Larry Holmes Didn’t Hesitate When Asked If He Regretted Facing Muhammad Ali After Health Concerns

‘The Easton Assassin’ remains one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of boxing, enjoying a glittering professional career which saw him capture and hold the world heavyweight championship between 1978 and 1985, remaining unbeaten through his first 48 contests.

Holmes beat some of the biggest names in the sport including the likes of Earnie Shavers, Ken Norton, Trevor Berbick and Ali.

It was reportedly common knowledge in the build-up to the showdown with Ali that the health of ‘The Greatest’ was deteriorating rapidly. although there was little-to-no effort made by anyone in Ali’s team to get the fight cancelled because of this.

Holmes stopped Ali in the tenth round of their fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to retain the WBC heavyweight title, although the performance of ‘The Easton Assassin’ was overshadowed by Ali’s serious health concerns.

In an interview with OLBG, Holmes gave an honest outlook on the rumours that he actually regretted facing Ali in their 1980 heavyweight title showdown, which would go on to be the penultimate fight in the career of ‘The Greatest’.

“I don’t regret fighting Muhammad Ali in Las Vegas — I had to get out of his shadow and get paid.

Ali was a friend in my eyes. I knew Ali couldn’t beat me. When I fought Ali it was like me going to the store and getting whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. That’s what I did, anything I wanted to in the ring.”

‘The Greatest’ fought once more one year later against Berbick before finally walking away from boxing for good.