Larry Holmes on Lennox Lewis' jab (Sept. 19, 2011)

HOLMES: No, Lennox Lewis doesn’t have no jab! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you off, but Lennox Lewis don’t have no jab. He ain’t never had a jab. He got Emanuel Steward and Emanuel Steward was trying to teach him how to jab. He don’t have no jab! Lennox Lewis don’t have no jab, he has no heart, but if he gets started on you he’s got the biggest heart in the world and he’s going to kill you. But I have seen the dog come out of Lennox Lewis a couple of times when he fought, and I don’t think he had it. And he never had the jab! So don’t even put him in there and talk about his jab because he ain’t never had a jab.
CIANI: So how do you think you at your best would have matched up against a prime Lewis?
HOLMES: Listen man, I don’t go that way. If I went the way I would tell you and people would be mad at me because there is nobody in boxing history that would have beaten me if I was in my prime at the same time as them. I don’t feel that anybody could beat me. Then that’s everybody’s opinion. When you say you could beat Joe Louis, or Marciano, or Dempsey or anybody else. Oh no you couldn’t! You could beat Ali. Oh no you couldn’t! So I don’t even get in that. I always say to everybody if you ask me who the greatest fighter of all time is I’m going to say me! Larry Holmes! If you ask to take me out of the picture, yeah I can take me out of the picture and say maybe Muhammad Ali, maybe Joe Louis, maybe Rocky Marciano, maybe Dempsey. I can say that! But when you ask me the question I’m going to say Larry Holmes and that’s the way I’ve always done that.

I respect Larry....but he runs his mouth off and sounds like a complete cock jock....if we had a Holmes v Lewis in their primes we would have had a good fight not a great fight.....it would have been a jab-fest and it would have been close....I really couldn't say who would win but I can tell you I would have liked Lewis to win cause hes got more class than that dirty foul mouthed street talking jive ase Mofo!!!


Job Biscuit (Recovering)!!!


eh eh!!!

Larry can be irritating at times. I mean Lewis didn't have a jab?? Give me a break! I DO believe Holmes had a better one than Lewis but Lennox still had an excellent jab, in fact it was his best weapon. I think I might actually go for Lennox to beat Holmes too, I mean we all talk about Lewis' defeats but don't forget Holmes in his prime was given a very hard fight against Witherspoon, now I personally think Lewis would have made short work of Witherspoon. I may be wrong but I think it would have been a Bonecrusher moment.

Of course this doesn't tell us much, it's the old horses for courses factor and how well two guys do against a common opponent can be very misleading. I just feel Lewis had more in his arsenal than Holmes.

Another irritating point about Holmes is he refuses to accept he may not have been the greatest boxer ever and if you use logic when he is questioned he rubbishes it. I once saw an interview where he was asked how he would have gone on against Ali a few years earlier and he just says he would have done the same and Holmes made Ali look shot. But then later on in the same interview he was asked how he feels he would have fared against Tyson when he was younger and he says he was on the slide and it would have never happened like that in his prime (something I actually agree with). The thing is Holmes against Tyson was around the same age as Ali when he face Holmes yet he is allowed to be on the slide and Ali (though he clearly was) was not.

i agree alot with this. but its true Larry was 2 years out of training when he fought Tyson. Its his fault though not to get in tip top shape. You cant take a fight and then say you werent in shape. I still think a 1984 Holmes beats Tyson.

I also think Holmes pulls out a win over Lewis, but there will be no KO. YOU JUST CAN'T KO LARRY HOLMES. EARNIE SHAVERS KNOWS ABOUT THAT ONE. ;)

Holmes had the best jab only Ali and Louis come close. Lewis was certainly good with it but not as good as Holmes. Larry was the better and greater fighter. If they fought Holmes would feel the Lewis jab for sure as he knew how to use his height and reach.

Far and away the best jabber Lewis ever fought was Ray Mercer, who gave him a VERY close fight working mostly behind his jab, although having a much shorter reach. A while later the CORPSE of Larry Holmes was able to beat the same Mercer quite handily working behind his own jab. I think it's really quite unlikely Lewis wouldn't get his ass owned by a peak Holmes, who nearly matched his size and clearly did have a better jab. Holmes had big trouble with some guys he was better than as did Lewis, but Holmes(despite getting hit more often and with better shots) always got up. I think Lewis actually get's a bit of a pass for his losses due to the nature of them. People assume oh he got caught it happens.. Who's to say that he wouldn't have taken a further beating against McCall and Rahman had he had Holmes recouperative powers and fought on:confused: I know Lewis didn't have a bad chin, but aside from Shannon Briggs he never beat anyone who was able to dent it. Lewis never clearly beat a good fighter who had a jab that gave him problems either. Even Evander had a lot of success working his way inside with it in their rematch.

I forgot the fight with Bruno. He gave him a lot of trouble with his jab early on and LEwis beat him, but that only makes me more confident Holmes would've owned him although Lewis became much better than that.

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

Anybody else here the voice of the barber from "Coming to America" when they read that interview? Anyway I'm taking Larry in a gut-wrenching UD.

I like Holmes well enough and he was a hell of a fighter, but he had about as much charisma as a potato, and I can't ever remember getting excited about watching a Larry Holmes fight. I believe Ali in his prime would have schooled Holmes, and Tyson would have knocked Holmes out even in his prime. As for Lewis vs prime Holmes, i'd give the nod to Lewis.

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

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Larry Holmes had a torn bicep, and beat Ken Norton more convincingly than Muhammad Ali ever did. He was hit by possibly the hardest hitting Heavyweight of all time, right on the button and he was up within 4 seconds. Shook it off and then handed Earnie Shaver's his ass.

Larry Holmes would outpoint Lennox Lewis quite clearly.

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

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Larry Holmes had a torn bicep, and beat Ken Norton more convincingly than Muhammad Ali ever did. He was hit by possibly the hardest hitting Heavyweight of all time, right on the button and he was up within 4 seconds. Shook it off and then handed Earnie Shaver's his ass.

Larry Holmes would outpoint Lennox Lewis quite clearly.

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The word 'Convincing' when talking about Holmes' win over Norton should never be used.

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Originally Posted by BIG H

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

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Larry Holmes had a torn bicep, and beat Ken Norton more convincingly than Muhammad Ali ever did. He was hit by possibly the hardest hitting Heavyweight of all time, right on the button and he was up within 4 seconds. Shook it off and then handed Earnie Shaver's his ass.

Larry Holmes would outpoint Lennox Lewis quite clearly.

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The word 'Convincing' when talking about Holmes' win over Norton should never be used.

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I said more convincing than Muhammad Ali in his 3 fights with Ken Norton, but i still think its overrated as a close fight i had Larry Holmes winning 9-6. And i think you'd have to be bit biased to Ken Norton to have him winning.

He lost too many early rounds atleast 7 of the first 9 rounds, and didn't win enough late rounds.

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by BIG H

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

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Larry Holmes had a torn bicep, and beat Ken Norton more convincingly than Muhammad Ali ever did. He was hit by possibly the hardest hitting Heavyweight of all time, right on the button and he was up within 4 seconds. Shook it off and then handed Earnie Shaver's his ass.

Larry Holmes would outpoint Lennox Lewis quite clearly.

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The word 'Convincing' when talking about Holmes' win over Norton should never be used.

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I said more convincing than Muhammad Ali in his 3 fights with Ken Norton, but i still think its overrated as a close fight i had Larry Holmes winning 9-6. And i think you'd have to be bit biased to Ken Norton to have him winning.

He lost too many early rounds atleast 7 of the first 9 rounds, and didn't win enough late rounds.

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If neither thing is 'convincing' then neither can me more 'convincing' but that's just me been a kunt ;D

Holmes deffo beat Norton, I had Norton winning a lot of the middle rounds, but had Holmes by 2 rounds. He could and should've won the fight much more convincingly, this was a veteran Norton.

My thoughts on Holmes are, that he could possibly be the greatest HW ever, but the lack of any defining (real defining) fights means we really don't know just how good he was.

Larry Holmes always found a way to win. Perhaps his greatest most exciting wins were against Witherspoon and Weaver, as he was in some serious shite several times, Angelo Dundee screaming at the top of his lungs to Gil Clancy, high drama no doubt.
Larry Holmes was the Man. Greatest chin ever maybe, greatest jab ever maybe, and determination galore. He definitely beats Lewis. Definitely. Even if he gets knocked down. He DEFINITELY beats Lewis. Check this out---I for one ALWAYS loved his fights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHJo6nboQj4

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Originally Posted by BIG H

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by BIG H

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

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Larry Holmes had a torn bicep, and beat Ken Norton more convincingly than Muhammad Ali ever did. He was hit by possibly the hardest hitting Heavyweight of all time, right on the button and he was up within 4 seconds. Shook it off and then handed Earnie Shaver's his ass.

Larry Holmes would outpoint Lennox Lewis quite clearly.

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The word 'Convincing' when talking about Holmes' win over Norton should never be used.

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I said more convincing than Muhammad Ali in his 3 fights with Ken Norton, but i still think its overrated as a close fight i had Larry Holmes winning 9-6. And i think you'd have to be bit biased to Ken Norton to have him winning.

He lost too many early rounds atleast 7 of the first 9 rounds, and didn't win enough late rounds.

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If neither thing is 'convincing' then neither can me more 'convincing' but that's just me been a kunt ;D

Holmes deffo beat Norton, I had Norton winning a lot of the middle rounds, but had Holmes by 2 rounds. He could and should've won the fight much more convincingly, this was a veteran Norton.

My thoughts on Holmes are, that he could possibly be the greatest HW ever, but the lack of any defining (real defining) fights means we really don't know just how good he was.

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I feel Ken Norton was as good as he was against Muhammad Ali in 3rd fight, and remember Larry Holmes did have torn bicep. But im glad you see the scoring as i did, i feel Larry Holmes dominated scoring wise in the 1st half of the fight.

You could say Gerry Cooney fight was a defining fight, i know people now like to say Gerry Cooney was just a pretender. But at the time he'd dominated Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle, Ken Norton, that's good form.

I think Holmes was a sucker for a right hand, usually when he was on his jab and seeing as Lewis usually got rough when he got outjabbed, i can definately see Holmes hitting the deck at some point or more but overall i think Holmes had big enough balls, a good enough brain and the right tools to at least make it look like he was giving Lewis a bit of a boxing lesson.

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

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Reading that actually made me cringe... He was LUCKY to get off the deck after being hit with that punch? How in the hell does one even think to write shit like that. He was hit with a wrecking ball by one of the best HW punchers of all time. In any other instance where a man takes that kind of trauma to the head, if he's walking upright within hours, hell within days, you'd think holy christ that guy is tough as nails. MEanwhile Holmes gets up in SEVEN SECONDS, goes on to defend himself from further bombs, survives the round and wins the next one and the fight. Where does good fortune come into play exactly Einstein?

Agreed Holmes had an amazing chin second only to Ali, how he got up is a miracle, same when Tyson caught him with that right hand. Holmes got up and took a fearful beating. Holmes chin and recuperative powers was what made him great, whereas it failed with Lewis.

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Originally Posted by p4pking

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Originally Posted by THE THIRD MAN

Larry 'Mr Humble' Holmes...mmm was very lucky to beat Ken Norton, was incredibly lucky to get off the floor after Shavers nailed him. Holmes was a great HW and i believe he would beat Lewis, but Larry please stop blowing your own horn will ya?

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Reading that actually made me cringe... He was LUCKY to get off the deck after being hit with that punch? How in the hell does one even think to write shit like that. He was hit with a wrecking ball by one of the best HW punchers of all time. In any other instance where a man takes that kind of trauma to the head, if he's walking upright within hours, hell within days, you'd think holy christ that guy is tough as nails. MEanwhile Holmes gets up in SEVEN SECONDS, goes on to defend himself from further bombs, survives the round and wins the next one and the fight. Where does good fortune come into play exactly Einstein?

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Well Professor Genius, sorry to be questionable when i should have consulted you first. Obviously the forum should shut down as you know the whole fucking box and dice!
Holmes was LUCKY to get up from that punch! There is no suggestion at all of his ability to go on and win the fight, can you fucking read? Scorecards at the end of 14 rounds with Norton were all tied up, he won the final round and the fight by SD. Shavers hit him with a punch that would knock out 99 out of 100 opponents. It didn't knock out Larry Holmes and to his credit he went on to win the fight, that is why he is regarded as one of the best HW champions ever. Do you think you can try and be a little more anaylitcal with your posts? Holmes was mighty fortunate in this fight with Shavers, later in his career he was not! "You don't know shit about boxing" ~ Floyd Mayweather jr

I don't think either of us know the first thing about boxing technically chief, just pointing out that it's moronic to say any fighter getting up from a punch is lucky to have done so. My arguement was that anyone who isn't indeed quite thick should be able to respect that, thanks for cementing it.

Larry has always been somehat lacking in the class and dignity department, but he was always a balanced human being because he had a chip on BOTH shoulders.

Holmes would struggle against Lewis early on, as Lennox was a fantastic specimen who knew exactly how to use his physical attributes to his greatest advantage in the ring.

By the middle rounds though, Holmes begins to work him out and starts to time him nicely before breaking him up slowly and methodically. Ref jumps in to stop Lewis taking too much punishment in 8 or 9 rounds.

No disrespect to Lewis, but he was a magnificent ATHLETE, and Holmes was a tough, skilled FIGHTER.

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Originally Posted by X

Larry has always been somehat lacking in the class and dignity department, but he was always a balanced human being because he had a chip on BOTH shoulders.

Holmes would struggle against Lewis early on, as Lennox was a fantastic specimen who knew exactly how to use his physical attributes to his greatest advantage in the ring.

By the middle rounds though, Holmes begins to work him out and starts to time him nicely before breaking him up slowly and methodically. Ref jumps in to stop Lewis taking too much punishment in 8 or 9 rounds.

No disrespect to Lewis, but he was a magnificent ATHLETE, and Holmes was a tough, skilled FIGHTER.

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Agreed but think Lewis could hold on to see the final scores.