Larry Holmes went 48-0 before losing to a fighter whose sibling triumphed over Muhammad Ali.
‘The Easton Assassin’ was a tremendous competitor inside the ring, renowned for his classy jab and ring IQ.
For 12 years, he remained undefeated, and on course to break Rocky Marciano’s record.
But in his 49th professional bout, his undefeated run went up in flames.
Michael Spinks defeated Larry Holmes to stop him from going 49-0
On February 15, 1978, in just his eighth fight, Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali.
After watching his brother make history, Michael Spinks did the same thing when he relieved Larry Holmes of the IBF heavyweight championship on September 21, 1985, at the Riviera in Winchester, Nevada, USA.
In the early portion of the fight, Holmes was able to find a home for his jab, but as the rounds rolled on, his rival began confusing him with elusive movement that allowed him to find combinations from awkward angles.
Determined to find the answer, the champion started looking for a knockout blow that never came, with Spinks ultimately winning via unanimous decision.
Muhammad Ali gave honest opinion on whether he could’ve beaten Rocky Marciano
While Holmes achieved a lot inside the ring, including defeating Muhammad Ali, he was still devastated to miss out on matching the great Marciano.
To this day, ‘The Brockton Blockbuster’ still has the longest undefeated record in heavyweight history.
But what would’ve happened if he had fought ‘The Greatest’?
In an interesting interview, Ali gave his opinion on whether he could’ve defeated Marciano.
