Holmes was a bit of a whiner, but some of it was understandable, he was always in Ali's shadow and never really got the respect he deserved. Part of that however had to do with Larry having the charisma of a carrot and never being a popular champion.
I remember when Holmes fought Cooney in Vegas, it was like Cooney was the Champion, they even introduced him last like they would the champion. I heard the crowd in Vegas was really racist, the great white hope thing.