#legendaryjab #theeastonassassin #holmesvssmith
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November 9th, 1984. The undefeated inaugural IBF Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes aka “The Easton Assassin” defended his title against James “Bonecrusher” Smith in Las Vegas, Nevada.
At this juncture, Smith’s only blemish was a KO4 defeat to future top contender James Broad in his pro debut.
Prefight records; Holmes 45(32)-0, Smith 14(12)-1.
In Jun 1978, 28 year old Holmes captured the WBC Heavyweight Title via a razor slim SD15 over Ken Norton.
Between November 1978 and September 1983, Holmes retained the crown a record 16x before relinquishing it due to troubles with the WBC, as he was ordered to take on Greg Page who was their No. 1 contender or be stripped of the title.
Holmes refused to take on his mandatory as he felt short-changed with the offer of USD2.5 million to fight 23 year old Page as he made USD3.1 million against Marvis Frazier in November 1983 whom he easily dispatched via TKO1.
On December 11th 1983, the newly formed IBF made the decision to recognize Larry Holmes as their champion and for his 1st title defense he was set to take on the hard hitting James Smith.
Going into the fight, the 31 year old Smith had a notable win over Frank Bruno while the 35 year old Holmes had defeated top oppositions such as Tex Cobb, Mike Weaver, Renaldo Snipes, Leon Spinks, Tim Witherspoon, Ken Norton, Alfredo Evangelista, Gerry Cooney, Tiger Williams, Scott LeDoux, Trevor Berbick & Earnie Shavers (2x).
Overall, it was an intense heavyweight battle between of a POWER PUNCHER VS. MASTER BOXER.
From rounds 1 to 4, Holmes controlled the action with his ring craft and consistently nailed Smith with his legendary jabs and counter right hands. Smith’s right eye was swollen and he was bleeding out of his nose after 12 minutes of action.
In round 5, Smith found his openings and connected with a number of hard rights that shook Holmes.
In round 6, Smith effectively worked the body to slow down and tag Holmes with a couple of right hands upstairs.
In round 7, Holmes was badly cut below his left eyebrow due to an accidental headbutt that occurred during an exchange with Smith. Cutman Percy Richardson was unable to stop the bleeding despite his best efforts.
In round 8, both fighters stepped on the gas pedal with Smith arguably having the upper hand as he landed a powerful overhand right that turned Holmes’s legs rubbery for a moment. Holmes’s trainer Eddie Futch told him to stop loading up on right hands and trade with the harder puncher but to go back to boxing instead.
In round 9, Holmes reverted back to his sticking and moving strategy (as per Futch’s advise) to good effect.
In round 10, Holmes regained his momentum and connected with fusillades after fusillades of blows.
In round 11, Holmes dominated Smith by tattooing him to the body and head through most of the round. A sharp short right hook ripped open Smith’s left eyelid resulted in severe bleeding. Referee Davey Pearl proceeded to call timeout for an inspection by ringside physician Dr. Donald Romero who allowed him to carry on.
In round 12, Holmes continued working on the bad eye to the point that Pearl had to pause the bout again for a second examination on Smith, who told Dr. Romero to call off the fight after he was informed that the gash had worsened.
The Easton Assassin successfully retained his IBF Heavyweight Championship via TKO12 in his 1st defense and improved his perfect professional record to 46(33)-0.
At the time of the stoppage, Holmes was well ahead in the cards with scores of 109-100, 108-101 & 108-100.
Despite the setback, the inexperienced James Smith put up a valiant and respectable effort in his 1st world title fight against the seasoned 11 year veteran and former sparring partner (and opponent) of the legendary Muhammad Ali.
On Jun 18th 1999, 49 year old Holmes and 46 year old Smith met in a rematch 15 years after their 1st encounter in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Holmes was victorious once again via TKO8 in a card that featured former world champions in Billy Costello, Juan Laporte, Greg Page & Tim Witherspoon.
Please enjoy this Heavyweight highlight of a POWER PUNCHER VS. MASTER BOXER and remember to SUBSCRIBE!
9 Comments
Larry was so underrated. Beautiful boxing
Holmes is top 5, maybe top 3 all time in the heavyweight division.
The announcers were garbage.
Margarito vs Clottey please
I get so much abuse for believing holmes was the best HW ever.but i think in his prime he was.
Larry Holmes had the best jab ever. It was artistic.
After uploading this you gotta upload the rematch
He was a hard man, Smith, here seen wading through a sea of fists …
he is infinitely better than Tyson even in one of his worst versions.
In my opinion he is the best ever