I’ve fought Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Muhammad Ali but my toughest opponent was ‘Jaw Breaker’
Larry Holmes has fought a raft of iconic heavyweight sluggers but there was one that gave him a night he won’t forget. ‘The Easton Assassin’ is widely viewed as one of the best blue-riband division operators of all-time, having competed as a professional for a mammoth 29 years. Holmes went toe-to-toe with boxing’s biggest punchersgetty During his time at the peak of his powers, Holmes reigned as a heavyweight world champion for seven years. He possessed an incredible one-of-a-kind skillset rarely seen in the sweet science, which included a frighteningly accurate jab. It saw him touch gloves with greats from multiple eras including Muhammad Ali, ferocious punching Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. But despite facing the most formidable opposition, it was icon Ken Norton who stood out as his toughest opponent. He told TMZ: “No [it wasn’t Mike Tyson], my toughest fight was Kenny Norton. “I fought Tyson when I was kinda over the hill a little bit. But you know what, I did what I did at that time. “I had retired then come back and fought Mike Tyson and I wasn’t really in shape for it. “But if I had to do it all over again I would have taken more time and done it right.” Norton in himself was a true powerhouse of the heavyweight division, reigning as a WBC champion in his career. He too fought Ali and famously beat ‘The Greatest’ in 1973, a true upset for the record books. Norton is considered the toughest fighting some of boxing’s bestGetty ‘Jaw Breaker’ carried crushing power and was involved in a huge slug-fest with Holmes in the first defence of his title in 1978. Holmes was victorious in a brutal war on the scorecards, but it went down as a fan favourite classic. Norton retired in 1981 with a stacked resume, but went down with a brave bow as he was battered by Gerry Cooney. Holmes’ bout with Tyson was seen as a true changing of the guard in the glamour division, with the latter having a perfect 32-0 record and all of the titles. The ferocious KO was a sign that the former was declining from his best years, but he continued to compete nonetheless. He was still capable of producing real intelligent brilliance and went on a winning streak before meeting Holyfield in 1992. GettyHolmes came up short against Ali and Tyson[/caption] But again he came up against a younger and fresher heavyweight, who got the better of him on the scorecards. Holmes failed to reach the levels of his past with two more defeats coming against Oliver McCall and Brian Nielsen before the end of his career. But unlike Norton he was able to go out on a high outpointing Butterbean in 2002 before hanging up his gloves. Alongside Tyson, Holyfield and Ali, his name is remembered by the boxing fraternity as one of the best to ever do it. Fans had the pleasure of seeing him do battle with icons of all eras, but will only be devastated he was able to take on Holyfield and Tyson in his devastating prime. Follow talkBOXING on social media talkBOXING is now on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us on social media for big breaking boxing news, exclusive interviews and the best bits from our talkBOXING YouTube show. Like our Facebook page HERE Follow us on Twitter HERE Sign up for our WhatsApp channel HERE
Larry Holmes has fought a raft of iconic heavyweight sluggers but there was one that gave him a night he won’t forget.
‘The Easton Assassin’ is widely viewed as one of the best blue-riband division operators of all-time, having competed as a professional for a mammoth 29 years.
During his time at the peak of his powers, Holmes reigned as a heavyweight world champion for seven years.
He possessed an incredible one-of-a-kind skillset rarely seen in the sweet science, which included a frighteningly accurate jab.
It saw him touch gloves with greats from multiple eras including Muhammad Ali, ferocious punching Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
But despite facing the most formidable opposition, it was icon Ken Norton who stood out as his toughest opponent.
He told TMZ: “No [it wasn’t Mike Tyson], my toughest fight was Kenny Norton.
“I fought Tyson when I was kinda over the hill a little bit. But you know what, I did what I did at that time.
“I had retired then come back and fought Mike Tyson and I wasn’t really in shape for it.
“But if I had to do it all over again I would have taken more time and done it right.”
Norton in himself was a true powerhouse of the heavyweight division, reigning as a WBC champion in his career.
He too fought Ali and famously beat ‘The Greatest’ in 1973, a true upset for the record books.
‘Jaw Breaker’ carried crushing power and was involved in a huge slug-fest with Holmes in the first defence of his title in 1978.
Holmes was victorious in a brutal war on the scorecards, but it went down as a fan favourite classic.
Norton retired in 1981 with a stacked resume, but went down with a brave bow as he was battered by Gerry Cooney.
Holmes’ bout with Tyson was seen as a true changing of the guard in the glamour division, with the latter having a perfect 32-0 record and all of the titles.
The ferocious KO was a sign that the former was declining from his best years, but he continued to compete nonetheless.
He was still capable of producing real intelligent brilliance and went on a winning streak before meeting Holyfield in 1992.
But again he came up against a younger and fresher heavyweight, who got the better of him on the scorecards.
Holmes failed to reach the levels of his past with two more defeats coming against Oliver McCall and Brian Nielsen before the end of his career.
But unlike Norton he was able to go out on a high outpointing Butterbean in 2002 before hanging up his gloves.
Alongside Tyson, Holyfield and Ali, his name is remembered by the boxing fraternity as one of the best to ever do it.
Fans had the pleasure of seeing him do battle with icons of all eras, but will only be devastated he was able to take on Holyfield and Tyson in his devastating prime.
