Larry Holmes once slapped Muhammad Ali after the latter mocked Holmes in a press conference ahead of their fight
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Larry Holmes vs Muhammad Ali
Larry Holmes fought a deteriorating Muhammad Ali in 1980 which ultimately led to Ali’s retirement. During the build-up of the fight, Ali and Homes got into a verbal altercation in which Holmes mocked Ali’s chances of winning. Holmes put his name in front of Ali and said he would knock Ali in the third round.
He said: “This Holmes Ali fight, this not an Ali Holmes fight. Ali had his day, this is my day. I say Ali used to float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee. But when he fights Larry Holmes, he will fall in round 3.”
Ali was there and started mocking Holmes’ comments. “Imma fall in three,” said Ali. Holmes immediately slapped Muhammad and mentioned that Ali is old and will not be able to beat him in the fight. Ali got serious and said he was the better fighter and will definitely knock Holmes. “Imma knock you out, you are scared of me. You know you will meet your master. I’m superior, I’m the world’s greatest,” said Ali.
Unfortunately, for Muhammad Ali, it didn’t end well and he lost the fight via stoppage. However, at that Ali was 38 years old and was already showing signs of Parkinson’s Syndrome.
Larry Holmes didn’t like how he beat Muhammad Ali after learning so much from the legend
Larry Holmes initially used to be Muhammad Ali’s sparring partner for a long time. During that time, Holmes learned a lot from the world champion. He used to train, eat, run, rest, etc, and spent a lot of time with Ali.
While talking to Telegraph, the ‘Easton Assassin‘ mentioned that he learned most of his boxing skills from Ali by watching him train every day. According to Holmes he also hated the fact that he had to fight Ali in the end. “I learned so much working as Muhammad Ali’s sparring partner for four, five years…He taught me so much, and then he came back to fight me in the ring. I took no pleasure in beating Ali,” said Ali.
Also Read: Rare Boxers who have fought both Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson
The Holmes fight showed the world that Ali is unwell and was in no condition to fight. Many fight fans accused the boxing commission of even allowing that fight to take place as Ali was in serious trouble and things could have gone way worse.
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)