This is the story of a murderous assassin, who—during the late '70s and early '80s—ruled boxing's heavyweight division with an iron left jab.
This great assassin won his first 48 straight bouts, beating, among others, Norton, Shavers, Witherspoon, Cooney, Smith, and even the greatest heavyweight of all time, Muhammad Ali.
Of course, the assassin I'm speaking of has never killed anyone, but does possess a lethal left-hand weapon with unlimited capabilities. He is none other than the great Easton Assassin Larry Holmes.
Larry Holmes became champion in 1978 by beating Earnie Shavers, and he held and defended two versions of the heavyweight title (IBF and WBC) for seven straight years.
In fact, until he lost to Michael Spinks in 1985, he successfully defended his title 20 times, which is second only to the great Brown Bomber Joe Louis Barrow. He also came one win short of matching the record of the great Rocky Marciano, who retired undefeated at 49 wins in 49 fights.
When the Easton Assassin started his career, in the early to mid-1970s, Holmes was a sparring partner for the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, Muhammad Ali, whose training camp at that time was in a remote and beautiful part of Pennsylvania called Schuylkill County.
In 1978 Larry Holmes gave up his job as Ali's background singer. He decided to grab the mic and become a frontman. Putting on a punching clinic, he then schooled hard-hitting Earnie Shavers for 12 straight rounds.
Larry Holmes had worked hard, trained hard, and was 6'3" tall and solidly built. His impressive win over Earnie Shavers awarded him a well-deserved title shot against the champ Kenny Norton in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 9, 1978.
The Easton Assassin and Kenny Norton fought a boxing match that was as close to even as any fight on record, except for the 15th final round, which is cited by boxing experts and historians—like myself—as one of the greatest rounds in the long history of Boxing.
This fight was a real '70s show, and not one but both of these heavyweight titans displayed a master class. They traded shots in the center of the ring, and not just single shots—I'm talking about uppercuts, three-punch combinations, and mouthpiece-launching hooks. At the end of this great fight Larry Holmes was fittingly awarded as the "new" heavyweight champion of the world.
When the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time stepped into the ring to face his old sparring partner in October of 1980, it was an emotional event for boxing fans the world over.
Muhammad Ali was long past his prime and making yet another of his—one too many—trips to the ring to try to win back his Heavyweight belt. This time it was against a true friend.
Although he wasn't proud of the fact, Holmes gave Ali the only TKO loss of his career, and he dominated the fight until Ali's trainer, Dundee, threw in the towel after the 10th round.
Parkinson's disease had already started to tighten its grip on the old warrior, and it is said that the great Ali had started taking strong medications to ward off signs of this life-altering disease.
Larry Holmes is another example of a fighter who tried to make many comebacks and fought long after the sport he loved had turned its back on him. He took fights against younger, faster heavyweights and eventually lost his title in 1985 to Michael Spinks, and then lost to another young phenom, knockout specialist Mike Tyson, in 1988.
Holmes didn't stop there, he still wanted to fight the best and took on Evander Holyfield and Ray Mercer, beating Mercer, then losing to Evander Holyfield in 1992 in another failed bid for the title. Holmes finally retired at the age of 52 after defeating a Boxing Clown named "Butterbean."
The great Easton Assassin was inducted into the boxing hall of fame in 2008. He is in my opinion No. 6 on the list of greatest heavyweights of all time.
Muhammad Ali could take a very good punch. He was slick, he could move, he could hit, make you miss, good hand speed and combinations the greatest fighter of all time in my opinion.
Larry Holmes
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