Mike tyson vs riddick bowe 1991?

[Ambling Alp II]

Holmes was doing better in 1992 than Carl Williams too, who was losing to Jerry Jones at the time. Didn't help Holmes much in 1985 when Larry was lucky to get a decision over him.

I wish a mod would step in and wave this thread off because your arguments are getting pummeled on all sides.

By who?

Larry Holmes beat Tim Witherspoon.
Larry Holmes beat Carl Williams.

Close fights he won is the best you guys can come up with to try to cut him down.

Most people had him losing to Williams. The blatant ducking is also a big problem

You could make a good case that it was the worst decision in the history of heavy weight boxing. Willoiams seemed to have won a one-sided decision. The judges somehow had the opposite. Holmes looked terrible.

[gilgamesh]

Lennox Lewis vs Holyfield 1 is probably the worst decision I've seen in Heavyweight Boxing. I had that one 10 rounds to 2 for Lewis

[Cojimar 1946]

Part of the problem with the lineage argument is that public attitudes have changed.

Back in the day you could draw the color line but today that wouldn't be acceptable and any fighter who tried to do it would immediately lose recognition as champ.

Suppose some racist south African won the title off Holmes and refused to fight Tyson and Holyfield who hence never held the lineal title. Would anyone be arguing that they weren't real champions? I suspect anyone who tried would be ridiculed.

[gilgamesh]

Part of the problem with the lineage argument is that public attitudes have changed.

Back in the day you could draw the color line but today that wouldn't be acceptable and any fighter who tried to do it would immediately lose recognition as champ.

Suppose some racist south African won the title off Holmes and refused to fight Tyson and Holyfield who hence never held the lineal title. Would anyone be arguing that they weren't real champions? I suspect anyone who tried would be ridiculed.

But that didn't happen.

And yes of course they'd be ridiculed. I can't imagine how hard and heavy the ridicule would come if you tried to draw the color line these days.

The Lineal Title is and always will be the most important of all Boxing Championships. There are title holders, and there are Champions. The only people who are Genuine Champions were Lineal Champions.