Larry Holmes (born November
3, 1949) In his first two title defenses, Holmes easily knocked out
Alfredo Evangelista and Ossie Ocasio. His third title defense was
a tough one. On June 22, 1979, Holmes faced future WBA Heavyweight
Champion Mike Weaver, who was lightly regarded going into the fight
sporting an uninspiring 19-8 record. After ten tough rounds, Holmes
dropped Weaver with a right uppercut late in round eleven. In the
twelfth, Holmes immediately went on the attack, backing Weaver into
the ropes and pounding him with powerful rights until the referee
stepped in and stopped it. “This man knocked the devil out of me,”
Holmes said. “This man might not have had credit before tonight, but
you’ll give it to him now”.
Three months later, on September
28, 1979, Holmes had a rematch with Shavers who got a title shot by
knocking out Ken Norton in one round. Holmes dominated the first six
rounds, but in the seventh, Shavers sent Holmes down with a devastating
overhand right. Holmes got up, survived the round, and went on to
stop Shavers in the eleventh.
His next three defenses were knockouts
of Lorenzo Zanon, Leroy Jones, and Scott LeDoux.
On October 2,
1980, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Holmes defended his title against
Muhammad Ali, who was coming out of retirement in an attempt to become
the first four-time World Heavyweight Champion. Holmes dominated Ali
from start to finish, winning every round on every scorecard. At the
end of the tenth round, Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, stopped the
fight. It was Ali’s only loss without “going the distance” for a judges’
decision. After the win, Holmes received recognition as World Heavyweight
Champion by The Ring magazine.
Ali blamed his poor performance
on thyroid medication which he had been taking, claiming that it helped
him lose weight (he weighted 217.5, his lowest weight since he fought
George Foreman in 1974), but it also left him drained for the fight.
Holmes seemed to show signs of regret, or at least sadness,
in punishing Ali so much during the fight. He appeared in a post-fight
interview with tears in his eyes. When asked why he was crying, he
said that he respected Ali “a whole lot” and “he fought one of the
baddest heavyweights in the world today, and you cannot take credit
from him.”
Three months later, on September 28, 1979, Holmes
had a rematch with Shavers, who got a title shot by knocking out Ken
Norton in one round. Holmes dominated the first six rounds, but in
the seventh, Shavers sent Holmes down with a devastating overhand
right. Holmes got up, survived the round, and went on to stop Shavers
in the eleventh.
His next three defenses were knockouts of Lorenzo
Zanon, Leroy Jones, and Scott LeDoux.
After eight consecutive
knockouts, Holmes was forced to go the distance when he successfully
defended his title against future WBC Heavyweight Champion Trevor
Berbick on April 11, 1981. In his next fight, two months later, Holmes
knocked out former undisputed world Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks
in three rounds. On November 6, 1981, Holmes rose from a seventh round
knockdown (during which he staggered into the turnbuckle) to stop
Renaldo Snipes in the eleventh.