Larry Holmes, one of the best heavyweights in history, got accused of ducking a big fight in his career. The former champ supposedly avoided a unification bout with Pinklon Thomas in 1985.
Holmes, known as "The Easton Assassin," had a perfect 48-0 record at the time. He'd beaten some big names like Gerry Cooney, Tim Witherspoon, Earnie Shavers, and an older Muhammad Ali. Holmes held the IBF heavyweight title and was eight years older than Thomas.
Thomas, the WBC heavyweight champ, was undefeated and kept calling Holmes out. He didn't mince words when talking about the situation.
"He should retire or face me. He's got to quit making excuses to keep from fighting. He's not the real champion. He's a fraud."
Holmes decided to fight Michael Spinks instead of Thomas. People think he wanted to match Rocky Marciano's famous unbeaten record. But things didn't go as planned. Holmes lost to Spinks by unanimous decision, then lost the rematch the next year.
Thomas held onto his belt by beating Mike Weaver after the Holmes-Spinks fight. But his career took a downturn soon after. He lost his title to Trevor Berbick and got stopped by Mike Tyson the following year. After that, Thomas only won one of his next six fights.
Holmes' career also went downhill. He got knocked out by Tyson when he was well past his prime.
The Holmes-Thomas fight could have been a big deal - a heavyweight unification bout between the IBF and WBC champs. But it never happened, and both fighters' careers faded. It's a classic example of a heavyweight rivalry that boxing fans never got to see in the ring.
