I might be wrong is suggesting this

[Engine512]

But was Larry Holmes' title reign so long because the division was weak. I am not saying Larry Holmes was not tremendously talented, but is he a little over rated by a weak heavyweight era?

[Anomalocaris]

But was Larry Holmes' title reign so long because the division was weak. I am not saying Larry Holmes was not tremendously talented, but is he a little over rated by a weak heavyweight era?

Very slightly overrated but if he had fought Page, Dokes and Thomas he would have just about cleaned out the division.

Witherspoon gave him pure hell though.

[DeeMoney]

Heres the thing, according the general boxing history fan populous EVERY heavyweight era, except for the late 60s-70s & 1990s, was a weak era. I know some years back I posited what was the third best heavyweight era, I don't remember what the consensus was, but I am sure most fans would decry it as weak

[JAB5239]

Very talented era that was plagued by drugs. Holmes never had the chance to fight other champions because none could hold on to their belts. During Holmes tenure as the IBF champion there were 6 WBA titlists with a total of 3 successful title defenses, Weaver who Holmes twice beat had two of them.Holmes during his championship tenure he had 16 WBC title defenses beating future world champions Weaver, Berbick, Witherspoon, Smith and Williams, with defenses against Cooney and Shavers. There were three WBC titlist after and during Holmes reign as champion. Berbick, Witherspoon and Thomas and they had 1 succesful title defense between them going to Pinklon Thomas. He had already beaten Berbick and Witherspoon. Watching the guys fight you can see the talent, yet most of them had little discipline making them inconsistent. Not a great era by any means, but there were plenty of skills there. Holmrs also signed to fight Gerrie Coetzee, but the fight fell apart due to no fault of his own.

[Anomalocaris]

Heres the thing, according the general boxing history fan populous EVERY heavyweight era, except for the late 60s-70s & 1990s, was a weak era. I know some years back I posited what was the third best heavyweight era, I don't remember what the consensus was, but I am sure most fans would decry it as weak

Another thing that really annoys me.

In every single era fans decry the state of boxing (especially the heavyweight division) and look back to a mythical golden age of towering behemoths bestriding the world stage.

It happened in the '90s - I remember an article by some hack saying it was the weakest the division had ever been and that it was a 'sorry era folks'.

Yeah, of course it was.

Cartoon figures like Bert Sugar were guilty of this, his all-time lists were utterly appalling.

On the other hand Herbert G. Goldman was superb.

[JAB5239]

How does everyone define a heavyweight era? For me it starts with the champion(s) and how long the top contenders stay in the top 10, and who they fight.

[Willie Pep 229]

Young Man: "Boxing isn't what it use to be."

Old Man: "And I'll tell you something else, boxing never was what it use to be."

[DeeMoney]

How does everyone define a heavyweight era? For me it starts with the champion(s) and how long the top contenders stay in the top 10, and who they fight.

Thats usually one of the ways, and often the favorite (ir the Klitschko Era).

Round numbers usually is another standard way, like by decade; or by historical markers (post WWII). I think a lot of time by looking at which fighters were the top contenders in a given stretch of years (usually 4-8 years). Like the mid 70s where Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Quarry were all fighting each other. This way tends to be my favorite.

[QueensburyRules]

But was Larry Holmes' title reign so long because the division was weak. I am not saying Larry Holmes was not tremendously talented, but is he a little over rated by a weak heavyweight era?

- - Tubby Lar who used to be skinny was the GIANT Sucking Sound after Ali, George, Joe, and Ken retired.

Poor Lar never beat a standing champ having won his belt in the ring. Against real champs, his record is 0-2 with 1 Spectacular KO loss.

[Engine512]

To his credit he did beat Ken Norton by a decision with a bum shoulder, and no money for sparring partners. At least that is what they say