Larry Holmes: Defending yourself, you protect the whole world!

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 fans of martial arts. The strongest proof of this can be the battles fought by the greatest Larry Holmes.

Beginning of life

The future member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame was born on November 3, 1949 in the state of Georgia. His childhood can be described as a fight against poverty. The boy's father was forced to live in the distance of the family and only occasionally to visit her to bring money. Larry Holmes himself quit school and went to work as a car wash for one dollar an hour. A little later the young man worked as a dump truck driver on a career.

Fights on the amateur level

Given the fact that Larry Holmes has always been a very tall guy, his arrival in the boxing section was to some extent quite natural. His first coach was Ernie Butler, who also boxed in his time at the time. The amateur career of Holmes was not too long. He spent only 22 fights, of which only 3 lost.

Professional achievements

The debut of the soldier 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, Yang and Fraser.

Glory and popularity hit the American after his fight with Ernie Shavers, which was held in March 1978. Holmes won a tremendous victory on points, so he became an official contender for the world title. And in June of the same year, Larry Holmes defeats Ken Norton and takes back the WBC champion belt.

Title Protection

In the period until 1983, Larry kept the belt of the best boxer. However, due to a loud conflict with the leadership of the WBC, he ceased to be a champion. Specially for Holmes, the organization IBF was created, whose popularity eventually reached the heights of the level of WBA and WBC.

Holmes' fight with Mohammed Ali deserves special attention . At the time of the fight (October 1980), Ali was already 38 years old. He was overweight and the speed of his punches and movement dropped significantly. The champion was extremely respectful of Ali, although he beat him well. As a result, at the request of his second, Mohammed did not go to the 10th round. This was the first early defeat of the legendary fighter.

First knockdown

November 1981. Holmes defends the belt against Renaldo Snipes. In the seventh round, the challenger manages to knock down the champion. Larry was able not only to stand up to the gong, but to knock out the opponent in the eleventh round.

Duel with Carl Williams

In September 1985, Larry Holmes, whose photo was in almost every sports magazine, was fighting with the then defeated Karl Williams. For Larry, this fight was extremely difficult. His younger and lively opponent often pierced the jab, thanks to which Holmes had a severe swelling under the 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 the first defeat of the owl. In the fourth round, he falls three times on the canvas ring, which is why he had to call a doctor to help. Aggressive "Iron Mike" literally declassed the famous fighter. After the battle, Larry announced the end of his sports career, but ... ..

Return

In 1991, Holmes again begins boxing and wins five fights in a row. After a series of victories Holmes gets the right to fight for the title of absolutely champion. His rival was Evander Hollyfield. 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 a lot of confrontations, completed his performances in the ring in 2002 on a positive note, beating Erik Esch on points. And this is at the age of 53, which in itself is a record.

In addition, the American noted and such a serious record, as eight consecutive defenses of the title by knockout.

Also Holmes very long owned the title (seven years and three months). On this indicator, he is second only to Vladimir Klitschko and Joe Louis. The total number of consecutive defending the title of the best boxer in the world at Holmes is twenty.

In 1998, the former champion published his autobiographical book.