Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes

Mike Tyson retained the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight championships by stopping Larry Holmes in the fourth round at the Convention Centre in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on 22 January 1988. Tyson, the unbeaten 21-year-old champion, weighed 215¾ pounds and entered with 32 victories, 28 by knockout. Holmes weighed 225¾ pounds and brought a record of 48 wins and two defeats, but he was 38 years old and had not fought for 21 months. Referee Joe Cortez ended the contest at 2 minutes 55 seconds of the fourth round after Holmes had been knocked down three times. It was the only stoppage defeat of Holmes’s long career.

Holmes had ruled the heavyweight division for more than seven years before losing his championship to Michael Spinks on a close decision in September 1985. His attempt to regain it seven months later ended in a disputed split-decision defeat, after which he retired. Tyson had since taken command of the division, defeating Trevor Berbick, James Smith, Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tucker and Tyrell Biggs while gathering the three principal governing-body titles. Holmes returned for a purse of approximately $3 million and the opportunity to become champion once more. He remained one of the finest jabbers the division had produced, but he was facing a champion 17 years younger, active, fully conditioned and approaching the height of his powers.

Tyson advanced immediately at the opening bell, crouched behind his gloves and moved his head as he sought to pass beneath Holmes’s long left arm. Holmes circled to his own left and used the jab, although much of his early work was designed to occupy Tyson rather than damage him. When the champion reached close range, Holmes held around the shoulders and waited for Cortez to separate them. Tyson worked to the body whenever space permitted, digging short hooks beneath the elbows and then bringing his punches towards the head. Holmes remained composed and avoided any serious blow, but he was already being made to retreat at a pace that gave him little chance to establish his familiar rhythm.

The second round followed much the same course. Holmes continued to jab while moving around the edge of the ring, occasionally pushing Tyson’s head down as the younger man came forward. Tyson did not rush his attack. He slipped the left hand, stepped across Holmes’s escape route and delivered hooks to the ribs. Holmes’s experience allowed him to smother much of the work by clinching, and Tyson was warned to keep his punches up when several blows strayed towards the belt line. Holmes landed enough with the jab to remain competitive, but his punches lacked the snap of his championship years, and his legs were being required to work constantly.

Holmes produced his best boxing in the third round. His jab found Tyson more often, and he used his height to catch the champion as he moved away. Tyson continued to force the pace but was unable to sustain combinations because Holmes held whenever he entered the shorter man’s preferred range. The former champion had no intention of standing still and exchanging. His method was to jab, move and tie Tyson up before the champion could free both hands. It was not attractive, but it kept him out of serious difficulty through the first nine minutes. Two judges had Tyson ahead by 29–28, while the third had awarded him all three rounds, reflecting the champion’s pressure rather than any overwhelming superiority.

Holmes began the fourth by jabbing with greater purpose and briefly appeared to be settling into the contest. He struck Tyson with several left hands as the champion came forward, then moved away or held before a reply could be delivered. About a minute into the round, Tyson forced him towards the ropes and landed a heavy right to the side of the head. Holmes took the punch and immediately clinched. After Cortez separated them, he held again when Tyson closed the distance. The champion was now stepping more quickly into range, and Holmes’s attempts to escape were becoming hurried.

Following another break, Tyson measured Holmes with a short left and drove an overhand right into the former champion’s head. Holmes fell onto his back near the ropes. He rose at the count of four and indicated that he could continue, but his legs were unsteady. Tyson crossed the ring without wasting a punch and attacked with hooks and rights from close range. A right to the head sent Holmes down for the second time. The former champion rolled over, pushed himself upright and beat the count at eight, although he had difficulty finding his balance as Cortez examined him.

Tyson resumed with less than a minute remaining. Holmes attempted to hold, but his arms no longer responded quickly enough to contain the champion. Tyson struck with both hands, following Holmes across the ring and preventing him from recovering. With seven seconds left in the round, a sweeping right hook caught Holmes high on the side of the head. His body turned with the force of the punch, and he fell heavily onto his back, his right arm becoming caught beneath him. Cortez moved between the fighters and stopped the contest without beginning another count. The official ending came at 2 minutes 55 seconds.

There was no protest from Holmes or his corner. He had been knocked down three times in less than a minute and was plainly incapable of defending himself when the final blow arrived. Tyson had not overwhelmed him from the outset, as some had predicted, but he had remained patient while Holmes jabbed, moved and held. Once the champion found the range for his right hand, the fight ended with remarkable speed. Holmes’s age and inactivity were evident in his declining reactions after the first knockdown; the younger version, with quicker legs and a sharper jab, would have presented a far more difficult contest.

The victory strengthened Tyson’s position as the leading active heavyweight, although Michael Spinks remained unbeaten and continued to claim the lineal championship. Spinks and his promoter, Butch Lewis, were at ringside, and the result increased interest in a meeting between the two unbeaten men. Tyson next travelled to Tokyo to defend against Tony Tubbs before the match with Spinks was finally arranged for June. Holmes returned to retirement after the defeat, though he came back again in 1991 and later outpointed the unbeaten Ray Mercer before challenging Evander Holyfield for the championship.

For Tyson, the result was one of the most notable victories of his first reign. Holmes was well beyond his best and had been inactive for nearly two years, but he remained an experienced former champion who had never previously been stopped. Tyson gave him no opportunity to recover once he was hurt, and the three knockdowns in the fourth round demonstrated the speed with which he could turn a controlled contest into a conclusive finish. Holmes had kept him at a distance for stretches of the first three rounds; when that distance disappeared, so did the fight.