Early life

Holmes was the fourth of twelve children born to John and Flossie Holmes. When the family moved to Easton in 1954, Holmes' father went to Connecticut, where he worked as a gardener until his death in 1970. He visited his family every three weeks. "He didn't forsake us," said Flossie Holmes. "He just didn't have anything to give." The family survived on welfare.

To help support his family Holmes dropped out of school when he was in the seventh grade and went to work at a car wash for $1 an hour. He later drove a dump truck and worked in a quarry.

Amateur boxing career

When Holmes was nineteen, he started boxing. In his twenty-second bout, he boxed Duane Bobick in the 1972 Olympic Trials. Holmes was dropped in the first round with a right to the head. He got up and danced out of range, landing several stiff jabs in the process. Bobick mauled Holmes in the second round but couldn't corner him. The referee warned Holmes twice in the second for holding. In the third, Bobick landed several good rights and started to corner Holmes who continued to hold. Eventually, Holmes was disqualified for excessive holding.

Early boxing career

After compiling an amateur record of 19-3, Holmes turned professional on March 21, 1973, winning a four-round decision against Rodell Dupree. Early in his career he worked as a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Earnie Shavers, and Jimmy Young. He was paid well and learned a lot. "I was young, and I didn't know much. But I was holding my own sparring those guys," Holmes said. "I thought, 'hey, these guys are the best, the champs. If I can hold my own now, what about later?'"

Holmes first gained credibility as a contender when he upset the hard-punching Earnie Shavers in March 1978. Holmes won by a lopsided twelve-round unanimous decision, winning every round on two scorecards and all but one on the third. Holmes's victory over Shavers set up a title shot between Holmes and WBC Heavyweight Champion Ken Norton in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 9, 1978.

WBC Heavyweight Champion - Holmes v Norton

The fight between Holmes and Norton was a tough, competitive fight. After fourteen rounds, all three judges had the fight scored dead even at seven rounds each. Holmes rallied late in the fifteenth to win the round on two scorecards and take the title by a split decision.

In his first two title defenses, Holmes easily knocked out Alfredo Evangelista and Ossie Ocasio. His third title defense was a tough one. On June 22, 1979, Holmes faced future WBA Heavyweight Champion Mike Weaver, who was lightly regarded going into the fight sporting an uninspiring 19-8 record. After ten tough rounds, Holmes dropped Weaver with a right uppercut late in round eleven. In the twelfth, Holmes immediately went on the attack, backing Weaver into the ropes and pounding him with powerful rights until the referee stepped in and stopped it. "This man knocked the devil out of me," Holmes said. "This man might not have had credit before tonight, but you'll give it to him now."

Three months later, on September 28, 1979, Holmes had a rematch with Shavers, who got a title shot by knocking out Ken Norton in one round. Holmes dominated the first six rounds, but in the seventh, Shavers sent Holmes down with a devastating overhand right. Holmes got up, survived the round, and went on to stop Shavers in the eleventh.

His next three defenses were knockouts of Lorenzo Zanon, Leroy Jones, and Scott LeDoux.

On October 2, 1980, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Holmes defended his title against Ali, who was coming out of retirement in an attempt to become the first four-time World Heavyweight Champion. Holmes dominated Ali from start to finish, winning every round on every scorecard. At the end of the tenth round, Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, stopped the fight. It would be Ali's only loss without "going the distance" for a judges' decision. After the win, Holmes received recognition as World Heavyweight Champion by The Ring magazine.

Ali blamed his poor performance on thyroid medication that he had been taking, claiming that it helped him lose weight (he weighed 217½, his lowest weight since he fought George Foreman in 1974), but it also left him drained for the fight.

Holmes seemed to show signs of regret, or at least sadness, in punishing Ali so much during the fight. He appeared in a post fight interview with tears in his eyes as he was asked why he was crying, replying that he respected Ali "a whole lot" and "he fought one of the baddest heavyweights in the world today, and you cannot take credit from him."

After eight consecutive knockouts, Holmes was forced to go the distance when he successfully defended his title against future WBC Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick on April 11, 1981. In his next fight, two months later, Holmes knocked out former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Leon Spinks in three rounds. On November 6, 1981, Holmes rose from a seventh-round knockdown (during which he staggered into the turnbuckle) to stop Renaldo Snipes in the eleventh.

Holmes vs. Cooney

Main article: Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney

On June 11, 1982, Holmes defended his title against Gerry Cooney, the undefeated #1 contender and an Irish-American. The lead up to the fight had many racial overtones. Holmes said that if Cooney wasn't white, he wouldn't be getting the same purse as the champion (Both boxers received $10 million for the bout). Although Cooney tried to deflect questions about race, members of his camp wore shirts that said "Not the White Man, but the Right Man." In their fight previews, Sports Illustrated and Time put Cooney on the cover, not Holmes. President Ronald Reagan had a phone installed in Cooney's dressing room so he could call him if he won the fight. Holmes had no such arrangement. Lastly, boxing tradition dictates that the champion is introduced last, but the challenger, Cooney, was introduced last.

The bout was held in a 32,000 seat stadium erected in a Caesar's Palace Parking lot, with millions more watching around the world. After an uneventful first round, Holmes dropped Cooney with a right in the second. Cooney came back well in the next two rounds, jarring Holmes with his powerful left hook. Holmes later said that Cooney "hit me so damned hard, I felt it—boom—in my bones." Cooney was tiring by the ninth, a round in which he had two points deducted for low blows. In the tenth, they traded punches relentlessly. At the end of the round, the two nodded to each other in respect. Cooney lost another point because of low blows in the eleventh. By then, Holmes was landing with ease. In the thirteenth, a barrage of punches sent Cooney down. He got up, but his trainer, Victor Valle, stepped into the ring and stopped the fight.

After the fight, Holmes and Cooney became close friends.

Trouble with the WBC

Holmes' next two fights were one-sided decision wins over Randall "Tex" Cobb and ex-European champion Lucien Rodriguez. On May 23, 1983, Holmes defended his title against Tim Witherspoon, the future WBC and WBA Heavyweight Champion. Witherspoon, a six to one underdog and with only 15 professional bouts to his name, surprised many by giving Holmes a difficult fight. After twelve rounds, Holmes retained the title by a disputed split decision. Boxing Monthly named it one of the ten most controversial decisions of all time.

On September 10, 1983, Holmes successfully defended the WBC title for the sixteenth time, knocking out Scott Frank in five rounds. Holmes then signed to fight Marvis Frazier, son of Joe Frazier, on November 25, 1983. The WBC refused to sanction the fight against the unranked Frazier. They ordered Holmes to fight Greg Page, the #1 contender, or be stripped of the title. Promoter Don King offered Holmes $2.55 million to fight Page, but the champion didn't think that was enough. He was making $3.1 million to fight Frazier and felt he should get as much as $5 million to fight Page.

Holmes had an easy time with Frazier, knocking him out in the first round. The following month, Holmes relinquished the WBC championship and accepted recognition as World Heavyweight Champion by the newly formed International Boxing Federation.

IBF Heavyweight Champion

Holmes signed to fight Gerrie Coetzee, the WBA Champion, on June 15, 1984 at Caesar's Palace. The fight was being promoted by JPD Inc., but it was canceled when Caesar's Palace said the promoters failed to meet the financial conditions of the contract. Holmes was promised $13 million and Coetzee was promised $8 million. Even after cutting the purses dramatically, they still couldn't come up with enough financial backing to stage the fight. Don King then planned to promote the fight, but Holmes lost a lawsuit filed by Virginia attorney Richard Hirschfeld, who said he had a contract with Holmes that gave him right of first refusal on a Holmes-Coetzee bout. Holmes then decided to move on and fight someone else.

On November 9, 1984, after a year out of the ring, Holmes made his first defense of the IBF title, stopping James "Bonecrusher" Smith on a cut in the twelfth round. In the first half of 1985, Holmes stopped David Bey in ten rounds for his 19th title defense. His next against Carl "The Truth" Williams was unexpectedly tough. The younger, quicker Williams was able to out-jab the aging champion, who was left with a badly swollen eye by the end of the bout. Holmes emerged with a close, and disputed, fifteen-round unanimous decision.

On September 21, 1985, Holmes stepped in the ring looking to equal Rocky Marciano's 49-0 career record and to make his twentieth successful title defense. His opponent was looking to make history as well. After winning the undisputed championship at light heavyweight, Michael Spinks decided to move up in weight and try to become the second fighter after Bob Fitzsimmons to win titles at both light heavyweight and heavyweight. It would be Spinks whose historical destiny would be fulfilled, albeit controversially, as he defeated Holmes via unanimous decision to become the first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight title. After the fight, a bitter Holmes said, "Rocky Marciano couldn't carry my jockstrap."

Holmes had a rematch with Spinks on April 19, 1986. Spinks retained the title with a disputed fifteen-round split decision. The judges scored the fight: Judge Joe Cortez 144-141 (Holmes), Judge Frank Brunette 141-144 (Spinks) and Judge Jerry Roth 142-144 (Spinks.) In a post-fight interview with HBO, Holmes said, "the judges, the referees and promoters can kiss me where the sun don't shine—and because we're on HBO, that's my big black behind."

On November 6, 1986, three days after his 37th birthday, Holmes announced his retirement.

Comebacks

Main articles: Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes, Ray Mercer vs. Larry Holmes and Evander Holyfield vs. Larry Holmes

On January 22, 1988, Holmes was lured out of retirement by a $2.8 million purse to challenge reigning Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson. Tyson dropped Holmes in the fourth round with an overhand right. Holmes got up, but Tyson put him down two more times in the round, and the fight was stopped. It was the only time Holmes would be knocked out in his lengthy career. After the fight, Holmes once again retired.

Holmes returned to the ring in 1991 and became a much more active fighter, usually fighting on USA Tuesday Night Fights cards every few weeks against up and comers and journeymen. After five straight wins, he fought Ray Mercer, the undefeated 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist, on February 7, 1992. Holmes pulled off the upset and won by a twelve-round unanimous decision. The win got Holmes a shot at Evander Holyfield for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. On June 19, 1992, Holyfield defeated Holmes by a twelve-round unanimous decision.

On April 8, 1995, he fought Oliver McCall for the WBC title. Holmes lost by a close twelve-round unanimous decision. Two of the judges had him losing by only one point, while the other judge had him losing by three points.

Holmes was back in the ring five months later, resuming the pace he had set since his comeback. However, an aging former champion was growing tired of the sport and, after he fought and knocked out Anthony Willis in June 1996 on another USA boxing event, Holmes announced that unless he received a shot at the title, the fight against Willis was likely to be his last.

On January 24, 1997, Holmes got one last opportunity to fight for a heavyweight championship when he traveled to Copenhagen to fight undefeated International Boxing Organization champion Brian Nielsen. Nielsen won by a twelve-round split decision to retain the International Boxing Organization title.

Holmes and George Foreman signed to fight on January 23, 1999 at the Houston Astrodome. Foreman called off the fight several weeks before it was to take place because the promoter failed to meet the deadline for paying him the remaining $9 million of his $10 million purse. Foreman received a nonrefundable $1 million deposit, and Holmes got to keep a $400,000 down payment of his $4 million purse.

Holmes' next two fights were rematches with old foes. On June 18, 1999, he stopped "Bonecrusher" Smith in eight rounds, and on November 17, 2000, he stopped Mike Weaver in six.

Holmes' final fight was on July 27, 2002 in Norfolk, Virginia. He defeated Eric "Butterbean" Esch by a ten-round unanimous decision.

Honors

Holmes was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.

Life after boxing

Holmes invested the money he earned from boxing and settled in his hometown of Easton. When he retired from boxing, Holmes employed more than 200 people through his various business holdings. In 2008, he owned two restaurants and a nightclub, a training facility, an office complex, a snack food bar and slot machines. Holmes currently co-hosts a talk show What The Heck Were They Thinking?

In 2014, Holmes sold his business complex in Easton to business entrepreneur Gerald Gorman.

In 2016 Larry Holmes guest starred as himself in an episode of the Mike Tyson Mysteries titled "Unsolved Situations".

Personal life

Larry Holmes married his wife, Diane, in 1979. Together they have had two children, Kandy Holmes and Larry Holmes Jr. He has two brothers, Robert Holmes and Mark Holmes.

Professional boxing record

69 Wins (44 knockouts, 25 decisions), 6 Losses (1 knockout, 5 decisions), 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rounds	Date	Location	Notes
Win	69-6	Eric Esch	UD	10	27/07/2002	Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia
Win	68-6	Mike Weaver	TKO	6	17/11/2000	Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Win	67-6	James Smith	TKO	8	18/06/1999	Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Win	66-6	Maurice Harris	SD	10	29/07/1997	MSG Theater, New York, New York
Loss	65-6	Brian Nielsen	SD	12	24/01/1997	Brondby hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Win	65-5	Anthony Willis	KO	8	16/06/1996	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Win	64-5	Quinn Navarre	UD	10	16/04/1996	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Win	63-5	Curtis Sheppard	KO	4	09/01/1996	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Win	62-5	Ed Donaldson	UD	10	19/09/1995	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Loss	61-5	Oliver McCall	UD	12	08/04/1995	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	61-4	Jesse Ferguson	UD	10	09/08/1994	Mystic Lake Casino, Shakopee, Minnesota
Win	60-4	Garing Lane	UD	10	08/03/1994	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut
Win	59-4	Jose Ribalta	UD	10	28/09/1993	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Win	58-4	Paul Poirier	TKO	7	18/05/1993	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Win	57-4	Ken Lakusta	TKO	8	13/04/1993	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Win	56-4	Rocky Pepeli	TKO	4	09/03/1993	Casino Magic, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Win	55-4	Everett Martin	UD	10	05/01/1993	Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Loss	54-4	Evander Holyfield	UD	12	19/06/1992	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	54-3	Ray Mercer	UD	12	07/02/1992	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	53-3	Jamie Howe	TKO	1	12/11/1991	Coliseum, Jacksonville, Florida
Win	52-3	Art Card	UD	10	17/09/1991	Marriott World Center, Orlando, Florida
Win	51-3	Michael Greer	KO	4	24/08/1991	Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	50-3	Eddie Gonzales	UD	10	13/08/1991	Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida
Win	49-3	Tim Anderson	TKO	1	07/04/1991	Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida
Loss	48-3	Mike Tyson	TKO	4	22/01/1988	Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	48-2	Michael Spinks	SD	15	19/04/1986	Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	48-1	Michael Spinks	UD	15	21/09/1985	Riviera Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	48-0	Carl Williams	UD	15	20/05/1985	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada
Win	47-0	David Bey	TKO	10,	15/03/1985	Riviera Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	46-0	James Smith	TKO	12,	09/11/1984	Riviera Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	45-0	Marvis Frazier	TKO	1,	25/11/1983	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	44-0	Scott Frank	TKO	5,	10/09/1983	Harrah's Marina Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	43-0	Tim Witherspoon	SD	12	20/05/1983	Dunes Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	42-0	Lucien Rodriguez	UD	12	27/03/1983	Watres Armory, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	41-0	Randall Cobb	UD	15	26/11/1982	Reliant Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Win	40-0	Gerry Cooney	TKO	13,	11/06/1982	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	39-0	Renaldo Snipes	TKO	11,	06/11/1981	Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Win	38-0	Leon Spinks	TKO	3,	12/06/1981	Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	37-0	Trevor Berbick	UD	15	11/04/1981	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	36-0	Muhammad Ali	RTD	10	02/10/1980	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	35-0	Scott LeDoux	TKO	7,	07/07/1980	Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win	34-0	Leroy Jones	TKO	8,	31/03/1980	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	33-0	Lorenzo Zanon	KO	6	03/02/1980	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	32-0	Earnie Shavers	TKO	11,	28/09/1979	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	31-0	Mike Weaver	TKO	12,	22/06/1979	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	30-0	Ossie Ocasio	TKO	7,	23/03/1979	Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	29-0	Alfredo Evangelista	KO	7	10/11/1978	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	28-0	Ken Norton	SD	15	09/06/1978	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	27-0	Earnie Shavers	UD	12	25/03/1978	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	26-0	Ibar Arrington	TKO	10	05/11/1977	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	25-0	Fred Houpe	TKO	7	14/09/1977	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	24-0	Horace Robinson	TKO	5	17/03/1977	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win	23-0	Tom Prater	UD	8	16/01/1977	Aboard USS Lexington, Pensacola, Florida
Win	22-0	Roy Williams	UD	10	30/04/1976	Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Win	21-0	Fred Askew	TKO	2	05/04/1976	Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Win	20-0	Joe Gholston	TKO	8	29/01/1976	Kirby Sports Center, Easton, Pennsylvania
Win	19-0	Billy Joiner	TKO	3	20/12/1975	Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Win	18-0	Leon Shaw	KO	1	09/12/1975	D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C.
Win	17-0	Rodney Bobick	TKO	6	01/10/1975	Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines
Win	16-0	Charlie James	PTS	10	26/08/1975	Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	15-0	Obie English	TKO	7	16/08/1975	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	14-0	Ernie Smith	KO	3	16/05/1975	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	13-0	Robert Yarborough	KO	4	26/04/1975	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
Win	12-0	Oliver Wright	TKO	3	09/04/1975	Honolulu International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	11-0	Charley Green	KO	1	24/03/1975	Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, Ohio
Win	10-0	Joe Hathaway	TKO	1	11/12/1974	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	9-0	Bob Mashburn	TKO	7	29/05/1974	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	8-0	Howard Darlington	TKO	4	24/04/1974	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	7-0	Kevin Isaac	TKO	3	28/11/1973	Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	6-0	Jerry Judge	PTS	6	14/11/1973	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	5-0	Bob Bozic	PTS	6	10/09/1973	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	4-0	Don Branch	PTS	6	22/08/1973	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	3-0	Curtis Whitner	TKO	1	20/06/1973	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	2-0	Art Savage	TKO	3	02/05/1973	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Win	1-0	Rodell Dupree	PTS	4	21/03/1973	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania

[ Source: Wikipedia ]