The legendary fighters of the twentieth century and to this day are worthy of our attention. Their highest training and spectacular fights attract the attention of many martial arts fans. The clearest proof of this can be the fights that the greatest Larry Holmes once had.
Beginning of life
A future member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame was born November 3, 1949 in Georgia. His childhood can be described as the fight against poverty. The guy's father was forced to live away from the family and only occasionally visit her to bring money. Larry Holmes himself dropped out of school and went to work as a car wash for one dollar per hour. A little later, the young man worked as a dump truck driver at a quarry.
Amateur Fights
Given the fact that Larry Holmes has always been a very tall guy, his arrival in the boxing section turned out to be quite logical to some extent. His first coach was Ernie Butler, who also once boxed in the pro ring. Holmes's amateur career was not too long. He spent only 22 fights, of which only 3 lost.
Professional achievements
The debut of a fighter in the status of a professional took place in March 1973. By the way, a remarkable moment: Larry Holmes is a boxer who at the dawn of his professional career was a sparring partner of Ali, Young and Fraser.
Fame and popularity fell on the American after his fight with Ernie Shavers, which took place in March 1978. Holmes devastatingly won on points, thanks to which he became an official contender for the world title. And in June of that year, Larry Holmes defeats Ken Norton and takes the belt of the WBC champion.
Title defenses
Until 1983, Larry held the belt of the best boxer. However, due to a high-profile conflict with the leadership of the WBC, he ceased to be a champion. Specifically for Holmes, the IBF organization was created, the popularity of which eventually reached the heights of the WBA and WBC levels.
Special attention deserves the fight of Holmes with Mohammed Ali. At the time of the fight (October 1980), Ali was already 38 years old. He was overweight and the speed of his strikes and movement fell significantly. The champion was extremely respectful to Ali, although he beat him great. As a result, at the request of his second, Mohammed did not reach the 10th round. This was the first early defeat of the legendary fighter.
First knockdown
November 1981 Holmes defends his belt against Renaldo Snipes. In the seventh round, the challenger manages to knock the champion down. Larry was able not only to reach the gong, but to knock out an opponent in the eleventh round.
Duel with Carl Williams
In September 1985, Larry Holmes, whose photo was in almost every sports magazine, fought with Carl Williams, who had no defeats at that time. For Larry, this fight was extremely difficult. His younger and more mobile rival often pierced the jab, thanks to which Holmes had severe swelling under his eyes after the fight. The result of the confrontation was the victory of our hero, though with a minimal advantage on points.
Fight with tyson
It was in this battle that Holmes suffered his first crushing defeat. In the fourth round, he falls three times on the canvas of the ring, because of which they were forced to call a doctor for help. Aggressive "Iron Mike" literally declassified the famous fighter. After the fight, Larry announced the end of his sports career, but ... ..
Return
In 1991, Holmes starts boxing again and wins five fights in a row. After a series of victories, Holmes gets the right to fight for the title of absolutely champion. Evander Hollyfield became his rival. Of course, forty-two-year-old Holmes could not defeat the champion at the peak of his career, but Holmes managed to ask Evander a good bashing.
Professional achievements
Larry Holmes, whose biography is full of many confrontations, completed his performances in the ring in 2002 on a major note, defeating Eric Ash on points. And this is at the age of 53, which in itself is a record.
In addition, the American was marked by such a serious record as eight consecutive defenses of the title by knockout.
Holmes also held the title for a very long time (seven years and three months). In this indicator, he is second only to Vladimir Klitschko and Joe Louis. The total number of consecutive defenses of the title of the best boxer in the world at Holmes is equal to twenty.
In 1998, a former champion published his autobiographical book.