Larry Holmes pulled no punches inside or outside the ropes, and was never too fond of one fellow heavyweight icon.
Holmes was a legend in his own right, holding the world heavyweight title from 1978 to 1985, making an incredible 20 successful title defences during that time.
During his reign, he defeated the likes of Muhammad Ali — though Ali was far past his best — as well as Earnie Shavers and Trevor Berbick, but he lost his titles in back-to-back defeats to Michael Spinks and later suffered a knockout loss to Mike Tyson.
Holmes would have two further world title opportunities during the 1990s, coming up short in efforts against Evander Holyfield and Oliver McCall, but there is another notable name from that era that ‘The Easton Assassin’ never stepped in the ring with.
That man is Lennox Lewis, the former undisputed champion who many fans view as being one of the best heavyweights of all time.
It seems that Holmes doesn’t share that sentiment though, telling Boxing News that he doesn’t think there is anything impressive about what Lewis achieved.
“Lennox Lewis never impressed me. The guy got a punch, he’s big and strong and anything can happen. I wish him the best.”
In an interview with Boxing Insider, Holmes went more in depth. Asked where he rated Lewis amongst the best, he said:
“I don’t get into that ratings business. I don’t even rate myself. I let the media, the so-called experts, do it. But I can’t rate Lennox Lewis in the top one hundred as of yet because I’ve seen him get knocked out by someone, I’ve seen him quit – that was with Oliver McCall.
“So I can’t really rate him as a great champion yet. He’s just a guy that’s been lucky enough to fight guys that are not really qualified enough to be fighting for the title … somebody says, “He’s got a great jab”. Well, they haven’t seen a jab. They must have forgotten about MY jab.”
Lewis held world honours on numerous occasions and would become undisputed with a victory over Holyfield, whilst also defeating fighters such as Tyson, McCall and Vitali Klitschko during his career. He would eventually retire with a record of 41 wins from 44 fights. His two losses – one to McCall in their first meeting and another to Hasim Rahman – were avenged in rematches.
As for Holmes, he fought for the last time in 2002 nearly 30 years after his debut, with his final record standing at 69 wins from his 75 fights.
