc were in their times...... I guess we agree to disagree.... fair enough.

Fair enough. Agree to disagree, however, I do see your point. 20 succesful defenses in the hwt division is impressive.