The men Larry Holmes faced in his reign as world heavyweight champion, the men who defined his legacy.
Larry Holmes wins the title against Ken Norton in 1978.
Alfredo Evangelista. KO Round 7. Oct. 1978.
After going 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1977, Alfredo would go on to KO Jean Piere Coopman in the first round, as well as to string together ten straight wins with 8 stoppages amongst them. After the Holmes fight, he would go on to face Leon Spinks and Greg Page and lose to both of them, but he would also beat Renaldo Snipes and tough journeyman Terry Daniels.
1978 record 24-2
Ossie Ocasio. TKO Round 7. March 1979.
Prior to his Holmes fight, Ocasio had just won two decisions over the skilled boxer Jimmy Young who had recent wins over Ron Lyle and George Foreman. It was these two fights over Young which saw Ocasio face off against Holmes. After the Holmes bout Ocasio fought Michael Dokes to a draw, and in his older years would win decisions over Dwight Muhammad Qawi and Pierre Coetzer.
1979 record 13-0
Mike Weaver. TKO Round 12. June 1979.
The hard hitting Weaver had suffered a fistful of losses early in his career including a seventh round stoppage to Duane Bobbick, the man who had beaten Holmes for the Olympic trials in 1972. Leading up to the Holmes fight Weaver beat and lost to a few suspect opponents his best win was a points win over Pedro Lowel and a fifth round stoppage of Bernardo Mercado. After the Holmes fight Weaver would go on to win the WBA title by beating John Tate, and in defending this title he would defeat Gerrie Coezter in the 13th and win a decision over James Tillis. He would lose his title to Michael Dokes, only to re-match for it with a draw. After some more losses to better fighters, and a string of wins over journeymen, he would go on to KO Carl Williams inside two, and to beat Bert Cooper in 1993. Weaver would go onto face Holmes again when both men are well into there forties.
1979 record 19-8
Earnie Shavers. TKO Round 11. September 1979.
Holmes had already defeated the hard hitting Shavers on his way to the title, and granted the power puncher a title shot after Shavers had stopped Ken Norton inside round one. Prior to this Shavers had faced a who’s who list of top 1970s heavyweights, before his first Holmes loss, he had just gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali for the title. An always dangerous fighter, Shavers would go onto stop Joe Bugner in 1982 as well as lose some more fights and go onto demonstrate his power against lesser opponents.
1979 record 59-7-1
Lorenzo Zannon. KO Round 6. February 1980.
Leading up to the Holmes fight Zannon had suffered two losses to the likes of Jerry Quarry, who he out boxed until being KO’d and a loss to Ken Norton, giving Norton a tough fight until he was stopped. His best wins in this period was against Evangelista who he bested twice and against Italian fighter Peralta and journeyman Sandman. Zannon brought a European title to the Holmes fight. After the Holmes bout Zannon fought four more times with mixed results and would go on to retire soon after.
1980 record 25-4-2
Leroy Jones. TKO Round 8. March 1980.
A physically big man who at 6’5 and 255 lb posed a threat to most opponents Bringing to his professional career a good amateur background. Prior to his title challenge against Holmes, Jones had a near perfect record with just one draw against Pedro Lovell, his best wins were against Mike Weaver, John Dino Dennis and journeyman Jody Ballard. After his Holmes loss, he had one more fight and then retired due to an eye injury.
1980 record 24-0-1
Scott Ledoux. TKO Round 7. July 1980.
He gave Foreman a tough fight, in there brief but exciting bout, he managed to take Leon Spinks and Ken Norton to a draw. He faced top competition and was a competent contender, who would go on to fight for another three years with a 7-4 record over a mixed grade of opponents.
1980 record 26-8-4
Muhammad Ali. TKO Round 10. October 1980.
There is no dispute that the Ali that fought Holmes should have retired in 1978 with his win over Leon Spinks, but for whatever reason the former champ felt a need to return and the public who felt he was the true champion granted him another chance. Holmes though reluctantly stopped the legend in a one sided bout, that saw Ali not land a single punch it was to be Ali’s only stoppage defeat. After the Holmes fight Ali would have one more fight against Trevor Berbick and he would lose that as well.
1980 record 56-3
Trevor Berbick. UD 15. April 1981.
Berbick’s best performance immediately prior to his Holmes fight was a ninth round KO over John Tate, before that he had faced average opposition and suffered a loss to Bernardo Mercado. After his Holmes loss the big Jamaican would beat an elderly Ali, decision Greg Page, Mitch Green and Pinklon Thomas, as an older past his prime fighter he faced varying opponents with mixed results. Besides his win over Ali he is also best remembered for his stoppage loss against a prime Mike Tyson who stripped him of his WBC belt.
1981 record 18-1-1
Leon Spinks. TKO Round 3. June 1981.
The Olympic gold medalist had been catapulted into sports stardom due to his win over Ali in 1978, just seven fights into his pro career, he become heavyweight champion of the world. Before his second shot at the title against Holmes, he was stopped by the tough South African Gerrie Coetzee, thereafter he would stop Evagelista, Isaac and Mercardo, it was his namesake however that made him a credible contender. After his Holmes loss he fought at both Heavy and Cruiser weights with mixed results losing a good many of bouts to a mixed bag of fighters. His style was aggressive and awkward, but it was his heart and work ethic that saw him fail.
1981 record 10-2-2
Renaldo Snipes. TKO Round 11. November 1981.
The tricky Snipes leading up to his fight with Holmes had strung together a perfect record, with recent wins that included wins over Floyd Cummings, Eddie Mustaffa Muhammad and Gerrie Coetzee, these wins put him inline for a title shot. After giving Holmes a tough fight Snipes went on to suffer a cluster of losses to top fighters as well as journeymen, his best wins post Holmes were against Trevor Berbick and Johnny DuPlooy.
1981 record 22-0
Gerry Cooney. TKO Round 13. June 1982.
The great white hope, or hype whichever you view him as, Cooney in 1982 was a very real contender, who was well marketed and was able to land both men a grand pay day. Leading up to his showdown with Holmes, Cooney early on had cut his teeth with a stoppage over John Dino Dennis, and then in 1980 he stopped a still very effective Jimmy Young inside four, it was his first round stoppages of Norton and Lyle that landed the hard hitting Cooney a title shot. After his Holmes loss, Cooney strung a handful of stoppage wins only to himself be stopped by Michael Spinks, and in 1990 after a three year lay off he was stopped by the also returning George Foreman. Cooney had devastating power and before Holmes he had stopped all but four of his opponents. Many claim that Cooney peaked for the Holmes fight and proved that he would never regain the fire that had made him such a dangerous contender.
1982 record 25-0
Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb. UD 15. November 1982.
The match between these two caused great controversy as Holmes was able to completely dominate and won every round. Cobb was fresh of an eighth round stoppage of an always dangerous Earnie Shavers, and proved he could take punishment as well as dish it out. He then went on to lose two close split decisions to Ken Norton and Michael Dokes, in this fights he proved how tenacious a fighter he can be. After the Dokes loss he went on to string four straight wins together which included a decision victory over the tough contender Bernado Mercado. Cobb went on after the Holmes loss to beat Leon Spinks and lose a majortity decision to an up and coming Buster Douglas.
1982 record 21-2
Lucien Rodrigues. UD 12. March 1983.
The Frenchman brought with him the European Union title, as well as an international flavour to the world title, leading up to his Holmes title challenge Lucien had lost a decision to Dokes, after which he strung together eleven wins over European opponents including Evangelista. After the Holmes fight Lucien would fight in Europe with mixed outcomes, losing as many as he won.
1983 record 35-7-1
Tim Witherspoon. SD 12. May 1983.
Before his title challenge Witherspoon had defeated all of his opponents, most he had stopped with his powerful over hand right. It was his close decision over Renaldo Snipes which saw him gain a title shot, able to give Holmes a close fight Witherspoon would go on to defeat James Tillis, Greg Page, James Broad, James Smith, Frank Bruno, Tony Tubbs, Carl Williams, Jose Ribalta, and Jorge Luis Gonalez. He would win the WBC and WBA title on separate occasions and would fight on well into his silver years, still able to deliver a damaging blow with his over right.
1983 record 15-0
Scott Frank. TKO Round 5. September 1983.
The local tough guy, who brought a title fight to his home town, before his title challenge Frank’s best fights was a draw over Renaldo Snipes, a points win over journeyman legend Chuck Wepner, and a stoppage over tough guy Ron Stander. Other than that he had beaten all of his other opponents, this did him no good against Holmes who stopped him in five. After his Holmes loss, Frank retired and made two come backs one in 1987 and the other ten years later in 1997, he won both fights by stoppage.
1983 record 21-0-1
Marvis Frazier. TKO Round 1. November 1983.
The son of Smokin’ Joe Frazier was a talented amateur who under his father’s guidance became a solid pro. Leading up to his Holmes fight Marvis had an unblemished record with wins over Steve Zouski, James Broad and Joe Bugner, none of this did him any good against the prime Holmes who stopped him inside the first round. After his Holmes defeat Frazier put together a solid winning streak which included wins over James Tillis, Joes Ribalta and James Smith. This put him in sight of a Mike Tyson show down, where he was stopped inside of one round. After the Tyson loss, he had three more straight wins before retiring.
1983 record 10-0
James Smith. TKO Round 12. November 1984.
Bonecrusher Smith was on his way up when he challenged Holmes for the title, apart from a loss to James Broad in his first fight, Smith had strapped together 14 straight wins, which included a win over tough Briton Frank Bruno, it was this win that gave him credibility to face Holmes. After his loss to Holmes, Smith suffered three losses before he stuck together wins over Weaver, Bey and Witherspoon who he took the WBA strap from. This lead him into a show down with Tyson, who he managed to go the distance with in a one sided loss. Smith would go on to fight a variety of opponents and with a variety of results. Smith faced Holmes again in 1999, both men well beyond there best, it only took Holmes eight rounds in the rematch.
1984 record 14-1
David Bey. TKO Round 10. March 1985.
When he fought Holmes Bey was un-defeated and had won fights against Buster Douglas, who was five in his pro career while Bey was making his debut. His best win was against Greg Page which led him to a Holmes fight. After which he lost more than he won, settling in as a journeyman instead of a contender. Before turning Pro, Bey had an impressive amateur record which brought to the ring considerable experience on his part, considering his limited pro-record.
1985 record 14-0
Carl Williams. UD 15. May 1985.
When the Truth faced Holmes he was an un-beaten prospect with a lot of potential who had just come of wins over a list of sound journeymen, but it was his win over James Tillis that landed him the Holmes fight. After losing the decision to Holmes, he beat a handful of opponents including Bert Cooper and Trevor Berbick before facing Tyson for his title, where he was stopped inside of the first. After the Tyson loss he had an un-exceptional span of wins and losses.
1985 record 16-0.
The top fighters of his reign that he never got to fight, include Greg Page, Gerrie Coetzer, Jimmy Young, James Tillis, Frank Bruno, Tony Tucker and Tony Tubbs.
Holmes would go on to lose his title to the then undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion, Michael Spinks in a controversial, if not very close decision. The re-match left as much doubt to judging clarity. After which Holmes retired only to return three years later to face a prime Mike Tyson. After the Tyson loss he returned in 1991 with a comeback that lasted up until 2002. In his comeback 1991-2002 he went 21-3. Before his decision defeat to Michael Spinks in 1985, his record was an impeccable 48-0. Holmes faced every one that he could, often fighting fresh talent as they were on the way up or just as they were reaching a prime. He was an older man facing younger and hungry fighters.
Kym Robinson March 2007
In regards to Holmes.
There was an attempt to unify the WBA and WBC strap but politics prevented this fight between Holmes and Coetzee.
The challengers that Holmes was going to face that were top guys at the time Greg Page, James Tillis, Jimmy Young, John Tate, Tony Tucker, Tony Tubbs, Frank Bruno and Gerrie Coetzer all were elimanted by one of the guys that did go on to face Holmes.
Young loss twice to Ocasio. Ocasio faces Holmes.
Berbick had beaten tate, which eliminated Tate, which gave Berbick the shot.
Snipes beat Gerrie Coetzee, which you could argue elminated Gerrie and put Snipes in line for Holmes.
I guess Cooney helped eliminate Young again.
Bonecrusher Smiths win over Bruno eliminated the Briton from facing Holmes and elevated Smiths status as challenger.
David Bey got his shot by beating Greg Page, which in turn eliminated Page from facing Holmes.
Carl Truth Williams beat James Tillis which got him his fight against Holmes, this in turn eliminated Tillis from facing Holmes.
Granted He did face some not so great guys, but when you fight that many challengers that often, as is the case of Louis, Burns and so on you do face some guys who are not all time greats.
Kym
