The great Ernie Shavers. One of the heavy hitters of my childhood. Holmes, Frazier, Norton, Foreman and Ali made the 70's a great decade for heavyweights!
Ali had to retire before others could shine. Larry Holmes was probably the most underrated boxing champ of all time. He didn't duck #1 challengers, took all the fights. Lennox Lewis killed boxing later by avoiding contenders every chance possible. He waited until Tyson was a mess before he'd take the fight. Ernie Shavers was so tough. I feel bad his fighting style was to block punches with his face, but I still always wanted him to win. Leon and Michael Spinks, Biggs, Stevenson. There were lots of real contenders back when.
@@igdes1 I know a fake boxing fan crying about Ali talking for himself. Every opponent of Ali won't say anything bad about him, especially his sparring and training partner that Ali gave a chance to have a career: Larry Holmes. Larry Holmes learned much from Ali in those YEARS as Ali's understudy. Run along to your Maga Circus.
Tyrell Biggs fought more like Ali than Holmes. The Holmes comparison gets overstated at times. Even Jimmy Ellis was closer to Ali's style than Holmes. Holmes was more flat-footed, and when he did dance, wasn't as graceful. His jab was more like a piston power jab, and when he jabbed while dancing, it was more purposeful, whereas Ali's while dancing was more extended, which gave the jab less power.
@@Sarge11226 I've always said Tyrell Biggs could have been the new Ali but he close to stand and brawl with Tyson. Fatal mistake. Damn. Biggs was 6'5" with an ungodly reach and expert boxing skills. The problem? Pride.
@@TheTexorcist68 Biggs was a Very Good boxer! I saw him as a person who didn't have the mentally and spirit to go with his natural ability. He was laid back guy seemingly good guy who was easy to root for.
@@Sarge11226 Absolutely! I really thought he could have been world champion but then he chose to bang it out with Tyson. Holy God. Not even Ali would do that. Ali said he would stick and MOVE. Biggs allowed his pride to rule and paid the price.
I have to agree. I didn't appreciate him much around the time he won the title -- because in my mind he never measured up to the skill and excellence of Ali. But he had quick hands, good footwork, a solid chin, and a lot of heart. And by way of comparison to the heavyweights of the last 20 years, he would more than hold his own. He certainly ranks in the top 10 all time in the heavyweight division.
Screw that. Holmes showed no respect for Ali when they fought unlike when Ali backed off from hitting Jerry Quarry in their 2nd fight. Then Holmes showed another legend, Rocky Marciano, no respect following his loss to Michael Spinks. Holmes was classless and a poor sport. Thankfully Tyson took care of the fool for Ali.
I met Shavers about 3 months b4 he passed...He was the best athlete I've ever met & such honest soul with the greatest spirit & Beautiful smile I've ever seen.....there r many great fighters but he was a GREAT SOUL...I MISS HIM🥊
Evander Hollyfield very similar in every way. I used to train same place as Evander. He was really humble and very nice but not a talker. He's just training all the time back then. Not anything wasted to get ready. He wasn't as naturally gifted as many boxers, so he made up for it training seriously all the time.
@@Greg-io1ip People don't understand that Evander's "prime" really ended after the second Bowe fight. Those fights were hellacious and took a ton out of both men (Bowe never had a good performance after and showed major signs of mental deterioration). To boot, Holyfield had some major unrelated health problems. People say Tyson was old when he fought Evander... Evander was not only four year OLDER but looked MUCH worse for wear. People who weren't alive then or have forgotten, fail to mention that Holyfield's license was in jeopardy (especially after the Moorer and third Bowe fight where he collapsed in the ring). EVERYONE was fearing for Evander's life in the fight against Tyson (the odds were like 20-1 at some point). His performance and comeback were things that could only be accomplished by a guy of his will and perseverance. Even some of the greatest champions couldn't have done it. His victory over Mike Tyson then showed me that a prime Holyfield would have beaten Mike. His physical strength (not punching power, that's different), remarkable will, lack of fear of any man, and his ability to push Tyson on his back foot would have broken Tyson down at any point in his career. When Tyson is put on the back foot, no only is his power diminished, he mentally folded. Holyfield showed the ability to take his shots, muscle him, and keep him fighting backwards. i think it was Steve Albert who said something to the effect of "No matter what happens tonight we are looking at a sports legend in the purple trunks (Holyfield)." The fact that he was able to compete at heavyweight so many years after his best years was a testament to his unbreakable will. A guy who almost had no business at heavyweight because he was so undersized saw a giant when he looked in the mirror, and he convinced us of the same. Many things are beyond our control, so you can only really judge someone based on how they utilized the hand they were dealt, and you couldn't have asked more from Evander Holyfield. .
Larry Holmes is probably the most overlooked and underappreciated heavyweight champion ever, but he could do it all and in my book had the best jab of any heavyweight.
Holmes was probably unbeatable in his prime. Clay in his prime lost three fights to Norton. Think Holmes was probably the best but that lack of power would have hurt him against a guy like Lennox Lewis.
@@robertmikolon5710 the man's name is Muhammad Ali. He has passed away now, put respect on his name. And he beat Ken Norton 2-1 from their three fights and Ali was past his prime when he fought Ken.
@@DRose2Fast what a lie watch the fights and he was still in his prime. Doesn’t matter that he has passed we are talking about the best heavyweight boxers in the world and Clay would have been happy to be in the discussion. Ken beat him badly in all three fights. Clay had a tremendous charisma and was greatly loved but we are talking facts here. You want fantasy go watch a movie
Both of these men were warriors. Holmes was a great champion , he fought everyone and boxed very much like Ali. He was champion for 7 years. How the hell he got up to beat Shavers I don’t know. 👍👍👍
@@stephensmall8601 I have been a boxing fan for over 50 years and I can tell you that Holmes was indeed very close in talent to Ali. Holmes was an under rated champion. If it wasn't for Ali's victory over Foreman I would rank Holmes over Ali slightly.
i had the pleasure of meeting both these great fighters at the bhof ernie god rest his soul was a class act and real gentleman larry as well i got both autographs and treasure them both
I’ve seen a lot of overhand rights land clean in my day, but holy hell that knockdown in the seventh was vicious. It took me a minute to realize this was a compilation of Shavers feinting the overhand. What a payoff. Absolutely unreal heart from Holmes.
Can never question Larry’s toughness, or skill for that matter. He never had the big KO power to do away with opponents like some, but he is an all time great without a doubt. And I disagree with the haters that say it was a weak era, there were a lot of good tough fighters from the late 70s and early 80s.
@@imgoing2stayonyourmind654 I mean, this video is a compilation of clips of shaver feinting the overhand in this fight. They show the culmination of those feints as well.
Larry's Chin took the best punches from the greatest fighters. He was Ali's understudy and sparring partner for a few years. He still says Ali hit him harder in training than anyone, so after that, he knew he could take a punch and keep fighting. Some guys don't have that mentality to shrug it off. Ali gave Larry no choice. He drove Larry hard.
@@MV-ot8kr Lots of Holmes era fighters would destroy Fury. And Wilder. George Foreman would spank them both in back to back fights. Larry Holmes would easily take Fury after picking him apart 3-4 rounds. Holmes' jab and defense would get Fury furious and out of his head, served up on a platter by round 5.
@@Mik-xq2cobut we all know there’s been much lesser fighters than shavers who have been champion. If shavers didn’t have to go through Ali and prime Holmes for a title, he may have been champion.
I like Shavers and always rooted for him as a kid, but if you look at the man's record, there are some bad losses in there. Far too inconsistent, and had stamina problems, but what an exciting puncher he was!
Look at that... these guys are actually fighting and throwing some heavy leather. I love watching this. Unlike what I see a lot of today. Lots of pacing themselves and grabbing. Everything there is an exchange they clinch.
I really thought Shavers killed Holmes with that knockout. That just shows what a great champion Holmes was to get up and stop Shavers despite being hit by the hardest hitting heavyweight in history.
A classic matchup: Homes with the best jab ever and excellent ringsmanship, matched against Shavers whose right hand was in the same elite tier as Rocky Marciano and Max Baer. The awesome right hand at 4:50, along with Marciano's knockout of Jersey Joe in Marciano-Walcott I, are perhaps the best ever recorded on film.
The difference between Marciano....and Shavers. Marciano could come up with the "BIG" punch when he needed too. Shavers had major stamina issues...never had a KO past the 7th round...he didn't carry his power into the later rounds...had an old Ali and Holmes hurt...couldn't put them away! And he was KO'd in the first round by Jerry Quarry. When Shavers started he was fed nothing but stiffs. As he started fighting a better class of fighter...his KO's% dropped. The legend of his "power" began with a lucky one punch KO of former WBA champ Jimmy Ellis.
@@beatlejim64 I'll grant you that--Marciano had a training camp that had no rival, either then or now. He had amazing stamina, and a powerful right cross and left hook developed from hitting his legendary 300-pound bag. Just ask, for starters, Rex Layne, whose teeth he knocked across the ring along with his mouth guard.
Larry had the prettiest 1-2 combo (left jab followed by a solid right), in boxing. His opponent could expect 4 or 5 of those combos connecting perfectly every round. Larry's problem was that he just never seemed to have enough power behind that right.
@@aedin6397 The greatest jab in boxing history from the #3 best heavyweight of all time in terms of title fight victories. (Which are the only victories that matter.)
Shavers could throw one heck of a punch! Holmes won by the skin of his teeth. That said Shavers was a great boxer and Holmes deserves more recognition than he's been given. A great fight!
Brutal fight. This was not boxing, this was gladiatorial. Both guys went at each other like gladiators. Phenomenal display of boxing skills too. I think the spotlight remained too much on Muhammad Ali for too long, and still does, because Larry Holmes and Earnie Shavers too, were clearly something else too. Evidently, Muhammad Ali was first among equals, not "The Greatest" per se. Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
Two things I will never forget about this fight. The beautiful, terrifying sound that punch makes as it connects immediately followed by "OOOOOOohhh! There he goes!"
Awesome both of them but Holmes was an amazing fighter who had it all- graceful fluid mover, great chin, huge heart and a punch like a Donkey’s kick. One of the all time greats.
Ali in an interview was asked is there a fighter that you fought, that you'd not want to fight again. His answer was Shavers, every right that connected was like getting hit with a brick.
What a fight !! Peak Holmes was certainly one of the all time greats [ we will argue forever about who ranks where but that's one of the joys of being a boxing fan ] and he needed all of his abilities and more here to hold off one of the hardest punchers ever. Two true gladiators . I don't think that we can begin to imagine the levels of physical fitness and mental resilience required from both men to perform like this. Awesome.
What knock out ? Do you mean a Knock Down ? Nobody was knocked out. Learn the difference between a Knock Down, Knock Out ( KO ) and a Technical Knock Out ( TKO ) . Shavers lost by a TKO....the ref stopped the fight before he gets seriously hurt. Shavers clocked Holmes with an awesome punch and KNOCKED HIM DOWN but Larry amazingly got up and went on to TKO Shavers to win. Learn your boxing terms, please.
@@davec2470yeah but the title of this video suggest that this fight ended in a dramatic “Knockout”. Which is not true it actually ended anti-climatically. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the upload. The fight itself was dramatic
I have never liked the term TKO, stoppage should be the verdict. What pisses me off is the amount of comments on Frazier's left hook; looking at his record of supposed knockouts how many are real KOs and how many are stoppages?
I remember watching it live. I was a huge Shavers fan and for one eternal moment, I was certain Earnie had won the title. Alas, Larry Holmes' greatness never shone more brightly than when he got up to win.
Fighter with heart.... Homes showed the greater boxing skills of a true champion. Congratulation Larry, I'm proud to say I once met you on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, you shook my hand and autographed a five and a twenty dollar bill for me, even tried to talk me out of the twenty : - )... You were there to watch the Jerry Cooney, Jimmy Young fight which Cooney won by the way.
Hardest punch I've ever seen and I saw it live on pay per view. Most other fighters would not have gotten off the canvas. If Ernie would have been able to follow it up it would have been all over for Larry, however Larry was one of the greatest HW of all time. He fought everybody who wanted to fight and he whipped them all. The golden age of boxing.
I saw this fight but I don't remember it being on pay per view live circuit TV. I might be wrong though. 95percent of the big fights were on ABC and nbc TV for free. Used to look for the fights in TV guide.
Larry Holmes is in my opinion the greatest heavyweight ever in his prime. Fearless and technician skills. What a great fighter! And now we have that Gypsy clown who threatens to fight everyone in the division but runs in a million directions to avoid one. Holmes would have put that dosser in hospital.
So true - Holmes '81-'82 was essentially unbeatable. He had everything - could box, punch, move, take a punch, speed and peerless mental toughness. Holmes only real deficiency was that he tended to fight at the level of his opponent, hence Mike Weaver I, Renaldo Snipes, Lucien Rodriguez, Michael Spinks I, but this also enabled him to rise to the occasion when necessary - Norton, Cooney. Icing on the cake was Holmes' extraordinary extended career where he nearly regained the title. Holmes, even at 50 years old was one bad, bad dude.
Yep, Tyson Fury is a hoax and a joke, as is the whole heavyweight division nowadays. In the 70s to the 90s Fury wouldn't even make the top 500. However, Holmes was far from the best ever.
I remember how most guys I knew in high school were huge Ernie Shavers fans. We watched this fight and still don't know how Holmes survived two knockdowns.
The problem that Earnie had was called......Don King. Earnie was often working at the car plant before a fight. With the proper management he would undoubtedly been world champion. A great man and a great fighter so sorely missed.
Another epic fight from the golden era of heavyweights. What a mess its in now- Holmes was incredible and Ernie would've been world champion in today's era no doubt about that. Great memories.
This is when boxing was boxing. We watched so many *GREAT* fights like this on regular tv-and many before this on "The Wide World of Sports." That was back when boxers wore *normal* shorts instead of the nonsense they wear today-shorts that look more like someone's living room curtains on steroids. They also didn't enter the ring on a flying carpet like an arrogant fool.
Holmes arguably the best of all time. His resilience and never say die or quit attitude. He took a beating in this fight. Got decked and eventually won! Great fight.😮
Shavers ran out of gas. I am surprised that Holmes got up from first knock down. Larry was a tough cookie, he defended his title 20 plus times. Ernie died Sept 2022.
Watching Larry Holmes is a master class in boxing. He was a beautiful boxer. How the hell he got up after getting nailed by Ernie Shavers like that is amazing.
Shavers compared Ali's left jab and Holmes left jab and one stung and the other felt like a hard punch that hurt and could knock you out. If you prefer Holmes over Ali is is usually because of his willingness to mix it up and we saw he get up off the canvas and win many times.
Ali said Shavers was the hardest hitting heavyweight there was.....here he showed why he wasnt a long time champion.....he was easy to hit and ran out of gas by the 8 round....watching these guys only makes me realize how Ali was in a class of his own
I remember watching this live on free network TV (ABC) as a kid. A different era, as you could get quality heavyweight championship fights like this in prime time on network channels. Holmes won the title on a prime time network fight against Norton (and what a great fight that was). If memory serves, Pay Per View was a rare commodity then, as only the titanic clashes of Ali-Frazier and Ali-Foreman (and a few others) were sold that way before the "superfights" started in the early 80's. The great Larry Holmes as far as I can remember had only two Pay Per View fights as champion (not counting the monthly paid HBO, which he had quite a few fights on), which was the fights against Ali and Cooney. Of course, much later on with his rather remarkable "second career", his fights against Mercer and Holyfield were also PPV, which by then had become the norm for bigger fights.
Brutal fight. This was not boxing, this was gladiatorial. Both guys went at each other like gladiators. Phenomenal display of boxing skills too. I think the spotlight remained too much on Muhammad Ali for too long, and still does, because Larry Holmes and Earnie Shavers too, were clearly something else too. Evidently, Muhammad Ali was first among equals, not "The Greatest" per se. Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
Cara... que luta!!! Guerreiros de verdade... e ambos batendo com vontade. Eu era ainda jovem qdo vi o Holmes lutando... ele havia chegado com tudo nessa categoria. Earnie, outra lenda do boxe... muito fera tbm.
Larry Holmes was a GREAT FIGHTER he never seems to get the merit he truly deserved, If he was around today in his prime he’d clean out the Heavyweight Division.. he’d lay waste to all of em - Fury, Usyk, Joshua.. the lot …👊🥊
Muhammed Ali said Ernie Shavers had the hardest punch of any man he ever faced. How Larry got up after being laid flat twice by this man is beyond imagination. Maybe Ernie forgot to eat his Wheaties that morning, sheesh what a crappy way to go down.
Unbelievable that Larry was underrated as a champ! Knocked down twice by a fighter that many heavyweights says is the hardest puncher they’ve ever fought…Shavers…get up and win the fight! AMAZING! Boxing was soooo much fun to watch back then. The fighters all held their opponents in the highest regards.
Brutal fight. This was not boxing, this was gladiatorial. Both guys went at each other like gladiators. Phenomenal display of boxing skills too. I think the spotlight remained too much on Muhammad Ali for too long, and still does, because Larry Holmes and Earnie Shavers too, were clearly something else too. Evidently, Muhammad Ali was first among equals, not "The Greatest" per se. Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
@@MundiaKamau Great comment. To many, including myself, Ali was an remains the greatest heavyweight of all time. There are some challengers but Ali almost always comes out on top. It’s difficult to dispute it. No other boxer had to endure or had obstacles as did Ali who despite them was stripped of his championship, couldn’t fight for years, and later went on to again become World Champion. And he beat them all. There were some absolute gladiators in the ring back then and not only with the heavyweights. Legendary fighters…Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray, Erny Shavers, Roberto Duran , etc.
@@oldsingingstudentdougbillf1665I hear you, thanks for your take, and thanks for the compliment too. Muhammad Ali is an icon no doubt, but there is that element too to him being overrated, to his stature being exaggerated. I agree with you that Ali overcame obstacles, though obstacles no bigger than other boxing icons, of his time, before, and after, such as, as you mention, Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Earnie Shavers, and Roberto Duran. Roberto Duran, for example, grew up in poverty in an informal settlement in Panama. Joe Frazier was a farmhand and a thief, before becoming a top boxer, and George Foreman was a thief before becoming a top boxer. Boxing gave a life to several boxing icons of our time, not just in the United States, but all over the world. If anything, Muhammad Ali was privileged to have grown up middle class. What got Ali into boxing? His bicycle was stolen and he therefore went to a boxing gym to learn how to box so that he would teach the person who stole his bicycle "a lesson," when he caught up with him. Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), owned a bicycle as a teenager, and owing a bicycle was a luxury for many boxers of his time who rose from "rags to riches." For example, there was a love-hate relationship between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, and I could be wrong, but I detect that Frazier never quite fully forgave Ali for the names Ali called him, including referring to Frazier as "an Uncle Tom" and as "an Ugly Gorilla." Muhammad Ali even referred to boxing legend Joe Louis as "an Uncle Tom," Joe Louis who had an iconic stature in the African-American community long before Ali emerged on the scene. The names Ali called Frazier may have been part of "psychological warfare" for Ali, may have been nothing more than "public entertainment" for Ali, but maybe not for Frazier, not least because of Ali's privileged background vis-a-vis Frazier's not so privileged background. If Frazier and Ali had grown up in similar circumstances, if Frazier and Ali had similar backgrounds, I don't think Frazier would have taken Ali's name calling as much to heart as Frazier did. Ali also went went too far by referring to White people as "devils." When Ali was stripped of his title and boxing licence in 1967, he partly survived by going around America giving lectures to college students, and at one point, some White college students had the courage to ask him why he took "White money" if he had such a big grudge against White people? What the White students were referring to is the fact that Ali's fights and pay cheques were heavily endorsed, supported, bankrolled and financed by White owned companies, enterprises and organisations. Ali's answer was wholly unsatisfactory, with Ali saying that American money was not "White," but green, "the green buck," as you Americans say. So Ali was hypocritical in no less way than society in general all over the world. Even in Ali taking "the high moral ground" not to serve in Vietnam was hollow and hypocritical, because Ali married his first wife when she was only a girl of 16 years old. Girls, anywhere in the world, should not be allowed to get married at such a tender age. What Ali did back then by marrying a 16 year old girl was statutory rape, ironically coming from a person, Ali that is, who "defied" the "immoral" American Government draft to serve in Vietnam. What's more is that almost all Americans, regardless of race, did not have the luxury of defying the American Government draft to serve in Vietnam, because they did not have the luxury of options that Ali had, such as, as stated, making money from lectures to college students across America. Therefore, was Muhammad Ali "a revolutionary and a prophet," or was he a self-seeker? Like I say above, Muhammad Ali went through challenges to reach where he reached, but they were not challenges any greater than those his contemporaries faced in reaching where they reached too. If anything, Ali had "a softer landing" in getting to where he got, owing to his middle class upbringing, a middle class upbringing that almost all boxing greats of his time did not have. Related to this is Ali's championship fight with George Foreman of 30th October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire, today the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ali's defeat of Foreman was a masterpiece, a modern day reenactment of "David vs. Goliath." That fight was and is a trendsetter and trailblazer that we can all learn life lessons of different kinds from, such as, to never take an opponent for granted, which Foreman did, by taking Ali for granted, and "assuming" that he would knock out Ali in the either the first or second round. However Ali refused to fight Foreman a second time, refused to grant Foreman a rematch fight, a second George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali fight, possibly in 1975 or 1976, so in this regard, we will never really be able to know if Muhammad Ali was truly "The Greatest." Maybe a reinvigorated George Foreman, a George Foreman who had learned important lessons, would have convincingly beaten Ali in a second fight, possibly in 1975 or 1976. Related to the Foreman-Ali fight of 1974 is the fact that both men were paid US $ 5 million each, US $ 10 million in total, for a fight that neither Zaire nor Africa could either afford nor needed. Zaire's President at the time, Mobutu Sese Seko, should not have committed US $ 10 million of his country's scarce resources to finance the fight. US $ 10 million in 1974, is the equivalent of about US $ 64 million today in 2024. Ali did not pump any of his US $ 5 million into either Africa's development and progression, nor into the development and progression of Americans, regardless of race, and neither did Foreman. I state that the Foreman-Ali fight of 1974 was a game changer with life lessons, but in contradicting myself all at one go, another life lesson from the Foreman-Ali fight of 1974, is that it left Zaire and Africa US $ 10 million poorer as at 1974, and for what? We in Africa could have used that US $ 10 million on more meaningful things beneficial to ourselves and to Africa. I am from Kenya, in East Africa, and Zaire (today the Democratic Republic of Congo), is in Central Africa, about 1,250 miles away from Kenya, but nevertheless, the loss of one African country is the loss of all African countries. Muhammad Ali did not quite help benefit African society nor American society with his winnings in 1974, and neither did George Foreman. So to what extent therefore is Muhammad Ali, "The Greatest," both as a boxer and as a person, based on this? George Foreman's winnings in 1974 were George Foreman's, not anyone else's, and Muhammad Ali's winnings in 1974 too were Muhammad Ali's, not anyone else's, so why should Muhammad Ali be regarded as "greater" than George Foreman, or "greater," in general, than all boxers of all time? Add to this that Muhammad Ali refused to fight George Foreman a second time, and this only further takes away from Muhammad Ali as being truly, "The greatest of all time." Best Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
I hate to dislike Hommes for messing up Ali badly, but he's records makes him one of the top 10 heavyweights in history. Boxing would suffer without greats like Hommes
Even though Ernie Shavers has passed away. I still want to see him win the heavyweight championship! So close!! He took some losses and got knocked out sometimes. He came back every time! A great fighter.. Great puncher.
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The great Ernie Shavers. One of the heavy hitters of my childhood. Holmes, Frazier, Norton, Foreman and Ali made the 70's a great decade for heavyweights!
I didn't know who to root for back then. I liked and respected all those great heavyweights from the 1960's and 70's.
Ali only had a mouth. He was better as Cassius . Cassius turned out to be Ali.
Shame the heavyweights of today haven’t got the courage these men had, there’s only usik willing to fight them all
Ali had to retire before others could shine. Larry Holmes was probably the most underrated boxing champ of all time. He didn't duck #1 challengers, took all the fights. Lennox Lewis killed boxing later by avoiding contenders every chance possible. He waited until Tyson was a mess before he'd take the fight. Ernie Shavers was so tough. I feel bad his fighting style was to block punches with his face, but I still always wanted him to win. Leon and Michael Spinks, Biggs, Stevenson. There were lots of real contenders back when.
@@igdes1 I know a fake boxing fan crying about Ali talking for himself. Every opponent of Ali won't say anything bad about him, especially his sparring and training partner that Ali gave a chance to have a career: Larry Holmes. Larry Holmes learned much from Ali in those YEARS as Ali's understudy. Run along to your Maga Circus.
Larry said in a later interview that Ernie hit him so hard he knocked him out and woke him up at the same time 😂
Tyrell Biggs fought more like Ali than Holmes.
The Holmes comparison gets overstated at times.
Even Jimmy Ellis was closer to Ali's style than Holmes.
Holmes was more flat-footed, and when he did dance, wasn't as graceful. His jab was more like a piston power jab, and when he jabbed while dancing, it was more purposeful, whereas Ali's while dancing was more extended, which gave the jab less power.
😂😂😂
@@Sarge11226 I've always said Tyrell Biggs could have been the new Ali but he close to stand and brawl with Tyson. Fatal mistake. Damn. Biggs was 6'5" with an ungodly reach and expert boxing skills. The problem? Pride.
@@TheTexorcist68 Biggs was a Very Good boxer! I saw him as a person who didn't have the mentally and spirit to go with his natural ability.
He was laid back guy seemingly good guy who was easy to root for.
@@Sarge11226 Absolutely! I really thought he could have been world champion but then he chose to bang it out with Tyson. Holy God. Not even Ali would do that. Ali said he would stick and MOVE. Biggs allowed his pride to rule and paid the price.
Larry Holmes is one of those rare kind of guys you like more and more as the years go by.
I have to agree. I didn't appreciate him much around the time he won the title -- because in my mind he never measured up to the skill and excellence of Ali. But he had quick hands, good footwork, a solid chin, and a lot of heart. And by way of comparison to the heavyweights of the last 20 years, he would more than hold his own. He certainly ranks in the top 10 all time in the heavyweight division.
He was a hell of a fighter
Not really.
Screw that. Holmes showed no respect for Ali when they fought unlike when Ali backed off from hitting Jerry Quarry in their 2nd fight. Then Holmes showed another legend, Rocky Marciano, no respect following his loss to Michael Spinks. Holmes was classless and a poor sport. Thankfully Tyson took care of the fool for Ali.
Holmes is a world class asshole. What are you talking about?
I met Shavers about 3 months b4 he passed...He was the best athlete I've ever met & such honest soul with the greatest spirit & Beautiful smile I've ever seen.....there r many great fighters but he was a GREAT SOUL...I MISS HIM🥊
Evander Hollyfield very similar in every way. I used to train same place as Evander. He was really humble and very nice but not a talker. He's just training all the time back then. Not anything wasted to get ready. He wasn't as naturally gifted as many boxers, so he made up for it training seriously all the time.
@@Greg-io1ip Factual. Only Hagler or Marciano* trained as hard as Holyfield
Really humble and kind man. Had mammoth hands too which in part contributed to his power.
@@Greg-io1ip People don't understand that Evander's "prime" really ended after the second Bowe fight. Those fights were hellacious and took a ton out of both men (Bowe never had a good performance after and showed major signs of mental deterioration). To boot, Holyfield had some major unrelated health problems. People say Tyson was old when he fought Evander... Evander was not only four year OLDER but looked MUCH worse for wear. People who weren't alive then or have forgotten, fail to mention that Holyfield's license was in jeopardy (especially after the Moorer and third Bowe fight where he collapsed in the ring). EVERYONE was fearing for Evander's life in the fight against Tyson (the odds were like 20-1 at some point). His performance and comeback were things that could only be accomplished by a guy of his will and perseverance. Even some of the greatest champions couldn't have done it.
His victory over Mike Tyson then showed me that a prime Holyfield would have beaten Mike. His physical strength (not punching power, that's different), remarkable will, lack of fear of any man, and his ability to push Tyson on his back foot would have broken Tyson down at any point in his career. When Tyson is put on the back foot, no only is his power diminished, he mentally folded. Holyfield showed the ability to take his shots, muscle him, and keep him fighting backwards. i think it was Steve Albert who said something to the effect of "No matter what happens tonight we are looking at a sports legend in the purple trunks (Holyfield)." The fact that he was able to compete at heavyweight so many years after his best years was a testament to his unbreakable will. A guy who almost had no business at heavyweight because he was so undersized saw a giant when he looked in the mirror, and he convinced us of the same. Many things are beyond our control, so you can only really judge someone based on how they utilized the hand they were dealt, and you couldn't have asked more from Evander Holyfield.
.
@@geraldfriend256Holyfield himself said Tyson trained harder !
Larry Holmes never got the credit he deserved...and had one of the best jabs in boxing.
❤exactly
Larry Holmes is probably the most overlooked and underappreciated heavyweight champion ever, but he could do it all and in my book had the best jab of any heavyweight.
He is one of the best. Ali, Foreman, Liston and Holmes in my book.
Holmes was probably unbeatable in his prime. Clay in his prime lost three fights to Norton. Think Holmes was probably the best but that lack of power would have hurt him against a guy like Lennox Lewis.
He almost moved like Ali, if you just change the mug of holmes with Ali
@@robertmikolon5710 the man's name is Muhammad Ali. He has passed away now, put respect on his name. And he beat Ken Norton 2-1 from their three fights and Ali was past his prime when he fought Ken.
@@DRose2Fast what a lie watch the fights and he was still in his prime. Doesn’t matter that he has passed we are talking about the best heavyweight boxers in the world and Clay would have been happy to be in the discussion. Ken beat him badly in all three fights. Clay had a tremendous charisma and was greatly loved but we are talking facts here. You want fantasy go watch a movie
Larry’s left jab was a power punch. Shavers was an all time puncher and warrior
You got that right. Larry Holmes great strength was his accurate, multiple and powerful jabs.
Not powerful. But snappy quick and frequent.
i think Larry's jab was known as quick and would sting a motherfucker
@@imgoing2stayonyourmind654
the best jab ever vs one of the most terrific punchers
Didn’t know that about Holmes. But I kept saying….man that Jab is sweet.
Both of these men were warriors. Holmes was a great champion , he fought everyone and boxed very much like Ali. He was champion for 7 years. How the hell he got up to beat Shavers I don’t know. 👍👍👍
@@stephensmall8601 Nope that's crazy 🤪
@@stephensmall8601stop it
shavers said Ali was better than Holmes....
oh well
@@stephensmall8601бред.
@@stephensmall8601 I have been a boxing fan for over 50 years and I can tell you that Holmes was indeed very close in talent to Ali. Holmes was an under rated champion. If it wasn't for Ali's victory over Foreman I would rank Holmes over Ali slightly.
He says “ I love you Ernie” . I am amazed . What a sportsmanship ❣️
Awesome sportsmanship both beat the heck out of each other
I shook hands with Ernie Shavers when he was on security at a bar in Liverpool England. We chatted with him for a while, what a nice guy.
On income from securities you mean
@@janpierzchala2004 No, I mean he was a doorman. ( Bouncer ) but still a nice guy.
@@bartram33 And what brought him to Liverpool?
@@janpierzchala2004 I believe he met a lady from the area and settled down here.
@@bartram33 Thank you!
i had the pleasure of meeting both these great fighters at the bhof ernie god rest his soul was a class act and real gentleman larry as well i got both autographs and treasure them both
I’ve seen a lot of overhand rights land clean in my day, but holy hell that knockdown in the seventh was vicious. It took me a minute to realize this was a compilation of Shavers feinting the overhand. What a payoff. Absolutely unreal heart from Holmes.
Can never question Larry’s toughness, or skill for that matter. He never had the big KO power to do away with opponents like some, but he is an all time great without a doubt. And I disagree with the haters that say it was a weak era, there were a lot of good tough fighters from the late 70s and early 80s.
"compilation" ? I think you mean culmination*
@@imgoing2stayonyourmind654 it’s both, no?
@@ChannoBonanno Well I guess you could argue so.
That he compiled the feints for the culminating vicious knockdown.
@@imgoing2stayonyourmind654 I mean, this video is a compilation of clips of shaver feinting the overhand in this fight. They show the culmination of those feints as well.
How Larry Holmes got up from that punch 🥊 is beyond my comprehension!💯
That's one of tbe reasons I believe a prime Holmes will beat a prime Tyson.. Holmes its not given enough credit! Great athlete great human being!
I know ! Like Fury getting up after the vicious right and left from Wilder . Love Larry and Ernie .
Larry's Chin took the best punches from the greatest fighters. He was Ali's understudy and sparring partner for a few years. He still says Ali hit him harder in training than anyone, so after that, he knew he could take a punch and keep fighting. Some guys don't have that mentality to shrug it off. Ali gave Larry no choice. He drove Larry hard.
@@MV-ot8kr Lots of Holmes era fighters would destroy Fury. And Wilder. George Foreman would spank them both in back to back fights. Larry Holmes would easily take Fury after picking him apart 3-4 rounds. Holmes' jab and defense would get Fury furious and out of his head, served up on a platter by round 5.
@@DonEEteteTyson is probably the best finisher in the heavyweight history. Tyson overall was a way better fighter than shavers
RIP Earnie, was one of the best despite never winning the title.
Shavers so tough. Maybe biggest punch at heavyweight. Deserved to be World Champion.
Championships need to be earned, not deserved!
@@Mik-xq2co🤣👊💥
@@Mik-xq2cobut we all know there’s been much lesser fighters than shavers who have been champion. If shavers didn’t have to go through Ali and prime Holmes for a title, he may have been champion.
@@joemorley2187 And if my father was Elon Musk or Bill Gates, I would not be working my 9-5 job!! Yeah, I got you!
I like Shavers and always rooted for him as a kid, but if you look at the man's record, there are some bad losses in there. Far too inconsistent, and had stamina problems, but what an exciting puncher he was!
Larry Was Knocked Down Twice! If Ernie Didn't Run Out Of Gas, He Might've Pulled Off An Upset!
He lacked the boxing IQ
Look at that... these guys are actually fighting and throwing some heavy leather. I love watching this. Unlike what I see a lot of today. Lots of pacing themselves and grabbing. Everything there is an exchange they clinch.
I really thought Shavers killed Holmes with that knockout. That just shows what a great champion Holmes was to get up and stop Shavers despite being hit by the hardest hitting heavyweight in history.
It's amazing that Holmes got up and won by KO.
Won by a stoppage, not a knockout.
Shavers got tired.
@@luispaez1701tired of getting whacked 🤣👊💥
@@luispaez1701 Why? Did he not train for a distance contest?
TKO NOt KO
When they say "Piston-Like Jab" they meant Larry Holmes!!
Absolute beauty of a jab.
A classic matchup: Homes with the best jab ever and excellent ringsmanship, matched against Shavers whose right hand was in the same elite tier as Rocky Marciano and Max Baer. The awesome right hand at 4:50, along with Marciano's knockout of Jersey Joe in Marciano-Walcott I, are perhaps the best ever recorded on film.
How did he get up from that what a chin
The difference between Marciano....and Shavers. Marciano could come up with the "BIG" punch when he needed too. Shavers had major stamina issues...never had a KO past the 7th round...he didn't carry his power into the later rounds...had an old Ali and Holmes hurt...couldn't put them away! And he was KO'd in the first round by Jerry Quarry. When Shavers started he was fed nothing but stiffs. As he started fighting a better class of fighter...his KO's% dropped. The legend of his "power" began with a lucky one punch KO of former WBA champ Jimmy Ellis.
@@beatlejim64 I'll grant you that--Marciano had a training camp that had no rival, either then or now. He had amazing stamina, and a powerful right cross and left hook developed from hitting his legendary 300-pound bag. Just ask, for starters, Rex Layne, whose teeth he knocked across the ring along with his mouth guard.
Earnie Shavers was one of the hardest punchers ever, in boxing. Larry Holmes had incredible hand speed.
Larry had the prettiest 1-2 combo (left jab followed by a solid right), in boxing. His opponent could expect 4 or 5 of those combos connecting perfectly every round. Larry's problem was that he just never seemed to have enough power behind that right.
Apparently, Rocky Marciano punched even harder than Shavers.
@@quintavale2441No joke...the Rock was a hard a$$ puncher for a Cruiserweight.
Holmes wan't a tender feet. But sheavers strike him like a horse
@@sugerhitman1295 - Rocky broke Ezzard Charles (?) ARM with a punch !
Holmes was tough. That jab literally had knockout power.
Yes Earnie himself said that Holmes' jab was as powerful as other heavyweights' right hands.
@@aedin6397 The greatest jab in boxing history from the #3 best heavyweight of all time in terms of title fight victories. (Which are the only victories that matter.)
No doubt about it.Holmes one of the GOATs.
Underrated just like Lennox Lewis.
@kevinsicecream9326 Yes! Lewis is top 7 easy. I could go top 5!
Shavers could throw one heck of a punch! Holmes won by the skin of his teeth. That said Shavers was a great boxer and Holmes deserves more recognition than he's been given. A great fight!
Brutal fight. This was not boxing, this was gladiatorial. Both guys went at each other like gladiators. Phenomenal display of boxing skills too. I think the spotlight remained too much on Muhammad Ali for too long, and still does, because Larry Holmes and Earnie Shavers too, were clearly something else too. Evidently, Muhammad Ali was first among equals, not "The Greatest" per se. Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
Two things I will never forget about this fight. The beautiful, terrifying sound that punch makes as it connects immediately followed by "OOOOOOohhh! There he goes!"
Shavers couldn't get passed that piston jab of Larry Holmes.
Big George had a jab like that. Especially later in his career.
It will wear the opponent down and set up bigger punches.
Larry was very good at it.
Awesome both of them but Holmes was an amazing fighter who had it all- graceful fluid mover, great chin, huge heart and a punch like a Donkey’s kick. One of the all time greats.
Without a dought I have him top 5
@@staffh3815 Top 1
Ali in an interview was asked is there a fighter that you fought, that you'd not want to fight again. His answer was Shavers, every right that connected was like getting hit with a brick.
What a fight !! Peak Holmes was certainly one of the all time greats [ we will argue forever about who ranks where but that's one of the joys of being a boxing fan ] and he needed all of his abilities and more here to hold off one of the hardest punchers ever. Two true gladiators . I don't think that we can begin to imagine the levels of physical fitness and mental resilience required from both men to perform like this. Awesome.
What knock out ? Do you mean a Knock Down ? Nobody was knocked out. Learn the difference between a Knock Down, Knock Out ( KO ) and a Technical Knock Out ( TKO ) . Shavers lost by a TKO....the ref stopped the fight before he gets seriously hurt. Shavers clocked Holmes with an awesome punch and KNOCKED HIM DOWN but Larry amazingly got up and went on to TKO Shavers to win. Learn your boxing terms, please.
A TKO is a KO. Stop nitpicking and go back to school yourself.
@@davec2470yeah but the title of this video suggest that this fight ended in a dramatic “Knockout”. Which is not true it actually ended anti-climatically. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the upload. The fight itself was dramatic
I have never liked the term TKO, stoppage should be the verdict. What pisses me off is the amount of comments on Frazier's left hook; looking at his record of supposed knockouts how many are real KOs and how many are stoppages?
@@davec2470 Balls.
@@davec2470 why be so rude youre typical of low level matrix low emotional input maybe you need to learn something about frequency
This fight just shows u how dangerous a fighter is with knock out power Holmes was in deep trouble but survived a brutal knock out
to this day, i don't know how Holmes got up from that haymaker right hand....... kudos to Larry..........
I remember watching it live. I was a huge Shavers fan and for one eternal moment, I was certain Earnie had won the title. Alas, Larry Holmes' greatness never shone more brightly than when he got up to win.
Fighter with heart.... Homes showed the greater boxing skills of a true champion. Congratulation Larry, I'm proud to say I once met you on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, you shook my hand and autographed a five and a twenty dollar bill for me, even tried to talk me out of the twenty : - )... You were there to watch the Jerry Cooney, Jimmy Young fight which Cooney won by the way.
Hardest punch I've ever seen and I saw it live on pay per view. Most other fighters would not have gotten off the canvas. If Ernie would have been able to follow it up it would have been all over for Larry, however Larry was one of the greatest HW of all time. He fought everybody who wanted to fight and he whipped them all. The golden age of boxing.
ruclips.net/video/SkSfi5_osv0/видео.html
It wasn't on pay-per-view, It was on ABC-TV. I saw it live also, when I was in 9th grade.
I saw this fight but I don't remember it being on pay per view live circuit TV. I might be wrong though. 95percent of the big fights were on ABC and nbc TV for free. Used to look for the fights in TV guide.
@@vanceharkema5131 I went to a local club that had it on big screen. My nomenclature might be wrong about pay for view though.
@@patrickcolon8809 I was wrong about pay per view but it was on at a local club where I watched it.
Larry Lion Heart.
A golden era of boxing.
Sign of a true champ when you can come back from a knockdown like that!
Larry Holmes is in my opinion the greatest heavyweight ever in his prime. Fearless and technician skills. What a great fighter! And now we have that Gypsy clown who threatens to fight everyone in the division but runs in a million directions to avoid one. Holmes would have put that dosser in hospital.
So true - Holmes '81-'82 was essentially unbeatable. He had everything - could box, punch, move, take a punch, speed and peerless mental toughness. Holmes only real deficiency was that he tended to fight at the level of his opponent, hence Mike Weaver I, Renaldo Snipes, Lucien Rodriguez, Michael Spinks I, but this also enabled him to rise to the occasion when necessary - Norton, Cooney. Icing on the cake was Holmes' extraordinary extended career where he nearly regained the title. Holmes, even at 50 years old was one bad, bad dude.
@@aedin6397 absolutely. The best jab ever in the game still to this day. The man was all business and did his talking in the ring.
Yep, Tyson Fury is a hoax and a joke, as is the whole heavyweight division nowadays. In the 70s to the 90s Fury wouldn't even make the top 500. However, Holmes was far from the best ever.
@@kanesmillie40 I stand by my opinion chief.
Yes. Fury no match for Holmes. Boxing worlds apart.
I remember how most guys I knew in high school were huge Ernie Shavers fans. We watched this fight and still don't know how Holmes survived two knockdowns.
Man Larry had a Masterful Jab.
He did.
The problem that Earnie had was called......Don King.
Earnie was often working at the car plant before a fight. With the proper management he would undoubtedly been world champion.
A great man and a great fighter so sorely missed.
Unfortunately Don King was a problem for many fighters. He was dishonest and ripped off his boxers.
You mean Earnie Shavers was not a full time professional boxer?
I remember seeing this match on tv. Back then , boxing was boxing for real
Holmes was a Champion! If you were gonna stand up to him, he was gonna let you know, "I'm the Champion!" .
Larry Holmes greatly underrated champion
Who should get respect for 48-0-0
Record.
Larry Holmes was my dads favorite fighter , Larry was one of the best heavy weights ever
7:50 😅❤❤❤❤k❤❤❤❤
Holmes is definitely underrated - he was a great fighter with a really good chin. Not sure how he got up from that knockdown -
HOLMES NEVER HAS GOTTEN THE RESPECT HE DESERVES! HE'S IN MY TOP 10 OF MODERN BOXERS AS THERE'S NO WAY TO PUT ALL IN THE TOP TEN OF THE PAST CENTURY.
1970's the best decade for boxing .
Proper fighters and fighting in general. Actually society itself. Real tough guys.
Holmes never had a chiseled physique, but was nevertheless in *very* good condition for this fight. He won on endurance alone.
Another epic fight from the golden era of heavyweights. What a mess its in now- Holmes was incredible and Ernie would've been world champion in today's era no doubt about that. Great memories.
This is when boxing was boxing. We watched so many *GREAT* fights like this on regular tv-and many before this on "The Wide World of Sports." That was back when boxers wore *normal* shorts instead of the nonsense they wear today-shorts that look more like someone's living room curtains on steroids. They also didn't enter the ring on a flying carpet like an arrogant fool.
Larry Holmes is no joke! What a champion!
I miss the days of free televised boxing and one national anthem
Loved Earnie Shavers but his defensive skills let him down.He always had a knock out punch.
Shows you how tough Holmes really was in his prime. Shavers was a Mack Truck
Larry Holmes is 1 of the greatest heavy weight champions of all time.
Holmes arguably the best of all time. His resilience and never say die or quit attitude. He took a beating in this fight. Got decked and eventually won! Great fight.😮
Both are full of LEGENDARY BRILLIANCE 🙌
What a fight!
Larry Holmes is my favorite heavyweight...but man Shavers was a real badass
Super fight!!
Shavers ran out of gas. I am surprised that Holmes got up from first knock down. Larry was a tough cookie, he defended his title 20 plus times. Ernie died Sept 2022.
That was a great fight!
Watching Larry Holmes is a master class in boxing. He was a beautiful boxer. How the hell he got up after getting nailed by Ernie Shavers like that is amazing.
Holmes became a all time great that nite.
Two fighters who took all comers...
Shavers was one of the hardest punchers boxing 🥊 has ever seen.
Shavers compared Ali's left jab and Holmes left jab and one stung and the other felt like a hard punch that hurt and could knock you out. If you prefer Holmes over Ali is is usually because of his willingness to mix it up and we saw he get up off the canvas and win many times.
Larry was great!! Great recuperative power! 😁
Holmes hated King with all his heart and rightfully so.
Larry’s greatness came out in this fight, the Norton fight, and the Cooney fight.
Ali said Shavers was the hardest hitter he ever fought.
Ali said Shavers was the hardest hitting heavyweight there was.....here he showed why he wasnt a long time champion.....he was easy to hit and ran out of gas by the 8 round....watching these guys only makes me realize how Ali was in a class of his own
My man George Foreman also said shavers was the hardest puncher he ever came up against. 😮
I remember watching this live on free network TV (ABC) as a kid. A different era, as you could get quality heavyweight championship fights like this in prime time on network channels. Holmes won the title on a prime time network fight against Norton (and what a great fight that was). If memory serves, Pay Per View was a rare commodity then, as only the titanic clashes of Ali-Frazier and Ali-Foreman (and a few others) were sold that way before the "superfights" started in the early 80's. The great Larry Holmes as far as I can remember had only two Pay Per View fights as champion (not counting the monthly paid HBO, which he had quite a few fights on), which was the fights against Ali and Cooney. Of course, much later on with his rather remarkable "second career", his fights against Mercer and Holyfield were also PPV, which by then had become the norm for bigger fights.
Two Legends .
Brutal fight. This was not boxing, this was gladiatorial. Both guys went at each other like gladiators. Phenomenal display of boxing skills too. I think the spotlight remained too much on Muhammad Ali for too long, and still does, because Larry Holmes and Earnie Shavers too, were clearly something else too. Evidently, Muhammad Ali was first among equals, not "The Greatest" per se. Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
Can't imagine how tough you gotta be to either knock down or beat either guys
Only a true hearted champion would admit what larry said what a era that was 70s..80...and 90s
Das waren noch Boxer 👍
Cara... que luta!!! Guerreiros de verdade... e ambos batendo com vontade. Eu era ainda jovem qdo vi o Holmes lutando... ele havia chegado com tudo nessa categoria. Earnie, outra lenda do boxe... muito fera tbm.
For some reason Holmes gets overlooked when the greats of that era are mentioned. Great mover, excellent defence and the best jab in the business.
Larry Holmes was a GREAT FIGHTER he never seems to get the merit he truly deserved, If he was around today in his prime he’d clean out the Heavyweight Division.. he’d lay waste to all of em - Fury, Usyk, Joshua.. the lot …👊🥊
Larry Homes jab it was a laser
Ali said he thought Shavers was the hardest hitter he fought. 😮
When boxers earned their money different league from today.
I remember watching this on TV live when I was just a teenager.
Two Great Warriors .
That Holmes jab was a huge weapon, not sure how he got up.
Larry one of the greats. Shame, never got the credit he richly deserved. An all time great heavyweight champion.
Earnie was one of the hardest hitters ever.Ali said too
4:52 - you're welcome. That was an absolute howitzer.
Muhammed Ali said Ernie Shavers had the hardest punch of any man he ever faced. How Larry got up after being laid flat twice by this man is beyond imagination. Maybe Ernie forgot to eat his Wheaties that morning, sheesh what a crappy way to go down.
The most spectacular event in the fight wasn't a knockout, but a knockdown
Unbelievable that Larry was underrated as a champ! Knocked down twice by a fighter that many heavyweights says is the hardest puncher they’ve ever fought…Shavers…get up and win the fight! AMAZING! Boxing was soooo much fun to watch back then. The fighters all held their opponents in the highest regards.
Brutal fight. This was not boxing, this was gladiatorial. Both guys went at each other like gladiators. Phenomenal display of boxing skills too. I think the spotlight remained too much on Muhammad Ali for too long, and still does, because Larry Holmes and Earnie Shavers too, were clearly something else too. Evidently, Muhammad Ali was first among equals, not "The Greatest" per se. Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
@@MundiaKamau Great comment. To many, including myself, Ali was an remains the greatest heavyweight of all time. There are some challengers but Ali almost always comes out on top. It’s difficult to dispute it. No other boxer had to endure or had obstacles as did Ali who despite them was stripped of his championship, couldn’t fight for years, and later went on to again become World Champion. And he beat them all. There were some absolute gladiators in the ring back then and not only with the heavyweights. Legendary fighters…Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray, Erny Shavers, Roberto Duran , etc.
@@oldsingingstudentdougbillf1665I hear you, thanks for your take, and thanks for the compliment too. Muhammad Ali is an icon no doubt, but there is that element too to him being overrated, to his stature being exaggerated.
I agree with you that Ali overcame obstacles, though obstacles no bigger than other boxing icons, of his time, before, and after, such as, as you mention, Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, Earnie Shavers, and Roberto Duran.
Roberto Duran, for example, grew up in poverty in an informal settlement in Panama. Joe Frazier was a farmhand and a thief, before becoming a top boxer, and George Foreman was a thief before becoming a top boxer. Boxing gave a life to several boxing icons of our time, not just in the United States, but all over the world.
If anything, Muhammad Ali was privileged to have grown up middle class. What got Ali into boxing? His bicycle was stolen and he therefore went to a boxing gym to learn how to box so that he would teach the person who stole his bicycle "a lesson," when he caught up with him. Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay), owned a bicycle as a teenager, and owing a bicycle was a luxury for many boxers of his time who rose from "rags to riches."
For example, there was a love-hate relationship between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, and I could be wrong, but I detect that Frazier never quite fully forgave Ali for the names Ali called him, including referring to Frazier as "an Uncle Tom" and as "an Ugly Gorilla." Muhammad Ali even referred to boxing legend Joe Louis as "an Uncle Tom," Joe Louis who had an iconic stature in the African-American community long before Ali emerged on the scene.
The names Ali called Frazier may have been part of "psychological warfare" for Ali, may have been nothing more than "public entertainment" for Ali, but maybe not for Frazier, not least because of Ali's privileged background vis-a-vis Frazier's not so privileged background. If Frazier and Ali had grown up in similar circumstances, if Frazier and Ali had similar backgrounds, I don't think Frazier would have taken Ali's name calling as much to heart as Frazier did.
Ali also went went too far by referring to White people as "devils." When Ali was stripped of his title and boxing licence in 1967, he partly survived by going around America giving lectures to college students, and at one point, some White college students had the courage to ask him why he took "White money" if he had such a big grudge against White people?
What the White students were referring to is the fact that Ali's fights and pay cheques were heavily endorsed, supported, bankrolled and financed by White owned companies, enterprises and organisations.
Ali's answer was wholly unsatisfactory, with Ali saying that American money was not "White," but green, "the green buck," as you Americans say.
So Ali was hypocritical in no less way than society in general all over the world. Even in Ali taking "the high moral ground" not to serve in Vietnam was hollow and hypocritical, because Ali married his first wife when she was only a girl of 16 years old. Girls, anywhere in the world, should not be allowed to get married at such a tender age. What Ali did back then by marrying a 16 year old girl was statutory rape, ironically coming from a person, Ali that is, who "defied" the "immoral" American Government draft to serve in Vietnam. What's more is that almost all Americans, regardless of race, did not have the luxury of defying the American Government draft to serve in Vietnam, because they did not have the luxury of options that Ali had, such as, as stated, making money from lectures to college students across America.
Therefore, was Muhammad Ali "a revolutionary and a prophet," or was he a self-seeker?
Like I say above, Muhammad Ali went through challenges to reach where he reached, but they were not challenges any greater than those his contemporaries faced in reaching where they reached too. If anything, Ali had "a softer landing" in getting to where he got, owing to his middle class upbringing, a middle class upbringing that almost all boxing greats of his time did not have.
Related to this is Ali's championship fight with George Foreman of 30th October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire, today the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ali's defeat of Foreman was a masterpiece, a modern day reenactment of "David vs. Goliath." That fight was and is a trendsetter and trailblazer that we can all learn life lessons of different kinds from, such as, to never take an opponent for granted, which Foreman did, by taking Ali for granted, and "assuming" that he would knock out Ali in the either the first or second round.
However Ali refused to fight Foreman a second time, refused to grant Foreman a rematch fight, a second George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali fight, possibly in 1975 or 1976, so in this regard, we will never really be able to know if Muhammad Ali was truly "The Greatest." Maybe a reinvigorated George Foreman, a George Foreman who had learned important lessons, would have convincingly beaten Ali in a second fight, possibly in 1975 or 1976.
Related to the Foreman-Ali fight of 1974 is the fact that both men were paid US $ 5 million each, US $ 10 million in total, for a fight that neither Zaire nor Africa could either afford nor needed. Zaire's President at the time, Mobutu Sese Seko, should not have committed US $ 10 million of his country's scarce resources to finance the fight. US $ 10 million in 1974, is the equivalent of about US $ 64 million today in 2024.
Ali did not pump any of his US $ 5 million into either Africa's development and progression, nor into the development and progression of Americans, regardless of race, and neither did Foreman.
I state that the Foreman-Ali fight of 1974 was a game changer with life lessons, but in contradicting myself all at one go, another life lesson from the Foreman-Ali fight of 1974, is that it left Zaire and Africa US $ 10 million poorer as at 1974, and for what? We in Africa could have used that US $ 10 million on more meaningful things beneficial to ourselves and to Africa.
I am from Kenya, in East Africa, and Zaire (today the Democratic Republic of Congo), is in Central Africa, about 1,250 miles away from Kenya, but nevertheless, the loss of one African country is the loss of all African countries.
Muhammad Ali did not quite help benefit African society nor American society with his winnings in 1974, and neither did George Foreman.
So to what extent therefore is Muhammad Ali, "The Greatest," both as a boxer and as a person, based on this? George Foreman's winnings in 1974 were George Foreman's, not anyone else's, and Muhammad Ali's winnings in 1974 too were Muhammad Ali's, not anyone else's, so why should Muhammad Ali be regarded as "greater" than George Foreman, or "greater," in general, than all boxers of all time?
Add to this that Muhammad Ali refused to fight George Foreman a second time, and this only further takes away from Muhammad Ali as being truly, "The greatest of all time."
Best Regards, Michael M. Kamau, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, 7th January 2024.
I hate to dislike Hommes for messing up Ali badly, but he's records makes him one of the top 10 heavyweights in history. Boxing would suffer without greats like Hommes
Holmes getting up from that (first one, second was a slip) was a lot like when Fury got up from Wilder blasting him.
Like Undertaker shit
I think Larry was out on his feet but the drop probably woke him up. In any case, what an amazing boxer ...skill, heart, chin ... A great talent.
Even though Ernie Shavers has passed away. I still want to see him win the heavyweight championship! So close!! He took some losses and got knocked out sometimes. He came back every time! A great fighter.. Great puncher.