Larry Holmes Is Certain Muhammad Ali’s Health Decline Was Down To One Fighter: “He’s To Blame”

Larry Holmes had an infamous fight with Muhammad Ali that a lot of boxing fans aren’t too fond of.

Holmes was the reigning WBC champion and unbeaten at 35-0 when he took on Ali, who had initially retired after showing clear signs of being past his peak, but ended that retirement to step into the ring against ‘The Easton Assassin’ with a record of 56 wins and 3 defeats.

It was a dominant performance from Holmes, with many wanting the fight ended much earlier than it was. It was eventually stopped after the tenth round, and was the only time in Ali’s career that he was beaten by stoppage.

While some boxing fans have chosen to point the finger at Holmes for the decline in the health of former world heavyweight champion Ali, ‘The Easton Assasin’ has revealed that he feels another man is to blame.

Speaking to Boxing TV, Holmes said that Ali’s fight against Earnie Shavers three years before they’d met was the main cause of Ali’s decline.

“Muhammad Ali fought Earnie Shavers. He was OK until he fought Earnie Shavers, and when Earnie started hitting him upside the head, Ali went a little bit like that. And I blame Earnie Shavers for it.

“I shouldn’t but I do. I said if you hadn’t hit him like that he would be walking around, going punchy a little bit. Earnie hit him and hurt him a lot of times. He knocked the hell out of Muhammad.”

Ali took on Shavers in September 1977, with ‘The Greatest’ claiming a unanimous decision win after 15 hard-fought rounds where he was hurt on several occasions.

Ali fought one more time after his defeat to Holmes, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Trevor Berbick, as his career ended with a record of 56 wins and 5 defeats.

Holmes continued to compete until 2002, as his final boxing record stood at 69 wins and 6 defeats, after also sharing the ring with the likes of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.