Despite being one of the greatest heavyweights in boxing history, there is one man that Larry Holmes claims he never wanted to fight.
‘The Easton Assassin’ possessed one of the best jabs in the history of the sport, which played a significant part in him holding the world heavyweight championship for 7-years from 1978 to 1985.
Holmes appeared 75 times as a professional, tasting defeat on just six occasions. He picked up statement victories against Muhammad Ali, Trevor Berbick and Leon Spinks, winning the first 48 fights of his illustrious career.
Despite coming up against some of the best heavyweights to ever grace the sport and being seemingly unfazed, Holmes revealed the one fighter that he wished he never faced during his tenure.
Speaking to Sky Sports Boxing, Holmes spoke of his desire to avoid Earnie Shavers, paying homage to his thunderous punching power.
“I didn’t wanna fight Earnie. They had a box-off when they stripped the titles. Earnie, Ken Norton and Jimmy Young, somebody else had to box-off and then we had to meet, and I didn’t wanna fight Earnie, I was hoping he’d lose because he was the hardest puncher that I ever fought and I knew that because I was his sparring partner.”
He fought ‘The Black Destroyer’ twice within an 18-month period, defeating him on both occasions. Their first meeting came in March 1978, as Holmes outpointed Shavers over 15 tough rounds.
Their rematch took place in September 1979, and it was Holmes who prevailed once again, getting up from the canvas himself to knock out Shavers in the eleventh round of their second battle.
