QUESTION FOR GLYN LEACH

Captain Hook · Post by **Captain Hook** » 05 Mar 2008, 10:02

...and I don't have my own boxing 'kit" anymore so I'd have to borrow the slightly frayed sorts in the cupboard, a pair of black pumps and play in skins....

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 05 Mar 2008, 10:06

Glyn Leach wrote:It was Berbick that larry Holmes jumped over a car to chase wasn't it? That would have been worth seeing

here it is

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NAs6wfFGzl4

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 05 Mar 2008, 10:16

Crikey, Larry looked almost agile for a moment there! Cheers warrior

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 05 Mar 2008, 10:42

open any paper and you might see pictures of car crashes or accidents where people have died. never nice and the families are not contacted alot of the times.

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 05 Mar 2008, 10:54

Just as an FYI, the photo came from a very mainstream source, the Associated Press library (available to anyone), it was messy but there was nothing "backdoor" about the shot, as in a snide police evidence photo or something along those lines

Glyn Leach · Post by **Glyn Leach** » 05 Mar 2008, 10:54

That's not meant as a defence or anything, just a fact behind the story

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 05 Mar 2008, 12:01

Berbick and Holmes clashed for real in 1981 in a 15-rounder. Holmes was probably at his peak but couldn't dent the stocky Berbick and copped the challenger's big left hook a few times. But Larry well won on points in a battle of sour types.

overhand_right · Post by **overhand_right** » 06 Mar 2008, 06:44

Bennie, do you ever contribute in normal conversation? This weird 'press clipping' manner of yours is very unnerving.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 06 Mar 2008, 06:52

overhand_right wrote:Bennie, do you ever contribute in normal conversation? This weird 'press clipping' manner of yours is very unnerving.

Some of my stuff gets picked up (and I thus make a few quid). Incidentally, just watching the 15th and final round of Holmes-Berbick on youtube yesterday, 10 years before the infamous Holmes car jump; Holmes must have said something to Berbick at the final bell because Mills Lane jumps in front of Berbick.
Clearly, the two never got on.

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 06 Mar 2008, 08:28

I love the way Holmes behaved, he was the champ and no young guy was going to take his title.
He came up the hard way and earned every cent. And he's been a success story after boxing, not blown all his money.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 06 Mar 2008, 08:50

Holmes' fight with Berbick was his HBO debut I think, up to then he'd only ever been on network TV.
HBO even screened a Gerry Cooney fight before they offered Larry the chance to appear - even though he'd made around nine defences of his title. Yet another reason Larry had such a chip on his shoulder.

I don't remember seeing Holmes on UK TV until his next fight against Neon Leon...though maybe they showed the Ali massacre.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 06 Mar 2008, 08:55

MightyWarrior wrote:Holmes' fight with Berbick was his HBO debut I think, up to then he'd only ever been on network TV.
HBO even screened a Gerry Cooney fight before they offered Larry the chance to appear - even though he'd made around nine defences of his title. Yet another reason Larry had such a chip on his shoulder.

I don't remember seeing Holmes on UK TV until his next fight against Neon Leon...though maybe they showed the Ali massacre.

I remember watching watching Holmes massacre poor Leon (although family revenge would bite) and on the ring apron taking photos with the other cameramen was the crazy, mixed up Gerry Cooney.
You knew at that point Cooney would never beat Holmes.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 06 Mar 2008, 09:02

bennie wrote:
I remember watching watching Holmes massacre poor Leon (although family revenge would bite) and on the ring apron taking photos with the other cameramen was the crazy, mixed up Gerry Cooney.
You knew at that point Cooney would never beat Holmes.

Yeah that was a cruel end for Leon, never stood a chance. Cooney turned up ringside during one of Larry's post fight interviews, maybe this fight, and Holmes went mad, knocking off Howard Cosell's hair piece as he lunged for a startled looking Cooney.

Couldn't believe Harry Mullan of BN picked Cooney over Holmes in his preview - Irish connection I guess, heart over head. I think Graham Houston probably picked Holmes.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 06 Mar 2008, 09:07

Watched Holmes-Cooney in a London cinema (ah, those were the days). The much-maligned Mr Berbick was on the bill scoring perhaps his greatest win: a landslide decision over the previously unbeaten Greg Page.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 06 Mar 2008, 09:28

His KO win over John Tate was something also... a bizarre KO.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 06 Mar 2008, 09:34

stujones wrote:His KO win over John Tate was something also... a bizarre KO.

Not really, if you saw Tate 'go' against Stevenson in the Montreal Olympics. Delayed reaction...

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 06 Mar 2008, 09:41

stujones wrote:His KO win over John Tate was something also... a bizarre KO.

That's my earliest boxing memory, watched it on a Sunday night I think, I ran into the kitchen where my mum was ironing screaming that Tate had been knocked out.

overhand_right · Post by **overhand_right** » 06 Mar 2008, 10:01

MightyWarrior wrote:Holmes' fight with Berbick was his HBO debut I think, up to then he'd only ever been on network TV.
HBO even screened a Gerry Cooney fight before they offered Larry the chance to appear.

Holmes HBO debut was v Mike Weaver in 1979... HBO was smalltime in boxing then, Holmes title fights were on ABC with Howard Cossell, the major players.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 06 Mar 2008, 10:05

overhand_right wrote:
MightyWarrior wrote:Holmes' fight with Berbick was his HBO debut I think, up to then he'd only ever been on network TV.
HBO even screened a Gerry Cooney fight before they offered Larry the chance to appear.
Holmes HBO debut was v Mike Weaver in 1979... HBO was smalltime in boxing then, Holmes title fights were on ABC with Howard Cossell, the major players.

Ah, you're probably right, he was back on network TV after that though. Helluva uppercut he pulled out that night.

overhand_right · Post by **overhand_right** » 06 Mar 2008, 10:05

bennie wrote:Watched Holmes-Cooney in a London cinema (ah, those were the days). The much-maligned Mr Berbick was on the bill scoring perhaps his greatest win: a landslide decision over the previously unbeaten Greg Page.

That was a really entertaining fight. And before that we had Quick Tillis boxing Earnie Shavers head off for most of the fight before being (briefly) flattened in the 9th.

Every single Shavers shot throughout those 10 rds seemed to make Tillis do a funny dance, whereas he was later able to take Tysons best shots without much ado. Interesting? Or not?

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 06 Mar 2008, 10:11

bennie wrote:
stujones wrote:His KO win over John Tate was something also... a bizarre KO.
Not really, if you saw Tate 'go' against Stevenson in the Montreal Olympics. Delayed reaction...

He had a delayed reaction when Herculeus Weaver got to him also. Just seemed to fall.

But the way Berbick chased him around the ring... he reminded me of these mad bears you see in the movies - and the way the fighters were before the start of the round... Tate's body language was like "oh shit, I'm getting KO'd now".

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 06 Mar 2008, 10:11

I was in the States when Holmes defended against a fat lump called Leroy Jones, and on around 3 or 4 different network channels, same day different locations, you had that fight, plus Tate / Weaver, Leonard v Dave Boy Green & Eddie Mustafa Muhammad v Marvin Johnson on one of the undercards.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 06 Mar 2008, 11:15

MightyWarrior wrote:I was in the States when Holmes defended against a fat lump called Leroy Jones, and on around 3 or 4 different network channels, same day different locations, you had that fight, plus Tate / Weaver, Leonard v Dave Boy Green & Eddie Mustafa Muhammad v Marvin Johnson on one of the undercards.

Jones actually looked similar to the fat, shock-haired Don King. It looked for all the world like Larry was beating up on his promoter.
He really laid into him.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 06 Mar 2008, 12:23

Poor chap, he must have got a right tarring if Larry was visualising battering Don King.

bennie · Post by **bennie** » 06 Mar 2008, 12:38

jamesmcdonnell wrote:Poor chap, he must have got a right tarring if Larry was visualising battering Don King.

He never fought again.