For nearly two years Larry Holmes, “The Easton Assassin,” had listened, bitterly, to the whispering campaign against him: he had won an off-brand title from Ken Norton; he had thus far failed to live up to the star voltage of his predecessor, the most famous athlete in history, Muhammad Ali; he had defended his ersatz championship against undistinguished Alfredo Evangelista and Ossie Ocasio; he had a growing chip on his shoulder already the size of a Datsun 280ZX.
It was true: Holmes seemed hexed and not even a headline slot in Madison Square Garden could cheer him up. In fact, Holmes was gloomier than ever. Every major network in America—ABC, NBC, and CBS—had stunningly rejected his scheduled title defense against Mike Weaver on (in)humanitarian grounds. To Holmes, being rejected outright by all three major networks symbolized the lack of respect he had received since becoming WBC champion. And he blamed it all on one uberman: Muhammad Ali. “If Muhammad Ali were fighting Weaver,” Holmes rued, “I bet it would be on television.”
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