Boxing

When Larry Holmes Snubbed Mike Tyson In Picking The Hardest Puncher He Faced

Larry Holmes snubbed Mike Tyson when picking the hardest puncher he has faced.

Apratim Banerjee

IMAGO / Colorsport

Larry Holmes has fought some monsters of heavyweight boxing during his career, including Mike Tyson. Holmes is also one of the few fighters to hold a win against the late great Muhammad Ali.

He has also come up against legends like Evander Holyfield, Earnie Shavers, and more. He retired with a professional record of 69-6-0 with 44 knockout wins to his name.

Holmes suffered a fourth-round knockout defeat when he faced Tyson back in 1988 and it was the only time he was stopped as a professional. Holmes, though, snubbed Tyson when picking the hardest puncher he faced.

Speaking to OLBG last year, Holmes picked Shavers as the hardest puncher he faced. Holmes said:

I fought Mike and he hit me and that was the end of it. Earnie Shavers was the hardest I’ve ever faced but when Tyson hits, he tries to kill you. Mike knocked the [expletive] out of me, he hit me so hard I went ‘wooooo’. And he beat me. It was embarrassing. I remember the right hand he hit me with – I thought at the time ‘he should be locked up’ because of the power, and he kept on coming, growling like Joe Frazier.

- LArry Holmes

Holmes fought Shavers twice. After earning a decision win in their first fight in 1978, Holmes stopped Shavers in 1979.

Earnie Shavers is an absolute legend of heavyweight boxing and retired with a record of 76-14-1. He managed an exceptional 70 knockout wins during his illustrious career and is widely regarded as one of the hardest hitters to ever grace the sport.

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Apratim Banerjee
APRATIM BANERJEE

Apratim is an experienced sports journalist and has covered Football, Boxing, MMA, and more for the past five years. He has worked for Sports Illustrated, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, and other publications. Apratim is currently pursuing an MSc. in Sport Marketing at Loughborough University London.