BoxRec

Glitz, for Larry Holmes, “The Easton Assassin,” had finally come after years of toiling in drab itinerant obscurity. In his first title defense, Holmes had settled on Alfredo Evangelista, an amateur torero from Spain via Uruguay, best known for taking Muhammad Ali the distance in May 1977. “One thing you learn being in the prelims, on the undercards all your life, and that’s patience,” Holmes told the Philadelphia Inquirer about having his own bold name spelled out in gaudy letters in the bawdiest city in the United States. Patience is probably not the strongest word for the bitter journey Holmes endured on the way to defending his championship against Evangelista on prime time national television. Even before he was a teenager, Holmes was fighting on the pub circuit in Easton, Bethlehem, and Allentown, rowdy Rust Belt cities still a few years away from qualifying for ruin porn. “The bars were usually full of steelworkers or men from the paper mill and other factories,” Holmes wrote in his autobiography Against All Odds. “To me, they were really like the bars I saw in the Western Movies at the State Theater downtown. Rough and tough and exciting. It was nothing like being in school or in the house or on the block. The atmosphere in those places felt seedy, and illegal, which probably it was since little kids were on premises where drinking and betting were going on. There was usually a lot of smoke swirling about and the rank smell of stale beer and whiskey.”

https://hannibalboxing.com/shoot-the-mo ... ry-holmes/

I believe that had Jimmy Young shown up in shape & beaten Osvaldo Ocasio back in June of 1978 underneath the classic Holmes - Norton affair that he may have been given the opportunity on that night. But, it wasn't to be. So, instead, we got Evangelista who had struggled to a split decision win over journeyman Jodie Ballard that same June night.
Young was then given the chance to rectify his mistake in a rematch with Ocasio in January of '79 with the winner to meet Holmes the following May. Unfortunately for Young, even though he came into the rematch in better shape than he had been in for their first encounter he was outworked by the busier Puerto Rican in front of Ocasio's hometown crowd. Thus killing Young's last real chance of ever getting another title shot.

Holmes looked masterful on this night. He showed the world that the changing of the heavyweight guard had taken place by beating Evangelista with greater ease, efficiency and decisiveness than Ali had done only a year prior.

Holmes controlled everything with his left jab, which as fast, powerful, and persistent. Alfredo was game and competent, but he couldn't get close to Holmes. By the eight, Evangelista was tired and worn down. That's why Larry stepped in to finish everything with a single, well place right cross to the head. Evangelista took the full count.

Evangelista was a terrible fighter. Hard to believe that he got another title shot. I remember watching this fight. It was not competitive at all.

Ambling Alp II wrote: ↑23 Jul 2018, 10:41 Evangelista was a terrible fighter. Hard to believe that he got another title shot. I remember watching this fight. It was not competitive at all.

The amazing thing is that he was actually scheduled to receive a third shot at the heavyweight title when he was set to face Gerrie Coetzee for his WBA belt in 1984. He "earned" the shot via his controversial split nod over Renaldo Snipes on the Coetzee - Dokes undercard but for whatever reason Evangelista's third attempt was canceled.

Like hitting an heavy bag for 7 rounds for Larry.
Not a competitive fight at all.

British referee Terry O'Connor drew over 8 rounds with Evangelista. More worrying for Terry is that he lost to "the lion of Flanders" Jean Pierre Coopman !!!

This was a one sided fight and a slightly over dramatic fall from Evangelista too, though he certainly took his lumps through the fight.

I always had a soft spot for Evangelista, Euro level at best but on the whole he had a good career and fought all over the world. I remember after he regained the EBU title in 1987 that he wanted a shot at Mike Tyson. Prediction? Pain...

A thoroughly forgettable fight.

The putrid one-two of Evangelista and Ocasio was hardly the best way for Holmes to open up his championship career.