Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
*The philosopher is true to his name with that awesome breakdown of Cris Byrd...
*U guys aren't gunna believe this ,but my whole Holmes debate was really to get to this point... cuz i knew people would debate Cris Bird. Man, i forgot about James Thunder.
*Another point i liked from "the philosopher"is what he said about Jamile Mccline. Mccline was a beast.. a true heavyweight in a heavyweits body. People forget just how tough and threatening this man really was.
p.s.. if i misspell alot, please excuse ,as i am posting from my phone....
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bigstinkybug
*The philosopher is true to his name with that awesome breakdown of Cris Byrd...
*U guys aren't gunna believe this ,but my whole Holmes debate was really to get to this point... cuz i knew people would debate Cris Bird. Man, i forgot about James Thunder.
*Another point i liked from "the philosopher"is what he said about Jamile Mccline. Mccline was a beast.. a true heavyweight in a heavyweits body. People forget just how tough and threatening this man really was.
p.s.. if i misspell alot, please excuse ,as i am posting from my phone....
Mccline was built like a monster. To bad he fought like a pussy. The way he went down and coward in a corner against Wlad was pathitic.
Byrd-Williamson remains one of the worse I fights I ever seen in life.
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jimanuel Boogustus
I never really liked Byrd as a heavyweight until I realised he was never really a heavyweight.
A very very brave man.
http://boxingfights.net/chris-byrd.jpg
So i am assume you don't rate 185lb marciano, 205lb frazier and 195lb patterson as HW's too? Chris byrd at 210/15lbs (his average weight) is not a HW?? Prime foreman only weighed 3 lbs more....idiotic statement.
The ignorance on the subject of Chris Byrd and the idea that he is a "blown up middleweight" simply amazes me.
Chris Byrd turned pro in January '93 at a weight of about 169 pounds. By his third fight Byrd was fighting at above 205 pounds. In only his ninth fight and his seventh at heavyweight, Byrd defeated 6'6 Mike Rouse for the Vacant USBA Heavyweight Title. Chris Byrd has fought 47 times in his professional career, 44 of those fights have been at heavyweight. Byrd has weighed well over 205 pounds for each of those fights, and if that doesn't make him a heavyweight, then I don't know what would. He weighed 215 for holy and tua....
I am sure that the Byrd watchers will say that Byrd fought at Middleweight as an amateur, but I have to say that many a heavyweight fought at the lower weights as an amateur. Professional ranks is a whole new story. Ali, Tony Tucker, Michael Moorer, Evander Holyfield, these are just a very few of the many heavyweight champions who fought at lower weights as amateurs. In Michael Moorers case he fought at Jr. Middleweight.
The pressure of making the 165 pound limit may have cost Byrd a gold medal, this is a subject that no one cares to talk about but the truth is Byrd's weight hovered around 180 when not training in early '92. These are Byrds own words. Again I point out if Byrd is a blown up middleweight then why in '92 was he struggling to make the 165 pound weight limit for the Olympic Games?
Who started the myth about Byrd being a blown up middleweight? I don't know. It could have been any number of writers or was it Byrd himself? Was the reason to gain a mental edge over other fighters? Was it to get the big fights? Only Byrd knows that. Byrd is a heavyweight version of Pernell Whitaker. Both at elusive, defensive and very hard to hit. These aspects of his game make him a very boring fighter to watch.
Chris Byrd makes all fighters look bad. Even in his first defeat against Ibeabuchi, Ike did not look like a killing machine. Byrds plan of making Ibeabuchi miss him with his back to the ropes and then countering was working. The fight was dead even going into the fifth. Judges scores after the fourth round were: 38-38, 39-37 for Ibeabuchi, and 39-37 for Byrd. A left hook-uppercut by Ibeabuchi that Byrd never saw coming ended the fight. Byrd has admitted that he learned a lesson from that fight, "Stay the hell off of the ropes".
Byrd has gained a lot of attention for his fights with the Klitschko brothers. I personally feel that this is the reason people like to reiterate the "Byrd Myth" (he is a blown up middleweight that is fighting giants). The truth is that Byrd is a heavyweight fighting bigger heavyweights.
He is far from the "Blown up middleweight Myth" that everyone likes to repeat. Chris Byrds own history will tell you that he has spent 95% of his career as a heavyweight.
Chis Byrd enjoys the idea of being a blown up middleweight, so much so that he repeats the Myth himself. I am sure that he knows the truth and I hope now many of you do as well.
In fact he was so desperate towards his career end that he tried cutting to 175lbs in way too short a time, looked desperately ill in doing so and performed horrendously.
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
Doesn't matter if he was a blown up middleweight or not. He still fought like one. Byrd was an acquired taste of a fighter. You either liked him or you didn't. I never cared much for him. Found him boring and his stupid ass wife annoying. Seeing Byrd go on a crack diet and drop all the way down to 175 only to get his ass beat by a mediocre fighter was great.
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
Larry Holmes was a great fighter no doubt.
Greatest of all time? No chance IMO. He had no real top notch competitors whilst in his prime and to be that GOAT, you must have the fights that define you. Wlad really reminds me a lot of Holmes. He too is in a poor era of HW boxing and it will be hard to place him in an all time list due to this fact.
I agree that Holmes beat Spinks though, but I actually think he was robbed due to the fact that in the 80's racism was still much more apparent in the media and I basically think they didn't want a black man to take a white mans record. Then again had he dealt with Spinks in the way a true HW should against a LHW (like Tyson did) then it couldn't have happened anyway.
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
Some of ali's oponents:
-Patterson weighed 188½lbs.
-Quarry weighed 190lbs.
-Frazier 205½lbs for there 1st fight..
-Bob Foster Weighed 180lbs for the ali fight.
-Jimmy elliss was 185LBS for the ali fight.
-Henry-Cooper weighed 185LBS.
-Karl mildenberger 195lbs.
-Leon spinks 197¼ lbs.
-Zora folley 202½.
-Archie moore 191lbs.
-Doug jones 188 lbs.
etc etc
So how is byrd not a HW?????
Chris Byrd 215 lbs beat David Tua 233 lbs by UD in round 12 of 12
Chris Byrd 214 lbs beat Evander Holyfield 220 lbs by UD in round 12 of 12
Chris Byrd 210½ lbs drew with Andrew Golota 237½ lbs by PTS in round 12 of 12
Chris Byrd 214 lbs beat Jameel McCline 270 lbs by SD in round 12 of 12
Wladimir Klitschko 238 lbs beat Chris Byrd 213½ lbs by UD in round 12 of 12
Chris Byrd 217¼ lbs beat Maurice Harris 224½ lbs by UD in round 12 of 12
Chris Byrd 215 lbs beat Jimmy Thunder 230 lbs by TKO at 1:07 in round 9 of 10
Chris Byrd 213 lbs beat DaVarryl Williamson 225 lbs by UD in round 12 of 12
I don't understand how byrd is not a HW? Holyfield fought as a CW, Michael moorer as a LHW!!
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
For the record prime Holmes batters the living day lights out of Chris Byrd. Holmes would set him up with the jab and finish him off with the right hand.
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
For the record prime Holmes batters the living day lights out of Chris Byrd. Holmes would set him up with the jab and finish him off with the right hand.
I couldn't agree more. Byrd was a decent HW. He could give anyone a half decent fight on his night but Holmes is an ATG and as much as he irritates me these days that cannot and never will be taken away from him.
Re: Larry Holmes---greatest of all-tıme?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rjj tszyu
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
For the record prime Holmes batters the living day lights out of Chris Byrd. Holmes would set him up with the jab and finish him off with the right hand.
I couldn't agree more. Byrd was a decent HW. He could give anyone a half decent fight on his night but Holmes is an ATG and as much as he irritates me these days that cannot and never will be taken away from him.
And I'll "third" that remark. I'm a certified Holmes-HATER... but still... there's no way Chris Byrd comes anywhere near close to beating Holmes. Holmes sweeps the canvas with Byrd 10 times out of 10.