Larry Holmes was part of a golden generation of heavyweights and was as good as any of them.
Holmes was known as ‘The Easton Assassin’ and had a remarkable boxing career marked by one of the best jabs the sport has ever seen.
Born in Pennsylvania, Holmes turned professional in 1973 and was famously used by the great Muhammad Ali as a sparring partner for much of his early career.
Later on towards the end of Ali’s time in the ring, the pair fought and Holmes got the better of his mentor. He also faced and defeated a variety of other top fighters including Earnie Shavers and Gerry Cooney.
He also took on Mike Tyson in January 1988 in Atlantic City after a nearly two-year retirement, while Tyson was at the height of his career and held the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles.
Tyson knocked Holmes out in the fourth round and speaking to TMZ Sports he was asked if Tyson was the best he ever fought, but went with Kenny Norton instead.
“No, my toughest fight was Kenny Norton.
I fought Tyson when I was kinda over the hill a little bit. I had retired then come back and fought Mike Tyson and I wasn’t really in shape for it, but you know what, I did what I did at that time. But if I had to do it all over again I would have taken more time and done it right.”
The fight with Norton in 1978 was Holmes’ truly career-defining moment. It was a gruelling 15-round match that saw him claim the WBC heavyweight title.
After this win and before his first retirement, Holmes held the title for nearly seven years and defended it successfully 20 times to give him an impressive 48-0 record, which was second only to Rocky Marciano.
