They were better! A prime Larry would have destroyed Holyfield quite easily. This was a shell of Larry, who would have not needed to throw a right hand to defeat Evander in his prime.
and Holmes was retired for 2 years. Signed sin kings contract and had 6 months to prepare. King pulled his shit. And pulled a take it or leave it. You have 4 weeks to get ready. Holmes wanted the payday.
@@oldironsides4107Can you offer Tyson just a little respect and not lean so heavily on excuses? Larry didn't lose the fight, Tyson won it. Tyson was a phenomenon we won't witness again for a long, long, time. Note: All respect to Larry Holmes! He's on my top 3 all-time best list - not that anyone cares about said list! 😄
He wasn't underrated, he was a very good champion but he didn't face the calibre of opposition that Ali did, defeating the likes of Liston, Frazier & Foreman gave Ali his greatness.
And I love the respect he showed for Foreman, he said George hit the hardest of anybody he ever fought and this was 40 yr old Foreman. Loved in that one round (5 or 7?) he said Foreman hit him so hard he asked his trainer if George knocked all his teeth out. Loved at about 15 seconds left in 12th round, they just embraced each other till the bell rung. Foreman was so gracious to Evander too, true warriors
Larry Holmes is such a smart fighter. He obviously didnt have the same mobility that he had in his prime but he evolved his game to stay competitive with top prime fighters. Very impressive performance from a 42 year old holmes. Imagine if he fought holyfield in his prime
I understand what you're saying, but if he fought Holy in his prime, he'd not fight so passively and to survive, he'd come forward, aggressive, and there was no better HVWT counter puncher than Holy, so I think Holy would've eventually got him out of there late, especially in a 15 rounder. Plus Holy had never been cut like that before and it threw him off his game a little he admitted. Still, Holmes was vomiting all over himself by the end, LOL. Just my opinion, Holy is my favorite fighter of all time, but I absolutely love Larry. 1st fight I ever remember watching was him beating the hell out of Cooney. I only wish he had been in shape when he fought Tyson, I think he loses anyway, but he would've acquitted himself much better.
@@joeblough261 Prime Larry holmes was too fast and too quick on his feet for holyfield. He would have won on points because of holyfield's chin and heart but no way would he have stood a chance against prime Holmes. He took bombs from Ken Norton and kept fighting back. When both fighters have the heart and the chin. The skill always prevails and Larry Holmes was doubtlessly the more skilled boxer. No disprespect to Holyfield. He's one of the greatest inside fighters of all time but just not as good as holmes overall.
@@soundwavesuperior28I have been trawling through the comments to see did anyone else say what I was thinking. Holyfiejd was a filthy fighter. His elbows and head it’s were part of his fight plan/strategy.
@@derekdevaney2242 Never been a huge fan of Holyfield. He head butted & threw elbows too much during his big fights to be considered amongst the real greats. You have to respect him to some extent; he was a cruiserweight in heavyweight trunks who never, ever backed down. He really was the real deal. But his legacy is tarnished, without a doubt, by his dirty tactics.
Credit to Larry. His fight with Tyson was complete destruction, but he proved that, even at 41, he could hang with Holyfield and probably several other top fighters of that era. Larry was a great champion who really never got the praise he deserved in the press.
@@papalegba6759 I think that was the first time Holmes was ever KOd in a professional fight, and he fought some real hitters in his era. Shavers, Norton, etc.
@@maxxxmodelz4061 he did some odd things for money. like throwing the spinks fight for example. but in his prime, in a straight fight, he'd have whipped both tyson & holyfield no problem. they weren't in the same league.
@@papalegba6759 Which Spinks fight do you feel he threw? I don't believe Larry intentionally threw either fight. I think he severely underestimated Spinks in the first fight, and then got robbed by shading judging in the second fight.
@@papalegba6759 i just watched both, Tyson outlanded in first round, which was a very inactive round, and caught him in the end of round 3, maybe you could give holmes 2 but it was also very inactive. Holmes wasn’t winning
Yeah I believe Larry homes would of beat Holyfield in his prime or is it the case where just because a washed up Larry holmes made it competitive against holmes doesn’t mean a prime version of him can beat him? Maybe
Holyfield struggled with a 42 year old Holmes #letthatsinkin Dunno why Holmes is never given his true credit not just as a heavyweight but one of the greatest boxers ever!🤪
Although Mike is still my favorite I really appreciate Larry and all that he accomplished in the sport.. So much so that I ordered a box set of his entire career! It was so storied and he did have rivalries with several of the same boxers Mike had to deal with later.. I also really admire Holy and his love for the game.. The fact that he was always dedicated and serious about the prospect of making great matches.. Although there’s no denying Larry is at an advanced age here and past his prime it was still an excellent version of him that Evander got in ‘92.. This is probably right behind the Foreman epic Holy waged the previous year..
@@JohnDoe-xl1ig Not sure about your Bowe comment Ummm Maybe Bowe wins. By the Time Tyson fought Holyfield Tyson was 6 years past his prime maybe even 8 years. There are TWO Mike Tysons the 20 21 22 year old version and the post prison verision
I give Larry Holmes all the credit in the world !!!!! He won the last two rounds and pushed himself with ever once of his being to a point where he was so spent at the end he through up from nausea. I have seen a lot of marathon runners do the same at the end of a race. I know how he felt at the end of the fight and still hung around the ring to answer questions. He definitely wanted out of that ring as quickly as possible. A TRUE CHAMPION AND A GENTLEMAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@Spider_Rngthe remastered version of fight night champion is a fight fans wet dream. Super realistic when it comes to boxing mechanics and science. Like using the jab= more accurate combos
I've always been an Ali Forman Frazier iron Mike Lennox hollyfield man but Holmes was a true fighter! Much better than I've given credit! Fine performance head held high in this fight!!
I'm with you Maree. Cheering for Holmes was never done by me. Now I believe he and Foreman are at the top of my list. Both fought in till their 40's. so bravo to you two kings.
@@kevinquinn3763 agree Kevin I definitely did not give Holmes any credit and he was an elite boxer! Ali is greatest for me but Forman Frazier Holmes iron Mike holifield lewis were all top fighters!! God bless🙏
Watching this again, Holmes was still a dangerous fighter, as he proved against Ray Mercer. Holyfield was a whole new level though and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves as an all time great fighter.
This was an old Larry Holmes. I believe if this fight had been when Holmes fought Norton or Shavers, Holyfield would have been finished. That jab back then was crisp and precise.
so correct you are! probably the best jab in the history of the sport and that's not taking anything away from Ali. So crisp it was and always was on target.
Holmes was retired for 2 years. Was offered the fight and signed a contract it was suppose to be 6 months and the fight would take place. Don king pulled his strings and it was either 4 weeks. Take it or leave it. Larry wanted that money. There is perspective that many don’t know. Which is all good. You would have had to be alive and a boxing fan reading papers at the time
@@oldironsides4107 And also Holyfield was a natural cruiserweight who didn’t have significant punching power at heavyweight. Alex Stewart was KOd 7 times but went 12 rounds with Holyfield.
@@meezie81 By 1984 Holmes was past his prime and he knew it. He picked Spinks expecting it to be an easy victory, thereby equalling Marciano's 49-0 record.
Holmes was a very good boxer but he dominated a weaker era, one of the main reasons why he didn't quite gain the same recognition as Muhammad Ali. I'm not entirely convinced he would have beaten the likes of Liston, Frazier & Foreman.
Tyson doesn't get enough credit for his win over Holmes. Holmes was still a great fighter years after that fight. This is 4 years later and look how good he still was against Holyfield. And Holmes should've won 2 championships after Tyson. He beat an undefeated Ray Mercer in 1992, who was really the WBO champion, but the WBO stripped for for fighting Holmes instead of Michael Moorer. And I thought Holmes beat Oliver McCall in 1995 for the WBC title. I also had Holmes beating Spinks in the rematch, meaning Tyson beat the legit champ. And Tyson knocked Holmes out. He destroyed him. No one else ever knocked Holmes out, and the dude fought till he was 52.
Holmes wasn’t even in shape when he fought Tyson. Don King set up the fight and only gave Larry three months but he had been retired like fifteen months. This version of Holmes might have faired better.
This fight is massively underrated. Although there wasn't knockdowns or furious exchanges, it was a tough fight between two of most skilled champions of all time. Holyfield had a heck of a work rate and Holmes was brilliant at fighting off the ropes and staying out of harms way. I had Holyfield as the clear winner in terms of points, but Holmes did brilliantly and was competitive throughout the fight, and he proved beyond any doubt that he was a legit and worthy contender even in his 40s.
I’d forgotten all about this fight. Even though I watched the highlights of it at the time. Then Holyfield would fight Riddick Bowe a few months later in the first fight of their trilogy. Containing one of the best ever rounds of boxing I’ve ever seen.
Wow! It's Holyfield's day!Holmes did his best too and judges managed the fight well giving due respect to the rightful winner.thank you sharing us this beautiful sport's episode.more power to you all
Personally I consider Holmes the standard in boxing performance. Even in his losses he is impressive. Apart from his left jab, he is amazing in his efficiency of movement. He sure had Evander sweating at the end. Two really great champions... from different eras actually.
Mike fought Larry Holmes YEARS before this and people try to discredit Tyson for his win. Evander literally struggled several years later and nobody says a thing. Interesting.
They dislike Tyson so much that they give everyone else too much credit. From a pure technique standpoint, Mike runs circles around Evander any day of the week.
I thought the fight was much closer than the judges had it....but Holyfield deserved the points win overall.....goes to show how great Holmes was in his prime.....top 5 greatest heavyweights easily.
Agreed. He was so smart, and he was in the ring with a really smart and old schooled warrior. Only prime Holyfield fight I ever saw where the other guy looked craftier than Evander.
Holyfield was much more busy, no doubt about that but i really felt that the fight was closer on points than the official scorecards. Holmes really impressed me in this fight. His science of the ring, he way he was blocking the punches ( espcially until the middle of the fight ) and by the way, his own punches seemed to be a little more accurate than Holyfield at times. I think it's one of the fights that Holmes could be proud of even if he has lost it.
The fight was closer than we remember, i felt Holyfield won as he was pressing the action whereas Holmes was content to hang on the ropes & counter but many of the rounds were close & could have been scored either way.
Big deal. Holyfield fought everyone !! Truly great. And started at Cruiserweight ! Not to mention an early and incredible Ali. C’mon , watch all of them over All the many years. THEN talk ..
Holmes never unified the world titles. He was not underrated. He hasn't beaten an elite fighter. His best opponent was Witherspoon, Bonecrusher, Weaver, and Mercer.
Liston, Frazier, Foreman, Quarry & Lyle were better than any of Holmes' challengers & Ali fought a better version of Norton as well. Holmes was good but dominated a weaker era in boxing than Ali.
This fight just underscores the greatness of Larry Holmes. He scored over 50% of his punches on Holyfield and made Ray Mercer a punching bag by scoring over 70% of all his punches. Holyfield and Mercer scored less than 45% on Holmes. The only two fighters that made Holmes look bad are Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks in their 1st fight. It just shows you how great Prime Mike Tyson was.
Not true, Carl Williams arguably beat Holmes but didn't get the decision & Witherspoon pushed him very close as well, Spinks beat him & Tyson flattened him. Holmes was a very good fighter no doubt but did not face the calibre of opposition that Muhammad Ali faced, such as a Liston, Frazier & Foreman. All of those guys were leagues above Shavers who incidentally almost knocked Holmes out. As for Holyfield & Mercer, Holmes was soundly beaten by Holyfield & Mercer clearly underestimated Holmes, coming into the fight thinking it was an easy job.
@@isabellamcloughlan6082 Holmes beat Mercer... he beat Williams and witherspoon as well... Tyson flattened him cus DOn king didnt give holmes time to perpare and Holmes wanted the money for the tyson fight
@@Shovelhook Larry Holme was old when lost to Michael Spinks:::, he out of retirement;;; boxing or fighting like martial arts it not how hard the punch it where;; boxing is x& 0 strategy ;; hollyfield & Mike Tyson boxing match just a retirement / nursing 🏡 home paycheck for Larry Holme
You might feel differently if you watched Holyfield vs Bow 2 and 3; one cannot look past the height and weight differences without giving Holyfield his due.
Holyfield was a Rhythm fighter.. watch his footwork combined with his punches always on his toes. Bouncing. And sometimes he would plant his feet and go to war
very true, except the fight with tyson...tyson would initiate, holy would counter then hang on for dear life and walk mike backwards...it was a great strategy ...but if he fought tyson like this he would have been tkoed imo...but holy is to smart to fight tyson inside!.
@@stavros693000 Tyson actually needs a tiny bit of space to crouch on his toes and lunge/leap upward with those bombs and combinations. Evander smartly smothered him and kept pushing him back on his heels. Tyson's feet were never set to unload with his normal barrage. He could only land when flat footed or on his heels and it lacked the same explosion and power.
Larry was Ali's sparring partner ,and he was the champ from 78-85 , I believe . A tough SOB , I never rooted for him in the 70s but he won my respect and he beat everyone . Shavers , Berbick , my boy Tex Cobb, Ali, Cooney, Witherspoon ,Spinks , Mercer etc etc .
In this fight Holyfield had an opponent who gave him time and space to go ahead and use his maximum viciousness for any length of time he wanted. And when Holyfield had run and crossed that boundary again and again he found that all of that did not outclass or overturn his opponent ; on the contrary Holmes was at ease and in control and was taking right decisions with presence of mind and hitting Holyfield intentionally, and regularly and very effectively. All in all , it was a draw at the best. It could not be said that Holyfield was the better fighter than Holmes in the fight.
Maybe, though Holyfield improved himself after this fight & became more canny & knowing in relation to ring smarts though i do agree, i would pick Holmes 78/82 to defeat Holyfield.
I never understood why Larry Holmes was never in any Fight Night video game. It has always pissed me off. I am glad they included big George Foreman whether it was his younger form, or his older form, but I would love to play as Larry Holmes fighting against George Foreman. That would be a dream of mine, lol. Holmes deserves more respect. I know people do know him as one of the greatest fighters in history, but he was more than that. He was basically Ali 2.0. I would love to see something like this happen again with older fighters. I would love to see Vitali, and Wladimir Klitschko to come back and school the modern generation of heavyweights, and finally have a rematch with Tyson Fury whether they would win or lose. Wladimir had a whole different style when he fought Joshua a while back. He was dancing, and throwing more diverse combinations than he did during his reign as champion.
Holmes reigned as World Champion for over 7 years. He had 20 successful title defenses. And 3rd longest reigning World Champion in history. That alone should've put him in the games.
Larry Holmes came back to fight in his 40’s so he could get a crack at Foreman. Holmes was denied that chance in late 70’s & so wanted that opportunity during early to mid 90’s. So I have to agree with Holmes. Foreman chose to avoid Holmes.
@@seventhson9441 Holyfield appears nice but he isn't, he has a fighters mentality & you have to practically kill him to beat him, as Tyson himself found out.
Evander was not trained as sharply here, he looked quicker and better conditioned in the 2 previous fights. He really wanted to fight Tyson but it had been canceled over the rape trial. Evander had just beat Foreman did not want to fight another 42 year old. It was expected he would be fighting an undefeated Ray Mercer here (he was contracted to fight the winner of Mercer/Holmes,) but Larry messed that all up.
One of the greatest ever. He did really well here for his age, one of the only guys out there that could out savvy Evander in his prime. Holyfield clearly won on points, but this was a very competitive and tactical fight.
It should be pointed out that Larry Holmes was wearing a contact lense and it fell out in the 3rd round. Had it been prime Holmes, Evander would have been in trouble.
Larry Holmes was the heavyweight champ that I remember the most growing up. He was a very impressive all-around boxer. He is underrated in my opinion. Sadly, he wasn't savvy with the media like Ali. I still remember when Larry Holmes said to the judges after they gave a fight to Michael Spinks: "kiss me where the sun don't shine." I have great respect that Holmes could go the distance with Holyfield when Evander was in his prime.
Guys yes Larry was 42 but i have noticed that 40 is not any where old. I am speaking as a 41 year old amateur boxer. Just train often, give yourself a few days break. I have knocked down 20 year olds. Though we born in the early 80s are on a different juice. We are much stronger than Gen Zs.
Drives me nuts when people say Holmes was an underrated champion. UNAPPRECIATED having to follow Ali, yes. But in his era, during those 20 title defenses, there wasn’t anyone questioning this guy as an all-time, top 5-type heavyweight
Great, great fighters, amazing how much Holmes still had in the tank. He looked much better in this fight then when he fought Tyson after a 3 1/2 year layoff.
You just watched two of the greatest fighters in boxing history. They both beat the best to become the best. You don't see many fighters like them today.
@@andrelee3008 Holmes was very good but Ali was the greatest and did more no doubt, his victories over the likes of Liston, Frazier, Foreman and Lyle proved that.
There you can see the difference between Tyson and Holyfield at that time. Years before Tyson destroyed Holmes but Holyfield could only defeat Holmes 4 years later. In his prime, in die 80's no one could defeat Tyson.
Holmes was retired for two years. Fought tyson on 4 weeks notice. A huge difference. So tyson was only good until age 22? People say nobody could beat tyson under cus which was age 15-19. Watch Tyson’s fights and not highlights he’s very beatable. He’s one of my favorites ever as he was always entertaining not because he’s the best or top ten best hw ever he was the 4th best of his era. Lennox Holyfield bowe tyson. Mitchell Greene gave your unbeatable tyson problems and Tony tucker both tangy fighters with an ok jab. Douglas straight whooped mike. Tangy jab other tools. Holyfield does everything better except one punch power. Namw me a fight where tyson faced adversity and won? He also has never kod anyone past round 7 It’s easy to look good against guys with no resistance. Tyson should have an additional 5-6 dq losses but was treated like a spoiled brat and brought in lot of money
@@oldironsides4107 Tyson destroyed all comers in his prime and you know it. I don't know where "head butt Hollyfield " was hiding but he sure came out of hiding after Tyson lost to Douglas. Hollyfield lost to " the quite man " John Ruiz who even dropped him like a sack of pattatoes, he struggled mightily with " big daddy " and a Holmes who was no match for Tyson. Take away his third weapon...his shaved HEAD...and " HEAD butt 😜 Hollyfield is not in Tysons class.
Aging is something that we just can't stop. Some of us are much more gifted then others. God is good all the time, we should be thankful 🙏for what God has given us, a breath of life, and the rest is up to us....praise God
Tyson did avoid fighters like Tommy Morrison Riddick Bowe The guy that koed Morrison.. I would like to see Tyson fight the competition Holyfield fought..Holyfield didn't duck anyone.
The stand-out truth. The first and only man to defeat Bowe. The first man to be undisputed in multiple divisions. The second-best heavyweight of his era behind Lennox, according to Boxrec and that jibes.
Larry holme is greatest fighter of all time.. No fighter in today's era can beat larry holme.!!yes.. that's the true facts.. Larry will go on to distance.. Even opponent drop him he raised up fight's again.. He has devastating right hand punch.. He has a great chin..too. Can u see any heavyweight like him in today's era.. absolutely..not.!! Larry holme should go in same list with Ali as the greatest fighters of all time.. I have respect for this great legendary fighters.. Just imagine .if larry holme was in his prime in today's heavyweight..era.?? I honestly think larry holme wil knockout every fighters in today's era ..like Antony joshua, Deontay wilder, tyson fury..& all heavyweight ..in today's era.. 💯 will be udisputed champion . For larry holme greatness no one's could match for him in today's.. era..
Holyfield gave Larry a boxing lesson here. He outboxed him and outworked him. And to all the people who are saying that Larry got robbed, please learn how to score a pro fight. Holyfield toyed with him all he wanted. By the way, the outcome of the fight would've been exactly the same if they both had fought at their respective primes, basically because Holyfield is a much better fighter than Holmes ever was. So stop with the BS.
I gave Holmes rounds 2, 4, 8 & 11, he gave a good showing but didn't win the fight, he lay on the ropes for the most part and looked to counter as he knew he couldn't engage Holyfield for prolonged periods. I love Holmes but he didn't win this fight.
@@BoxingFightsByGaryWilson Completely agree with you sir. Holyfield showed superior boxing skills and superior inside game. He dominated him in every department. Break his rhythim with superior speed and high work rate and also destroyed his body with hard body shots.
