Larry and Ali had known each other for much longer, and their friendship is still regarded as one of the most cherished in professional boxing history. Larry was a sparring partner for a boxing legend, and the pair achieved much greater feats together, making them one of the most feared duos.
Ali and Holmes fought for two years. He also continued to fight, sometimes on the undercard of Ali’s fights. He continued to fight for acceptance in the boxing community and bigger-paying matches.
Although Holmes was widely regarded as a boxer with exceptional abilities in the boxing community, it was widely assumed that he avoided difficult opponents and lacked the passion and drive of a true champion.
Holmes put his critics to rest in a thrilling 12-round fight against widely favored Earnie Shavers in 1978. This victory prepared Holmes for his bout with Ken Norton for the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title a few months later in Las Vegas.
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Ali retired in June 1979 after defeating Leon Spinks on September 15, 1978, to reclaim the WBA heavyweight championship. Ali informed the Associated Press on February 14, 1980, that he would fight for one last time, which would be his last dance. On March 5, he consented to take on John Tate, the newly crowned WBA heavyweight champion, in a fight slated to take place in June.
Ali announced his intention to challenge WBC Champion Larry Holmes during a press conference on April 16. The news caught everyone off guard because the press conference was supposed to be a contract signing for Ali and Weaver’s fight. However, on March 31, Mike Weaver knocked out Tate to win the title.
Holmes outclassed Ali, winning each round according to the three judges’ scores. Ali’s trainer intervened to halt the fight after the tenth round as Holmes was dealing with Ali’s significant punches, giving Ali his lone career defeat through stoppage. The Ring recognized Holmes as the World Heavyweight Champion following the victory.
However, Holmes appeared to regret severely beating Ali during the match. After all, they were like brothers, and no one had ever imagined them facing off in such a situation. Ali was also coming out of retirement and had to face the music. Holmes’ eyes welled up with tears during a post-fight interview. When asked why he was sobbing, he replied that he admired Ali and that you couldn’t take credit from him because Ali was up against one of the toughest heavyweights in the world at the time. This fight was also the cause of Ali’s Parkinson’s disease.
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