In March 1985, heavyweight champion Larry Holmes scored a tenth-round knockout of undefeated contender David Bey and then immediately announced that he was done. As in, finished. Retired. He is no longer the king of heavyweights.
“That’s it,” he said after adding the forty-seventh consecutive victory to his impeccable record. It was his 19th consecutive championship victory since he took the WBC belt from Ken Norton in 1978, adding to the longest unbroken streak of titles won by a heavyweight champion since Joe Louis. But Louis wasn’t the legendary figure from past fights that fans were thinking of at the time. Instead, 47-0 got people thinking about 49-0. And the late, great Rocky Marciano.
Meanwhile, one didn’t need to be a student of boxing history to know that Larry’s trainer, the venerable Eddie Futch, probably had Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali in mind when he said, “My fear now is that Larry is going to die.” home and look at the tapes and see how good it looked. I would like to see it [retire] now, after looking so good, instead of like some of our other more recent champions.”
But few expected that to happen. Despite Larry’s insistence that he was ready to go, it was obvious that he had his eye on Marciano’s record, which made his statements about his retirement impossible to take seriously. One minute he was declaring the Bey fight to be his last, the next minute he was leaving the door open, indicating that for enough money, maybe another fight or two was on the cards.
“I want a lot of money and no more of these heavy hitters like Tim Witherspoon and Mike Weaver,” he told Sports Illustrated’s Pat Putnam. “I’ve paid my dues and if they want me back, they have to give me little people I can hit without hurting myself.”
Little people? Interesting. Did the champion have someone in mind who fit that description? Well, he did, in fact, he did, and he went on to negotiate through the media, pointing out that $3 million was the price he was asking to fend off undefeated light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks.
But it turned out that $2.3 million was Larry’s price to fight Carl “The Truth” Williams for the first time on prime-time television in May and almost lose his status as world champion. Williams surprised everyone, including Larry, with his skill and determination, and the 35-year-old veteran was lucky enough to walk away with the decision for victory number 48. Afterward, the boxing media was curious as to whether Larry he intended to continue and attempted to tie Marciano’s record, but a beaten Holmes refused to commit, saying it was time for “a long break”.
But the champion, who was clearly nearing the end, had put in the $3 million figure and now undefeated Michael Spinks wanted his shot. Spinks had taken the WBA light heavyweight belt from Eddie Mustafa Muhammad in 1981 and since then he had won ten straight title fights and unified the championship. A former Olympic gold medalist and younger brother of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, he was considered, pound for pound, one of the best in the game, though few gave him a serious chance to dethrone “The Easton Assassin.”
After all, no light heavyweight champion of the world had ever succeeded in taking the heavyweight title. Legendary Hall of Famers like Billy Conn, Archie Moore and Bob Foster had all tried and failed, and no one was still talking about Spinks at the same time as the former greats of the 175-pound division. Moore himself compared Holmes vs. Spinks to a smash ’em up derby between a haul truck and a Volkswagen.
Knowing that Holmes would likely enjoy a huge weight advantage, and that fifteen rounds was a long time to try to avoid his powerful right hand, the Las Vegas bookmakers scored Spinks a six-to-one loser. Boxing pundits and historians raved about comparisons between Marciano and Holmes, while Don King titled the card “History” and even scheduled it for the same date as Rocky’s final fight. The champion had his $3 million check, while Spinks was guaranteed just under $1 million, and everyone was waiting to see if Holmes could hit the hallowed 49-0 mark. (Meanwhile, Eddie Futch, who trained both champions, stayed on the sidelines and didn’t work either corner.)
But while the match was truly historic, it was far from memorable. The challenger had grown from a solid, muscular 175 to 199 pounds and his quickness, off-tempo movements and ability to throw punches from unexpected angles gave the champion all kinds of trouble. As a result, Holmes simply couldn’t get the punches out of him and fight fans were treated to fifteen rounds of cat and mouse. Some gave the veteran points for being the aggressor as, round after round, he tried in vain to take Spinks down, but others, including all three judges, credited the challenger for avoiding Larry’s shots while landing the toughest punches. clean. And so, Larry Holmes’ undefeated record, his heavyweight title and his ambitions to break Rocky Marciano’s record were dashed.
But if Holmes vs. Spinks didn’t provide much action and excitement, the now-former champion made up for it with some fireworks at his post-fight press conference. Rarely has a high-profile fighter been as candid or caustic as when Holmes unleashed a tirade of suppressed bitterness against both the press and Marciano’s family. It was an extraordinary display, if unseemly, as Larry held nothing back, his words had a far greater impact that night than his fists.
“The last few days before the fight I was a little upset about the things I was hearing from the Marciano family, especially from his brother,” Larry sneered behind dark glasses. “And I think his family owes me a lot for bringing [Rocky] come back to life like I did. I’m not trying to belittle it. Although… it would be so easy for me to do it. I have 35 years fighting with young people and he had 25 years fighting with old men. i can easily [put him down]. I mean, if you really want to get technical about the whole thing, Rocky couldn’t possibly wear my jockstrap.”
But as bad as it was, Holmes had even more resentment and bitterness to vent. “If I hurt you back there, Peter [Marciano], so fucking what,” he continued. “Wait! This is my show! And you’ve been invited by Caesars Palace and you’re taking advantage of your brother even after he’s dead. Now, if it wasn’t for me, you would never have been invited to Caesars Palace where all your expenses are paid. That’s the truth.”
Classy stuff. The ugliness of the scene seemed to dawn on the now former champion as he spoke and seconds later he stated that Marciano was “one of the greatest fighters of all time”, that he would have “loved to have met him” and that he was “very sorry “If you hurt someone’s feelings. But the damage was done. The harshness of Larry’s words has echoed through the years since; his statements about the greatness of Marciano no.
Once again, Holmes stated that he was finished, done, retired and that, despite everything, he left boxing with his head held high. But, like all the other times, it didn’t work out and six months later a rematch between Holmes and Spinks was announced. And in the build-up to the return, the former champion, who prided himself on always “telling it like it is,” once again let his mouth utter the kind of public comments that could only lead to bad karma, stating that the judges whoever scored the first match “must have been drunk”.
So no one, including Larry, was surprised when another close decision went against him and Spinks retained his title, even though this time most thought Holmes deserved better. And in the post-fight interview, Holmes delivered another memorable line. “All I have to say to the judges, the referees, [and] promoters is to kiss me where the sun doesn’t shine,” he told Larry Merchant. “And since we’re on HBO, that’s my big black ass.”
For those who had admired “The Easton Assassin’s” skill, courage and determination, and who remembered the long and difficult journey he undertook to go from being a sparring partner for Ali and Frazier to establishing himself as one of the greatest heavyweights in sports history, it was a sad end to an impressive career. The proud and gifted boxer who had beaten such dangerous fighters as Earnie Shavers, Ken Norton, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney and Tim Witherspoon, was leaving boxing on a sour note, his crude comments about Rocky Marciano still echoing behind him.
But of course, it was not the end. Although at the time no one would have believed it if you had told them that Larry Holmes was far from finished, that in fact he would ring the bell twenty-five more times and fans would see him fight Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oliver McCall and, yes, Butterbean, before all was said and done. Meanwhile, Spinks, unlike Holmes, believed in making a decision and sticking with it. He retired only once, after Mike Tyson annihilated him in ninety-one seconds in 1988 to become the undisputed world champion, and he never fought again.
—Michael Carbert
The Post September 21, 1985: Holmes vs. Spinks I first appeared in The Fight City.
Share This Event