Editor-In-Chief with 20 years experience covering the betting angles to breaking news stories. Daily slots player, Portsmouth fan and League Snooker Player
Holmes is one of the few people in the world who can speak to the true power of Las Vegas, retelling the greatest moments of his illustrious career, with so many having taken place in the city of casinos.
The ex-champion spilled the beans behind Ali’s plot that saw Tyson take revenge against Holmes in Vegas and assessed Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury’s ability to rank alongside the top heavyweights of his own era in boxing.
Speaking to OLBG, Larry Holmes said:
Las Vegas legend Don King is the greatest promoter I have seen
I don’t regret fighting Ali, I had to get out of his shadow and get paid!
I had a las Vegas pool party when I beat Gerry Gooner for $10 million! Muhammad Ali didn’t let me have that money
I’m betting my money on Mike Tyson to beat Jake Paul
Both Mike Tyson and Jake Paul are making more money in 1 fight than I did in 70!
Jake Paul better be ready for Mike Tyson — Tyson’s punches can kill!
The only way Jake Paul wins is if he runs away from Mike Tyson
Mike knocked the S**t out of me and embarrassed me when we fought
I’m expecting a great show from both fighters
Muhammad Ali never told Tyson to get revenge for him, we were friends
Ali was kind to me in sparring and helped me a lot with my jab
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury would have been top 10 fighters in my era
Interview
Larry Holmes reflects on the golden era of Las Vegas boxing, his fight with Muhammad Ali, and how today's fighters, including Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, compare. He also shares insights on boxing legends and modern heavyweights like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Caesars Palace was the place to be on the Vegas strip back in the day — modern fighters going to Saudi Arabia for cash don’t know what they’re missing from the golden era
When I fought in Las Vegas I was the heavyweight champion of the world. Caesars Palace was my favourite on the strip, they always respected and treated me good.
Las Vegas is still the entertainment capital of the world, but they've slacked up, the casino’s don’t do it like they used to. All the fights were in Vegas now they’re slacking up. Fighters want to get paid and I don’t blame them.
Las Vegas legend Don King is the greatest promoter I have seen, and he once sent me a briefcase full of a million dollars like something out of a Hollywood movie
The legendary promoter sent me a briefcase of $1M! Even at 93, he's still inspiring and legendary! 🥊💰
Don King is the greatest promoter I’ve seen. He’d put you out there if you could fight, but you had to be ready.
He’s 93 years old now, but I still talk to him. I called him the other day. He says ‘he’s going to make it’. He did a hell of a job for me. I had to be ready and if I wasn’t ready I got beat up. He brought a heap of money to me and said ‘fight’.
He did send a briefcase with a million dollars to me but I did not take it because I had to pay taxes. He is a good man, a great man. He treated me good and he treated me badly, but I won the title with his help.
I don’t regret fighting Muhammad Ali in Las Vegas — I had to get out of his shadow and get paid!
Ali was a friend in my eyes. I knew Ali couldn’t beat me. When I fought Ali it was like me going to the store and getting whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. That’s what I did, anything I wanted to in the ring.
I had mixed feelings afterwards because he should not have fought me. But I can understand why he did fight me - money. And the fight took a toll. But I don’t regret the fight. The fight got me out of the dark.
People would say, “You want to be like Ali.” But I didn’t want to be like Ali; I wanted to be Larry Holmes. But he’s a good guy. I did not try to hurt him. I just wanted to win the fight and they wanted me to kill the guy and I didn't want to kill the guy, man, I don’t want to kill no guy. The fans wanted me to kill him, but I wasn’t going to do that.
When I won I stepped out of his shadow. Everything before the fight was about Ali, it was always "Ali, Ali, Ali." I said ‘I’ve got to kill him’ because it makes you mad. But I loved that guy, may his soul rest in peace.
🥊✨ In the Ring with Ali
I loved him because he was good. He was a good friend. I asked him to my hometown before I fought him and he came down and everyone was chanting “Ali, Ai, Ali” and that was in my hometown. He said ‘I’m not coming to that one horse town’ but he came anyway. And he gave me a job as a sparring partner, he paid me $500 a week and even paid me on the days I didn’t work.
My biggest Las Vegas payday was $10 million from Gerry Cooney, and I celebrated in true Las Vegas style! Muhammad Ali didn’t let me have that money from our big fight at Caesars Palace
I think my biggest payday was probably $10 million, something like that. That was against Gerry Cooney.
People think it would be Muhammad Ali but it wasn’t over $10 million. Ali didn’t let me have that money. Gerry Cooney was my biggest, he fought like hell to beat me, but he didn’t. He was a tough guy and I earned that ten million.
After beating Cooney and earning that $10 million, I celebrated for days. I jumped in the swimming pool. I was happy, smiling, with money in my pocket because I beat Gerry.
If Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul was a Las Vegas table game I’d be betting all my money on Iron Mike
In a showdown with Jake Paul, I'm all in on Tyson. 💥🥊 Both cashing more in one fight than I did in 70!
Mike Tyson doesn't care about anything, he’ll fight you right now, even though he’s not in any shape. And he’s going to hit you, and when he does that, it’s all over. Mike is ready for it. He won’t be taking any punches in training. If I'm betting my money it’s on Mike.
Both Mike Tyson and Jake Paul are making more money in one fight than I did in 70!
No, it won't affect Tyson’s legacy if he loses, but if Jake wins all hell is going to break loose. If Jake Paul wins they’re going to have a parade all setup, that’s what’s going to happen. I’m not saying he wins, but if he does, people are going to go crazy. But I don’t care who wins, these guys are making more money in one fight than I did in 70 fights. I’m glad these guys are making money.
Jake Paul v Mike Tyson Betting Preview: Paul now 1/3 FAVOURITE to beat Tyson with just a month left until the two face-off against each other in the ring!
Jake Paul better be ready for Mike Tyson — when he punches you, he tries to kill you!
Eduardo Merille, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
I watched a clip of Mike Tyson this morning and all I can say is Jake better be ready if he’s going to fight Mike. Mike will be able to last the two minute rounds. Mike comes to fight when he puts his mind to it, he goes to work on you. And that’s what I've seen today. And if this guy tries to trade punches with Mike, he loses.
Mike is a puncher. I fought Mike and he hit me and that was the end of it. Earnie Shavers was one of the hardest punchers there’s ever been and Mike is right up there with him at the top. Earnie Shavers was the hardest I've ever faced but when Tyson hits, he tries to kill you. And Mike can take a good punch, I hit him a couple of times and he kept on coming.
Jake will hit him, but Mike is going to keep on coming. He better be ready for Mike to keep coming forward with punches.
Jake better be ready when Iron Mike hits, he means business! Circle, jab, or it's goodnight, Irene! 🌪️💥
The only way Jake Paul wins is if he fights like me, Larry Holmes, and runs away from Mike Tyson
If Jake moves like Larry Holmes did, around in circles, ducking punches then he might be able to survive. But if he doesn't move around, duck Mike’s punches, he’s not going to make it.
He has to bang that jab out. Block what he throws and throw back. If he doesn’t fight Mike Tyson smartly, using movement and jabs, he won’t win. If tries to trade punches he’s not going to win.
The only way he wins the battle is if he runs. If he doesn’t use his jab and movement, it’s goodnight, Irene. He's in trouble if he does not use his jab. You have to beat Tyson to the punch, use the jab, and be first. When the bell rings, Tyson’s going to run at him, and he’ll have to stop Mike with a strong right hand and left hook.
If he doesn’t get Mike’s respect early, Mike is going to run over him, believe me. He has to hit Mike hard right off the bat otherwise it’s goodnight, Irene. If he can do that, he’s got it made, but Mike is going to do that too, so it’s going to come down to who hits first.
YouTube: Jake Paul
Mike knocked the s**t out of me and embarrassed me when we fought in one of America’s other great casino towns, Atlantic City
Tyson ducks, moves his head, and gets in close. He’ll take a punch or two to get in close, and then once he’s up close he’ll go to work on the body, and then that head.
Mike knocked the shit out of me, he hit me so hard I went ‘wooooo’. And he beat me. It was embarrassing.
I remember the right hand he hit me with - I thought at the time ‘he should be locked up’ because of the power, and he kept on coming, growling like Joe Frazier.
That’s the fight I’m expecting Mike to put on. Jake has to survive that.
I’m looking for a great show from both fighters worthy of a big fight night in Vegas
I'm not expecting anything. I'm just looking for a good fight like everybody else.
Mike Tyson's gonna do his thing and fight the way he always fights. I think if I'm gonna bet my money, I'll bet on Mike Tyson because I know him. I see him. I was around him. I know what he’s made of.
I wish both of them the best, I hope they don’t get hurt. They have Larry Holmes support.
Muhammad Ali never told Tyson to get revenge for him in Atlantic City, we were friends
I heard that, but Ali did not say that. He wasn’t that kind of a guy. He was my friend. It sounds like something people wish had happened, but Ali wasn’t like that.
Ali was kind to me in sparring and helped me a lot with my jab
He’d always say, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” I used to say ‘you can float like a butterfly until I get to you’. He never tried to hurt me in sparring; he just worked on his jab. It helped me a lot with my jab too.
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury would have been top 10 fighters in my era
We were tougher. We never said ‘who are we going to fight?’ We just fought. We fought everybody, no picking and choosing. But Anthony Joshua’s a good fighter, you can’t take that away from him, he’s a good fighter. He would have been a top ten heavyweight in my era. He’d be a good fighter in my era, same goes for Tyson Fury. Those guys are dedicated, but you had to fight each other in my era; there was no way around it.
