BoxRec

So do you think Larry would have retired after going undefeated 49 wins to match Marciano or would he have carried on like he did for so long after? I think he would have had a bit of time off then would have come back again to fight Tyson! just like what happened but without the Spinks losses?

Larry "The Thumb" Holmes was the reason behind the thumbless glove.

Signs of a true great they even changed the way they make gloves impressive!

I can't see him staying retired . I think Holmes felt like he never got enough credit and as soon as Tyson came about as a superstar Holmes would be willing to fight him

I see Holmes retiring at 50-0 like he intended.... but he would of came back.... and against Tyson.

I think personal pride and all around boredom would of brought him back. He would of felt he had something to prove to an up and rising talent--- disregarding what happened when a certain man named Muhammad Ali attempted to do the same thing in 1980. Holmes would of convinced himself he was still a "young" 38 years old, that he hadn't been in that many wars, and that Tyson hadn't really fought anyone.

He would of fell into the same trap that Jim Jeffries done generations ago.

no way he would have not come for tyson, which
is btw to his utmost credit as a champion.

He would've definitely come back. As it was he fought for another 17 years so no way he would've retired at 35. In fact he had been a pro for only 12 years when he first fought Spinks so his career after Spinks was a lot longer.

The surly Holmes loved the limelight and the money so there's no guarantee he would have retired after reaching 49-0 or 50-0.
Probably would have stuck around for Tyson in 1987.
That would have ended his heavyweight reign

Nile4000 wrote:Larry would've stayed retired, and he would be considered a top 5 heavy today.

If Larry had retired at 50-0.He would be considered the #1 heavyweight in history.
It was not meant to be.

Nile4000 wrote:Larry would've stayed retired, and he would be considered a top 5 heavy today.

Is he not considered a Top 5 heavy anyway?

I have him at either one or two.

Sklar wrote:

Nile4000 wrote:Larry would've stayed retired, and he would be considered a top 5 heavy today.

Is he not considered a Top 5 heavy anyway?

I have him at either one or two.

Yes he should be in anyone's top 5

No, even if Larrry had've retired... I believe that he would have come back. There was too much money to be made to refuse.

Nile4000 wrote:Larry would've stayed retired, and he would be considered a top 5 heavy today.

Right behind Greg Page.

You have to look at history. How many heavyweight champs have retired at the top?. Only two I can think of. The rest generally beat the trail to meet Mr Dementia. Holmes would have been no different to the rest especially with the dollar signs when Iron Mike livened the scene up.

Tomasino wrote:

Nile4000 wrote:Larry would've stayed retired, and he would be considered a top 5 heavy today.

Right behind Greg Page.

Yept.

I don't think he would have.

I believe he would have tried to go for the 50th, so that he could hold the record outright.

Crease wrote:No, even if Larrry had've retired... I believe that he would have come back. There was too much money to be made to refuse.

Exactly.

His phone would have not stopped ringing & he would not turn down those $$$$ bills, especially with the heavyweight scene about to get more exciting with the emergence of Mr Tyson.

Had he retired at 50-0, some casual fans would rate him #1. Those are the same people who think Marciano is #1 because undefeated.

Other people would rip constantly Holmes like they do Marciano.
The decision that could have gone either way against Witherspoon and the ridiculous decision he got over Carl Williams would be brought up constantly instead of swept under the rug.

Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali will always be No. 1 and No. 2 in my book. Marciano fought everyone that Al Weill told him to fight and considering the crooked connections Weill had with the IBC and James Norris, it's safe to say there were guys he could've fought instead of rematches with Walcott and Charles, but the ranks of the division were about as deep as they are now. There were only two or three young heavies that might have made for interesting fights, but Weill wasn't interested because he didn't own a piece of them. As for Big Thumb Holmes, he fought some of the most mediocre heavyweights ever seen in a boxing ring, won a couple of close decisions that might have gone the other way and, hilariously, lost to blown-up light heavyweight Spinks trying to equal or better Marciano.

I just wanted to add here,that its fairly well known that Larry Holmes also does some singing on the side,
but did you know(and it is not widely known)that years before he became heavyweight champion
back in the days(circa 1975) when he was still a sparring partner to Muhammad Ali up at Deerlake
to supplement his income,Larry Holmes moon-lighted as a stand up comedian in the Borscht belt in some of the night-clubs up,
in the Catskills?
Here is some video proof of that too
(and I aint lying either).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XK61SAQEes