At the height of his career, Larry Holmes was a dominant force within the heavyweight division.
Known by his moniker ‘The Easton Assassin’, Holmes proved himself to be one of the top heavyweights of that golden era throughout the 1970s.
He reigned as the world heavyweight champion for seven years between 1978 and 1985, defeating the likes of Earnie Shavers, Tim Witherspoon and ‘The Greatest’ – Muhammad Ali.
Holmes remained unbeaten as a professional through his first 48 bouts before he eventually suffered several consecutive defeats, two of these coming against Michael Spinks and the third coming against Mike Tyson in 1988.
‘The Easton Assassin’ challenged for a version of the world heavyweight championship on two occasions in the years before his retirement, but would fall short in these attempts against Evander Holyfield and Oliver McCall respectively.
In a YouTube interview, Holmes made a shock claim about his 1978 showdown with Ken Norton, as he claims that he believes Norton should have actually had his hand raised that night.
“Kenny Norton kicked my a** and I don’t care what anybody says. They gave me the title.”
Holmes defeated Norton via split decision at the conclusion of their 15-round battle at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas back in the summer of 1978, a victory that would mark the start of his seven-year world title reign.
Norton fought on just a handful of occasions after he was beaten by Holmes, announcing his retirement in 1981 after he suffered an opening round knockout defeat to two-time heavyweight title challenger Gerry Cooney.