Larry Holmes
 Larry HolmesBoxingInsider.com Exclusive Biofile Published by Scoop Malinowski Last Updated on April 11th, 2008 | Options:  Print This Article  Email This Article  RSS |
Status: Former Heavyweight Champ (June 9, 1978 – Sept. 22, 1985)
Born On: November 3, 1949
Birthplace: Cuthbert, GA
Childhood Heroes: “I liked all of them, Ali, Liston, Tony Dorsett, O.J. Simpson. I liked everybody.”
Nicknames: The Easton Assassin, Big Jack, Chopper (“From playing baseball. They said I used to chop at the ball.”)
Hobbies/Interests: “Messin’ around with the band (Marmalade). Fishing, catchin’ ‘em. It’s peaceful, quiet. It’s just great. Nobody can bother me out there. No negative shit out there in the middle of the ocean.”
Early Boxing Memory: “I remember when people used to tell me I wasn’t gonna be shit. My goal was to prove them wrong. I always felt good about myself. I was just an average person. I always felt I could do anything anyone else could. If an average person makes up their mind to do something, they can.”
Childhood Dream: “I wanted to be President of the United States. Then a football star like O.J. Simpson or Tony Dorsett. Then I dropped out of school and that dream went out the window. Then I decided on fighting, to make some money for my family. I had those goals. To become heavyweight champion came later.”
First Job(s): “I had a lot of jobs – shoeshine boy, car wash, rug mill, steel mill.”
Pre-Fight Feeling: “I would think about the outcome. Visualize sometimes. Because it never comes out the way you want it to. Fight the way I know how to fight. Whatever comes up, comes up. So many things can happen. (Upon entering the ring would you look at him?) Yeah, I’d look at him. What am I supposed to do, close my eyes [laughs]? Let him know there’s no boy in me. There’s all man. If he wants to kick my ass, he’s gonna have to kick a man’s ass. It’s just me and him and nobody else. All the bullshit, all the other stuff is gone.”
Pre-Fight Meal: “Pasta with sauce, and hot tea.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “When I won the World Heavyweight Championship. June 9, 1978, unanimous decision over Ken Norton. It gave me a chance to do it when so many people thought I couldn’t do it. A great moment. I jumped up and down and thanked God for it. I was the happiest man in the world.”
Worst Injuries: “Hand injuries. Foot and arm injuries. I continued to fight with those injuries.”
Closest Friends from Boxing: “Roberto Duran. I talk to him as much as I can. He trained at my gym. I first met him when he beat Ken Buchanan in 1972. He was kind enough to take pictures with me. He’s a good guy, man. A champion who loves to live. He’s played the bongos at my club. Saoul Mamby. Since 1968 he’s been my friend. Still my friend. He works with me.”
Funniest Boxer: “Muhammad Ali. Very good personality, good sense of humor. Good guy.”
Toughest Opponents: “Ken Norton – strong, determined, never gives up. Earnie Shavers – punches too f***in’ hard! Gerry Cooney – too big, too tall. Good jab, good left hook. Mike Tyson.”
Favorite Boxers To Watch: “Roy Jones. Ali. Norton. Frazier. Jerry Quarry. Ron Lyle. Earnie Shavers. Oscar Bonavena. Roberto Duran. Ray Leonard. Hagler. Hearns.”
Favorite Meal: “Pasta with red or white clam sauce. Without the clams, just the juice. The clams make my stomach sick. Vegetables. Red wine.”
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “I don’t eat breakfast. I don’t like it. Wastes your time.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Butter pecan.”
Musical Tastes: “Jazz, modern jazz, Luther Vandross. I started music coming into the ring. Nobody else mentions it or says it, might not even know it. I started in 1978 vs. Ken Norton with ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.’”
Favorite TV Show: “Redd Foxx. I could watch it over and over and over. Still laughing at the same things.”
Interesting Fact: “I’m a businessman. I think of the fight game as a business. Here today, gone tomorrow. Boxing is to make as much money as I can. I’m a businessman, then a fighter.”
Most Treasured Possession: “My life, I have that.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “All athletes. For different reasons. And people who fight each other every day to make it in society. It’s a struggle living in the United States. It’s a struggle for everyone unless you have everything at your feet. The majority of people don’t have that. I admire people who struggle to make it. Struggle is to have something. Struggle hard to have something. I don’t admire people who already have something and don’t have to struggle for it. Too easy.”
Family: Wife, Diane; son, Larry Jr.; daughters, Kandy, Belinda, Misty, Lisa.
Residence: Easton, PA.
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