Larry holmes...

[pr0ne2gr8tness]

a few of u know i ve been researching a few of the old great heavyweights as part of my school course work.. the one thing i ve noticed about larry holmes is that there doesnt seem to be much appreciation of him.. hell on the youtube style sites couldnt find hardly any tribute/highlight reels of him..

now i realise he followed ali and slagged off marciano with his jockstrap comment but is there more reasons to why he never caught on with people?

 

[Sinister]

Larry just was never a larger-than-life personality. He was more of a blue-collar type Fighter, like Marvin Hagler. Though Larry was immensely skilled and arguably one of the best HW Champs of all time.

Larry was what you'd call a Fighter's Fighter.

 

[pr0ne2gr8tness]

i noticed he never had 'highlight reel' KO power, did this hurt him as well?

 

[Sinister]

I wouldn't go as far as to say that, Larry's right hand was dangerous enough, he just didn't always get the chance to land it consistently.

 

[Sharkey]

Haven't watched it yet, but here's one Holmes highlight video I found;

YouTube - Larry Holmes HL

 

[surge_factor]

Larry had the unfortunate situation on his hands of following in Ali's footsteps, not having Ali's charisma, and actually beating Ali at the tail end of his career.

Additionally, he came in during the end of the 'great 70's heavyweights' era but before the Tyson/Holyfield etc. era, a time in which the HW division was lacking for a while. That could be argued, but that's my take on it. So all in all he just wasn't a champ people could latch on to like they could with Ali. He was very blue collar...a real lunch pail fighter and like some have mentioned, he had good power but he recognized when he should box with a guy instead of going for the kaibash.

I fucking love Larry though and he's always been one of my favorite heavies. He never gets enough love from the casual fan. He was giving Holyfield all he could handle and toying with Ray Mercer at 42 years old. That's something special.

 

[aceventura]

I think holmes can beat any hw in any era to be honest.

bad matchup for ali even in his prime.

 

[Seano]

He was simply overshadowed historically by Tyson and Ali.

 

[DAZEDJELLYLEGS2]

Easily one of the most underrated fighters of all time. He was sandwiched by a golden era for the heavies and one of the most devestating young fighters in the history of the sport. Along with that he refused to unify (not wanting to pay sanctioning fees) thus leaving others to be able to claim themselves champ and didnt really endear himself to the public or seem to be bothered what they thought of him.

 

[pr0ne2gr8tness]

even with age does the tyson fight make him look bad?

 

[Zodiak_Killer]

I don't think he's that forgotten be the casual fan. No more then Foreman or Evander. Most people don't know who they are either (except for the grill...)

I think Ali and Tyson are the only ones people really remember, and its not for their boxing ability I think so much as the controversy surrounding them.

 

[DAZEDJELLYLEGS2]

even with age does the tyson fight make him look bad?

Its less the Tyson vs Holmes fight, more the way in which Tyson captured the attention of the public in a way Holmes never came close to.

 

[Hammer Time]

all time great jab and good boxer. dangerous right decent chin and multilayered defense. top 10 hw no sweat imo

 

[surge_factor]

Its less the Tyson vs Holmes fight, more the way in which Tyson captured the attention of the public in a way Holmes never came close to.

I don't think anyone really believes that the Tyson fight is respective of a prime Holmes vs. Prime Tyson. Larry gets a pass for being older and coming off a long layoff.

 

[the general]

Top 5 heavy of alltime

 

[Reza Nasri]

During the 70's he showed he could compete with the best and even into the early 80's he beat tough guys from that era like Shavers and he did have a superfight that transcended the sport in 82. Plus he was a very talented HW with speed and heart.

So it boils down to the fact that from 1983-1985 he
a) Won some very dubious decisions over young lions like Witherspoon and Carl Williams.
b) he gave up the linear title to champion the IBF
c) he avoided Pinklon Thomas and Michael Dokes and didnt give a rematch to Witherspoon.
He fought weak comp like Randall Cobb, Scott Frank and David Bey and an unready Marvis Frazier.
d) he got fat and lazy and more and more outspoken.

His personality turned people off.
Thats why he's disliked.