Larry Holmes - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Larry Holmes is a former professional boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania

Easton, Pennsylvania

Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....

, which gave birth to his boxing nickname, The Easton Assassin.

Holmes, whose left jab is considered one of the greatest weapons in the history of sports, was the WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

Champion from 1978 to 1983, The Ring

The Ring (magazine)

The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...

Heavyweight Champion from 1980 to 1985, and the IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

Heavyweight Champion from 1983 to 1985. He made twenty successful title defenses, second only to Joe Louis

Joe Louis

Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...

' twenty-five.

Holmes won his first forty-eight professional bouts, almost matching Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano , born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was an American boxer and the heavyweight champion of the world from September 23, 1952, to April 27, 1956. Marciano is the only champion to hold the heavyweight title and go undefeated throughout his career. Marciano defended his title six times...

's streak of 49 straight wins, including victories over Ken Norton

Ken Norton

Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional .He and Ali...

, Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

, Gerry Cooney

Gerry Cooney

Gerry Cooney is a retired Irish-American professional boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes and defeat of aging ex-champion/contender Ken Norton.-Life before boxing:...

, and Tim Witherspoon

Tim Witherspoon

"Terrible" Tim Witherspoon is an American boxer who was twice world heavyweight champion.-Early career:Witherspoon had eight and a half amateur bouts, losing one to Marvis Frazier on decision after getting knocked down....

.
He is frequently ranked by many boxing experts as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time.

Early life

Holmes was the fourth of twelve children born to John and Flossie Holmes. When the family moved to Easton in 1954, Holmes' father went to Connecticut, where he worked as a gardener until his death in 1970. He visited his family every three weeks. "He didn't forsake us," said Flossie Holmes. "He just didn't have anything to give." The family survived on welfare.

To help support his family, Holmes dropped out of school when he was in the seventh grade and went to work at a car wash for $1 an hour. He later drove a dump truck and worked in a quarry.

Amateur boxing career

When Holmes was nineteen, he started boxing. In his twenty-second bout, he boxed Duane Bobick

Duane Bobick

Duane Bobick was a boxer from the United States, who became world amateur heavyweight champion in 1971, and also won the gold medal at the 1971 Pan American Games...

in the 1972 Olympic

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

Trials. Holmes was dropped in the first round with a right to the head. He got up and danced out of range, landing several stiff jabs in the process. Bobick mauled Holmes in the second round but couldn't corner him. The referee warned Holmes twice in the second for holding. In the third, Bobick landed several good rights and started to corner Holmes, who continued to hold. Eventually, Holmes was disqualified for excessive holding.

Early boxing career

After compiling an amateur record of 19-3, Holmes turned professional on March 21, 1973, winning a four-round decision against Rodell Dupree. Early in his career, he worked as a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

, Joe Frazier

Joe Frazier

Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....

, Earnie Shavers

Earnie Shavers

Earnie Dee Shaver , better known as Earnie Shavers, is an American former professional boxer and is widely considered along with George Foreman as the hardest punchers of all time...

, and Jimmy Young

Jimmy Young (boxer)

Jimmy Young was a fast highly skilled Philadelphia heavyweight boxer who had his greatest success during the 1970s, when he most notably beat George Foreman, and many fans felt also Ali . He also fought many top names...

. He was paid well and learned a lot. "I was young, and I didn't know much. But I was holding my own sparring those guys," Holmes said. "I thought, 'hey, these guys are the best, the champs. If I can hold my own now, what about later?'"

Holmes first gained credibility as a contender when he upset the hard-punching Earnie Shavers

Earnie Shavers

Earnie Dee Shaver , better known as Earnie Shavers, is an American former professional boxer and is widely considered along with George Foreman as the hardest punchers of all time...

in March 1978. Holmes won by a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision, winning every round on two scorecards and all but one on the third. Holmes's victory over Shavers set up a title shot between Holmes and WBC

World Boxing Council

Heavyweight Champion Ken Norton

Ken Norton

in Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

on June 9, 1978.

WBC Heavyweight Champion

The fight between Holmes and Norton was a tough, competitive fight. After fourteen rounds, all three judges had the fight scored dead even at seven rounds each. Holmes rallied late in the fifteenth to win the round on two scorecards and take the title by a split decision.
In his first two title defenses, Holmes easily knocked out Alfredo Evangelista and Ossie Ocasio

Ossie Ocasio

Osvaldo Ocasio, , better known as Ossie Ocasio and nicknamed Jaws, is a Puerto Rican who was a boxer and world Cruiserweight champion. He got his peculiar nickname after accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring session...

. His third title defense was a tough one. On June 22, 1979, Holmes faced future WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

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

Scott LeDoux

Alan Scott LeDoux, "The Fighting Frenchman," was a politician, professional heavyweight boxer, professional wrestler and referee.-Boxing:...

.

On October 2, 1980, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Holmes defended his title against 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

Angelo Dundee

Angelo Dundee is an American boxing cornerman. He is best known for his work with Muhammad Ali , and has worked with 15 world boxing champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard, José Nápoles, George Foreman, Jimmy Ellis, Carmen Basilio, Luis Rodriguez and Willie Pastrano.-Professional career:Born in...

, stopped the fight. After the win, Holmes received recognition as World Heavyweight Champion by The Ring

The Ring (magazine)

magazine.

Ali blamed his poor performance on thyroid medication that he had been taking, claiming that it helped him lose weight (he weighed 217½, his lowest weight since he fought George Foreman in 1974), but it also left him drained for the fight. When Ali officially announced his comeback a MAYO clinic physical was organized and a boxing license would only be granted if he passed. The tests included basic reflex analysis and challenged his hand eye co-ordination. Arguably the quickest and most skillful heavyweight in history being subjected to such tests might seem redundant but the results were shocking. Ali had difficulty touching the tip of his nose from distance, occasionally slurred his speech and did not “hop with the agility that was expected”.

After eight consecutive knockouts, Holmes was forced to go the distance when he successfully defended his title against future WBC Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick

Trevor Berbick

Trevor Berbick was a Jamaican-Canadian heavyweight boxer who fought as a professional from 1976 until 2000. Berbick briefly held the WBC heavyweight championship in 1986 , before losing it to 20-year old Mike Tyson, via 2nd-round TKO...

on April 11, 1981. In his next fight, two months later, Holmes knocked out former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks

Leon Spinks is a former American boxer. He had an overall record of 26 wins, 17 losses and 3 draws as a professional, with 14 knockout wins, and was the former World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion of the world...

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

Renaldo Snipes

Renaldo Snipes, born Reenaold Snipes on August 15, 1956 in Houston, Texas, is an accomplished American boxer, best known for his title championship bout with Larry Holmes.-Amateur career:...

in the eleventh.

Holmes vs. Cooney

On June 11, 1982, Holmes defended his title against Gerry Cooney

Gerry Cooney

, the undefeated #1 contender and an Irish-American. The lead up to the fight had many racial overtones. Holmes said that if Cooney wasn't white, he wouldn't be getting the same purse as the champion (Both boxers received $10 million for the bout). Although Cooney tried to deflect questions about race, members of his camp wore shirts that said "Not the White Man, but the Right Man."

Many felt Holmes was unfairly slighted leading up to the fight. In their fight previews, Sports Illustrated and Time put Cooney on the cover, not Holmes. President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

had a phone installed in Cooney's dressing room so he could call him if he won the fight. Holmes had no such arrangement. Lastly, boxing tradition dictates that the champion is introduced last, but the challenger, Cooney, was introduced last.

The bout was held in a 32,000 seat stadium erected in a Caesar's Palace Parking lot, with millions more watching around the world. After an uneventful first round, Holmes dropped Cooney with a right in the second. Cooney came back well in the next two rounds, jarring Holmes with his powerful left hook. Holmes later said that Cooney "hit me so damned hard, I felt it - boom - in my bones.|

Cooney was tiring by the ninth, a round in which he had two points deducted for low blows. In the tenth, they traded punches relentlessly. At the end of the round, the two nodded to each other in respect.

Cooney lost another point because of low blows in the eleventh. By then, Holmes was landing with ease. In the thirteenth, a barrage of punches sent Cooney down. He got up, but his trainer, Victor Valle, stepped into the ring and stopped the fight.

After the fight, Holmes and Cooney would become close friends.

Trouble with the WBC

Holmes' next two fights were one-sided decision wins over Randall "Tex" Cobb and Lucien Rodriguez. On May 23, 1983, Holmes defended his title against Tim Witherspoon

Tim Witherspoon

, the future WBC and WBA Heavyweight Champion. Witherspoon, a six to one underdog and with only 15 professional bouts to his name, surprised many by giving Holmes a difficult fight. After twelve rounds, Holmes retained the title by a disputed split decision. Boxing Monthly named it one of the ten most controversial decisions of all time.

On September 10, 1983, Holmes successfully defended the WBC title for the sixteenth time, knocking out Scott Frank in five rounds. Holmes then signed to fight Marvis Frazier

Marvis Frazier

Marvis Frazier is a former professional boxer of the heavyweight division.-Personal:Marvis is the son of former heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer, Joe Frazier. His sister Jackie Frazier-Lyde was also a professional boxer, as was his brother Joe Frazier, Jr...

, son of Joe Frazier

Joe Frazier

, on November 25, 1983. The WBC refused to sanction the fight against the unranked Frazier. They ordered Holmes to fight Greg Page

Greg Page (boxer)

Greg Page was a boxer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion from 1984 to 1985...

, the #1 contender, or be stripped of the title. Promoter Don King offered Holmes $2.55 million to fight Page, but the champion didn't think that was enough. He was making $3.1 million to fight Frazier and felt he should get as much as $5 million to fight Page.

Holmes had an easy time with Frazier, knocking him out in the first round. The following month, Holmes relinquished the WBC championship and accepted recognition as World Heavyweight Champion by the newly formed International Boxing Federation

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

IBF Heavyweight Champion

Holmes signed to fight Gerrie Coetzee

Gerrie Coetzee

Gerhardus Christian Coetzee , better known as Gerrie Coetzee, is a South African former boxer. He made history twice: he was the first boxer from the African continent ever to fight for the World Heavyweight Title, and the first to win the World Heavyweight Title...

, the WBA

World Boxing Association

Champion, on June 15, 1984 at Caesar's Palace. The fight was being promoted by JPD Inc., but it was canceled when Caesar's Palace said the promoters failed to meet the financial conditions of the contract. Holmes was promised $13 million and Coetzee was promised $8 million. Even after cutting the purses dramatically, they still couldn't come up with enough financial backing to stage the fight. Don King then planned to promote the fight, but Holmes lost a lawsuit filed by Virginia attorney Richard Hirschfeld, who said he had a contract with Holmes that gave him right of first refusal on a Holmes-Coetzee bout. Holmes then decided to move on and fight someone else.

On November 9, 1984, after a year out of the ring, Holmes made his first defense of the IBF title, stopping James "Bonecrusher" Smith on a cut in the twelfth round. In the first half of 1985, Holmes stopped David Bey

David Bey

David Bey is a former USBA heavyweight champion who challenged the legendary Larry Holmes for the world title in 1985....

in ten rounds for his 19th title defense. His next against Carl "The Truth" Williams was unexpectedly tough. The younger, quicker Williams was able to out-jab the aging champion, who was left with a badly swollen eye by the end of the bout. Holmes emerged with a close, and disputed, fifteen-round unanimous decision.

On September 21, 1985, Holmes lost the IBF

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

title by a close fifteen-round unanimous decision to Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks

Michael Spinks is a retired American boxer who was a world champion in the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions...

, who became the first reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion to win the World Heavyweight Championship. If Holmes had been victorious against Spinks, he would have tied Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano

's career record of 49-0. After the fight, a bitter Holmes said, "Rocky Marciano couldn't carry my jockstrap." Holmes received a lot of criticism for the remarks. Shortly afterward, he apologized.

Holmes had a rematch with Spinks on April 19, 1986. Spinks retained the title with a disputed fifteen-round split decision. The judges scored the fight: Judge Joe Cortez 144-141 (Holmes), Judge Frank Brunette 141-144 Spinks) and Judge Jerry Roth 142-144 (Spinks.) In a post-fight interview with HBO, Holmes said, "the judges, the referees and promoters can kiss me where the sun don't shine - and because we're on HBO, that's my big black behind."

On November 6, 1986, three days after his 37th birthday, Holmes announced his retirement.

Comebacks

On January 22, 1988, Holmes was lured out of retirement by a $2.8 million purse to challenge reigning Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

. Tyson dropped Holmes in the fourth round with an overhand right. Holmes got up, but Tyson put him down two more times in the round, and the fight was stopped. It was the only time Holmes would be knocked out in his lengthy career. After the fight. Holmes once again retired.

Holmes returned to the ring in 1991. After five straight wins, he fought Ray Mercer

Ray Mercer

"Merciless" Ray Mercer is an American professional boxer, former Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO heavyweight title holder who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina...

, the undefeated 1988 Olympic

Summer Olympic Games

Gold Medalist, on February 7, 1992. Holmes pulled off the upset and won by a twelve-round unanimous decision. The win got Holmes a shot at Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...

for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. On June 19, 1992, Holyfield defeated Holmes by a twelve-round unanimous decision.

Holmes won seven consecutive fights and then got another title shot. On April 8, 1995, he fought Oliver McCall

Oliver McCall

Oliver "The Atomic Bull" McCall is an American professional Heavyweight boxer best known for winning the WBC Heavyweight Championship in 1994 after scoring an upset knock out victory over Lennox Lewis, in Lewis' home town of London, England, followed by his infamous in-ring meltdown in the rematch...

for the WBC title. Holmes lost by a close twelve-round unanimous decision. Two of the judges had him losing by only one point, while the other judge had him losing by three points.

On January 24, 1997, Holmes went to Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

to fight Brian Nielsen, who was 31-0. Nielsen won by a twelve-round split decision to retain the International Boxing Organization

International Boxing Organization

The International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...

title.

Holmes and George Foreman

George Foreman

George Edward Foreman is an American two-time former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Olympic gold medalist, ordained Baptist minister, author and successful entrepreneur...

signed to fight on January 23, 1999 at the Houston Astrodome. Foreman called off the fight several weeks before it was to take place because the promoter failed to meet the deadline for paying him the remaining $9 million of his $10 million purse. Foreman received a nonrefundable $1 million deposit, and Holmes got to keep a $400,000 down payment of his $4 million purse.

Holmes' next two fights were rematches with old foes. On June 18, 1999, he stopped Bonecrusher Smith in eight rounds, and on November 17, 2000, he stopped Mike Weaver in six.
Holmes' final fight was on July 27, 2002 in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

. He defeated Eric "Butterbean" Esch

Eric Esch

Eric Scott Esch is an American heavyweight boxer, kick-boxer, professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist commonly referred to as Butterbean....

by a ten-round unanimous decision.

Life after Boxing

Holmes invested wisely the money he earned from boxing. When he initially retired from boxing, Holmes employed more than 200 people through his various business holdings. In 2008, it was reported that he still owned two restaurants and a nightclub, a training facility, an office complex, a snack food bar and slot machines. Holmes currently co-hosts a talk show on Service Electric

Service Electric

Service Electric Cable TV, Inc. is a cable television company serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. Through three affiliates, the company operates systems in the Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre , Kutztown, Hazleton, Sunbury, Mahanoy City and Bloomsburg , and Sparta, New Jersey...

Cable 2 Sports called "What They Heck Were They Thinking?" The Show started in 2006 and is currently on it's sixth season. His co-host on the show is long time announcing partner Mike Mittman. "What They Heck Were They Thinking?" airs Monday nights at 8:30pm on 2 sports.

Professional boxing record

Eric Esch

Eric Scott Esch is an American heavyweight boxer, kick-boxer, professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist commonly referred to as Butterbean....

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Norfolk Scope

Norfolk Scope is a multipurpose culture, entertainment, convention and sports arena at the northern perimeter of downtown Norfolk, Virginia, designed by Italian architect/engineer Pier Luigi Nervi in conjunction with the local firm of Williams and Tazewell...

, Norfolk

Norfolk, Virginia

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

Early life

Amateur boxing career

Early boxing career

WBC Heavyweight Champion

Holmes vs. Cooney

Trouble with the WBC

IBF Heavyweight Champion

Comebacks

Life after Boxing

Professional boxing record

External links