Larry Holmes is still regarded as being one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of boxing.
Best known as ‘The Easton Assassin’, Holmes rose to prominence during the mid 1970s, where he would go on to capture the world heavyweight championship in 1978. His reign lasted right up until 1985, making 20 successful defences of his crown.
Holmes fought 75 times during his tenure, defeating the likes of Muhammad Ali, Earnie Shavers and Ken Norton to name a few. One of the keys to the success of ‘The Easton Assassin’ was his incredible left jab, which is often praised for being one of the best in boxing history.
One fighter that Holmes did not end up locking horns with during his career was George Foreman, with the 75-year-old once describing Foreman as the ‘biggest phoney’ in the sports history.
In a speech on YouTube, Holmes made no mistake in tarnishing Foreman’s name, as he claims ‘everybody’ knew that the late-great heavyweight icon ‘couldn’t fight’.
“Everybody know that George Foreman can’t fight, everybody know that Tommy Morrison kicked his butt, everybody know that Shannon Briggs kicked his butt, everybody knew that he wouldn’t fight me .. George Foreman is the biggest phoney ever.”
Foreman’s storied professional career spanned across three decades, where he became the world heavyweight champion on two occasions.
His 1994 victory over Michael Moorer, which saw him claim the WBA and IBF heavyweight titles and become the oldest heavyweight champion ever, is often regarded as one of the greatest victories from any fighter in boxing history.
Holmes and ‘Big’ George had reportedly been in negotiations for a bout back in the late 70s, but this never came to fruition after Foreman decided to pursue a career as a preacher following his defeat to Jimmy Young in 1977.
