Sept. 21, 1985: Holmes vs Spinks I
In March of 1985, heavyweight champion Larry Holmes scored a tenth round stoppage of undefeated contender David Bey and then immediately announced that he was done. As in, finished. Retired. No longer the king of the heavyweights.
“That’s it,” he said after adding consecutive win number forty-seven to his flawless record. It was his 19th straight championship victory since taking the WBC belt from Ken Norton back in 1978, adding to the longest uninterrupted streak of title wins for a heavyweight champion since Joe Louis. But Louis was not the legendary figure from the past fight fans were thinking about at the time. Instead, 47-0 had people thinking about 49-0. And the late, great Rocky Marciano.
Meanwhile, one didn’t need to be a scholar of boxing history to know that Larry’s trainer, the venerable Eddie Futch, likely had Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali on his mind when he said, “My fear now is that Larry will go home and watch the tapes and see how great he looked. I’d like to see him [retire] now after looking so good, rather than like some of our other most recent champions.”
But few expected that to happen. Despite Larry’s insistence that he was ready to walk away, it was obvious he had his eye on Marciano’s record, which made his statements about retirement impossible to take seriously. One minute he was declaring the Bey fight was his last, the next minute he was leaving the door open, indicating that for enough cash, maybe another fight or two was in the cards.
“I want a lot of money and no more of those big hitters like Tim Witherspoon and Mike Weaver,” he told Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated. “I’ve paid my dues and if they want me back, they’ve got to give me little people I can beat on without getting hurt.”
Little people? Interesting. Did the champion have someone in mind who fit that description? Well, yes, as a matter of fact, he did, and he went on to negotiate through the media, noting that $3 million dollars was his asking price to defend against undefeated light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks.
But as it turned out, $2.3 million was Larry’s price to first battle Carl “The Truth” Williams on prime-time television in May and almost lose his status as champion of the world. Williams surprised everyone, including Larry, with his skill and determination and the 35-year-old veteran was fortunate to escape with the decision and notch win number 48. Afterwards, the boxing media was naturally curious as to whether Larry intended to keep going and attempt to tie Marciano’s record, but a banged-up Holmes refused to commit himself, saying it was time “for a long rest.”
But the champion, who clearly was nearing the end, had put the $3 million number out there and now undefeated Michael Spinks wanted his shot. Spinks had taken the WBA light heavyweight belt from Eddie Mustafa Muhammad back in 1981 and had since won ten straight title fights and had unified the championship. A former Olympic gold medalist and the younger brother of former heavyweight titlist Leon Spinks, he was considered, pound-for-pound, one of the best in the game, though few gave him a serious chance to dethrone “The Easton Assassin.”
After all, no light heavyweight world champion had ever succeeded in taking the heavyweight title. Such legendary Hall of Fame pugilists as Billy Conn, Archie Moore and Bob Foster had all tried and all had failed, and no one was yet talking about Spinks in the same breath as those former greats of the 175 pound division. Moore himself compared Holmes vs Spinks to a smash ’em up derby between a transport truck and a Volkswagen.
Knowing that Holmes would likely enjoy a huge weight advantage, and that fifteen rounds was a long time to try and avoid his powerful straight right, the Vegas bookies tabbed Spinks a six-to-one underdog. The pundits and boxing historians talked up the Marciano and Holmes comparisons, while Don King titled the card “History,” and even scheduled it for the same date as Rocky’s final fight. The champion had his $3 million dollar check, while Spinks was guaranteed just under $1 million, and everyone waited to see if Holmes could reach the hallowed 49-0 mark. (Meanwhile, Eddie Futch, who happened to train both champions, stayed out of it and worked neither corner.)
But while the match was indeed historic, it was far from memorable. The challenger had bulked up from 175 to a muscular and solid 199 pounds and his quickness, off-rhythm movement and ability to throw punches from unexpected angles gave the champion all kinds of trouble. As a result, Holmes just couldn’t get his punches off and fight fans got fifteen rounds of cat and mouse. Some gave the veteran points for being the aggressor as, round after round, he tried in vain to walk Spinks down, but others, including all three judges, gave the challenger credit for avoiding Larry’s shots while landing the cleaner blows. And just like that Larry Holmes’ undefeated record, his heavyweight title, and his ambitions to break Rocky Marciano’s record were up in smoke.
But if Holmes vs Spinks didn’t provide much in the action and excitement department, the now former champion made up for it with some loud fireworks of his own at his post-fight press conference. Rarely has any high-profile fighter been as candid or as caustic as when Holmes unleashed a tirade of pent-up bitterness at both the press and Marciano’s family. It was an extraordinary, if unseemly, display as Larry held nothing back, his words having far greater impact that night than his fists.
“The last days before the fight I was kind of upset because of things I was hearing from the Marciano family, especially his brother,” sneered Larry from behind dark glasses. “And I think his family owes me a great deal for bringing [Rocky] back to life the way I did. I’m not trying to put him down. Though … it would be so easy for me to do it. I’m 35-years-old fighting young men and he was 25-years-old fighting old men. I can easily [put him down]. I mean, if you really want to get technical about the whole thing, Rocky couldn’t carry my jockstrap.”
But as bad as that was, Holmes had still more resentment and bitterness to unload. “If I hurt you back there, Peter [Marciano], so fucking what,” he continued. “Hold it! This is my show! And you have been invited by Caesars Palace and you are freeloading off your brother even after he’s dead. Now, if it wasn’t for me, you would never have been invited to Caesars Palace where all your expenses are paid. That’s the truth.”
Classy stuff. The ugliness of the scene seemed to dawn on the now former champion as he was speaking and seconds later he stated that Marciano was “one of the greatest fighters of all-time,” that he would have “loved to have met him,” and that he was “very sorry” if he hurt anyone’s feelings. But the damage was done. The harshness of Larry’s words and the famous “jockstrap” comment are well remembered; his statements about Marciano’s greatness are not.
Yet again Holmes stated that he was finished, done, retired, and that despite everything, he was leaving boxing with his head held high. But, like all the other times, it didn’t stick and six months later a Holmes vs Spinks rematch was announced. And in the build-up to the return, the former champion, who prided himself on always “telling it like it is,” once again let his mouth utter the kind of public comments that could only lead to bad karma, stating that the judges who scored the first match “must have been drunk.”
Thus no one, including Larry, was shocked when another close decision went against him and Spinks retained his title, despite the fact this time most thought Holmes deserved better. And in the post-fight interview Holmes got off another memorable line. “All I got to say to the judges, the referees, [and] the promoters is to kiss me where the sun don’t shine,” he told Larry Merchant. “And since we’re on HBO, that’s my big, black behind.”
For those who had admired the skill, courage and determination of “The Easton Assassin,” and who remembered the long, difficult journey he had undertaken to go from being a sparring partner of Ali and Frazier to establishing himself as one of the best heavyweights in the history of the sport, it was a sad ending to an otherwise impressive career. The proud and gifted boxer who had vanquished such dangerous battlers as Earnie Shavers, Ken Norton, Mike Weaver, Gerry Cooney and Tim Witherspoon, was exiting boxing on a sour note, his crass comments about Rocky Marciano still echoing behind him.
But of course, it was not the end. Though at the time absolutely no one would have believed it if you had told them that Larry Holmes was far from finished, that he in fact would answer the bell on twenty-five more occasions and fans would see him battle Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oliver McCall, and, yes, Butterbean, before all was said and done. Meanwhile, Spinks, unlike Holmes, believed in making a decision and sticking to it. He retired a single time, after Mike Tyson annihilated him in ninety-one seconds in 1988 to become the undisputed champion of the world, and he never fought again.
— Michael Carbert
Most brilliant article. He was indeed one punch from the promised land.
Spinks beat Holmes bad and he cried like the baby he is.
Like the classless trash-talking baby he was.