If two less popular former heavyweight champions met, who would win between Leno Lewis and Larry Holmes?
Lewis was 41-2-1 with 32 stops, having been suspended twice. By Hashim Rahman 34-2 in five rounds towards the end of his career. He stopped Rahman in their next battle. He put his hands to his side and was stopped by Oliver McCall 24-5. In the rematch, he stopped McCool, who had a nervous crying fit after the fight.
Born in Jamaica, he moved to fight amateurs in Canada. He won the Olympic gold medal in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, defeating Riddick Bowe of the USA. He moved to the United Kingdom to further his career.
He ended his professional career by stopping Vitali Klitschko, 32-1, on a cut and retired from boxing. He trailed after five rounds and did not want to give Vitali the deserved rematch.
Holmes went 48-0, losing to light heavyweight champion and former Olympic gold medalist Michael Spinks in back-to-back fights.
After losing to Spinks in the first match, he made a racist comment, “Marciano couldn't wear a jockstrap!” “I think he forgot that it was Spinks who hit him, not Marciano, who was going to take his heart and knock him out!”
Holmes has evaded the hit his entire career, and Marciano would have taken it by being shorter, probably with a big right uppercut, and breaking his elbow, in my opinion.
Holmes, 44-0, stopped Marvis Frazier 10-0 in the first round and said afterward, “It's because of the whipping your father gave me in sparring!”
Holmes finished with a 69-6 record. He lost to Denmark's Brian Nielsen 31-0 by split decision. Nielsen was 49-0 when he lost to Dickey Ryan.
In Holmes' last fight, he came off the canvas in the final round, defeating Eric “Butterbin” Esch, the “King of the Four Rounds,” by a score of 66-2-3. He felt that if the four-rounder was going to reach Esch's first 10 points, he would stop him, but he didn't.
So who wins between Lewis and Holmes?
