Larry Holmes doubts modern heavyweights Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua would have been able to compete against the boxers of his era.
The boxing legend, who retired two decades ago, was one of the best heavyweights of his generation. He won the inaugural IBF heavyweight title in 1983 and also reigned as WBC champion for five years.
Holmes is also the only boxer to have stopped fellow legend Muhammad Ali. He criticised the boxing skills of Fury and Joshua and gave them no chance of beating the best heavyweights from his time.
“They don’t have no skills,” he told Fight Hub. They throw punches like this [from their waist] for a jab, you don’t throw a punch like that, you throw straight. You can’t hit me with that right hand because this hand’s here to protect me. They don’t know how to throw a one-two, and move out to protect yourself."
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Speaking of Fury, he said: "He’s got to move like Larry Holmes, that’s what he’s got to move like. You’ve got to give punches, you shouldn’t take punches and that’s what he does, he takes punches. I guess that’s what he wanted to do, prove to people that he can take a punch."
Fury announced his retirement from boxing after knocking out Dillian Whyte last month. 'The Gypsy King' is the first heavyweight champion to retire undefeated since Rocky Marciano called it quits with a stunning record of 49-0.
Holmes was critical of modern-day heavyweights for not wanting to fight each other. Reflecting on his time in the ring, Holmes insisted the best always fought the best, whereas the biggest heavyweight fights today can only be made if huge sums of money are involved.
“The game of boxing is hit and don’t get hit. The fighters today are not the fighters that I fought. We fought the top ten, we didn’t duck nobody. Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney, Kenny Norton, all those strong guys," he continued. “Today these guys don’t want to fight. If you want to make some money, you’ve gotta bring it to them, you’ve gotta make these guys fight."
Adding to Holmes' point are recent comments Fury's head coach SugarHill Steward made about the Brit's retirement. He stated several big fights, such as clashes with David Haye and Joshua, that fell through during his career played a big part in Fury's decision to retire.
