The Larry Holmes that beat Gerry Cooney versus The James Buster Douglas that beat Mike Tyson. Who would win?

Question

The Larry Holmes that beat Gerry Cooney versus The James Buster Douglas that beat Mike Tyson. Who would win?

Answer 1

Holmes wins easily.  Douglas was ready for TYSON that night.  In Holmes, he is not facing an unmotivated, immobile slugger who is impossible to miss if you stand 6'2" or taller.  Now he's facing a completely different fighter.  

Even though he was motivated by the death of his mom and illness of his son's mother,  Douglas prepared for TYSON: The one dimentional Bully with no "Plan B".   He would not have been as prepared for HOLMES: the Multi-dimentional seasoned professional who usually has all the answers.

Holmes is VERY strong for his size and Douglas, though heavier had a lot of excess fat on his body.  Holmes would be close enough to Buster's strength to keep Buster from mauling him.  

Holmes would then force Douglas to extend himself.  Buster's jab would not hit Larry as easily as it found Mike.  Mike stayed right in front of Buster.  There was no head movement, no defensive effort of any sort,  only the "one punch at a time" effort.  How could Buster miss him?

Larry would certainly not be so easy to hit. The last time someone was able to match Larry with the jab (Carl Williams) he found out that there's much more to Larry Holmes than just a jab.  Buster would learn the same lesson.  

While he's giving Larry a run for his money with the jab,  Larry is causing Buster to expand MUCH more energy than Tyson did.  You burn a LOT more energy against a stationary target (as Tyson was)  than one who is a bit more mobile and who hits back.   Larry would also go to the body as he did against Williams.  

After about 8 rounds Buster won't be so "spry" as he was against Tyson because Larry would deplete him much more than Tyson did.  Buster's arms would begin to become heavy as a result of missing as many jabs as he lands and FAR more than he missed against Tyson.   I dont think he missed any jabs against Tyson.   He would miss, and EAT his share of them against Holmes.  

By round 11 Buster is helpless against the ropes.  Only this time he doesnt have the sloppy soft punching Tony Tucker hitting him.  He has a much sharper puncher hitting him.  Buster backs into a corner, seeking shelter when Larry lands one final right that prompts the referee to step in as Douglas is sinking to the canvas.  

Holmes by TKO in 11

Answer 2

Holmes, easy, he was one of the most underrated fighters ever, in his prime he always was in shape and took every fight serious.

Answer 3

The Larry Holmes that beat Jerry Cooney was not at his best, but he would beat Buster Douglas, because Homes at that time was very hard to knockout or even really hit.  That said, when Buster Douglas was in good shape he threw some really hard punches.  If Tyson's neck was not so strong, he would have been decapitated that night.

Answer 4

douglas was in a zone that night. his mothers death plus wifes cancer. but he still won more to the fact that tyson no longer cared, and his corner was even worse. they had a condom with water in it for his eye. holmes is a level above both tyson and douglas. big larry by tko.

Answer 5

holmes would outwork, out jab, and out maneuvor douglas to take the decision, or win a late round stoppage, but it would be a tough fight.

probably another interesting matchup would be the douglas who beat tyson vs the cooney who fought holmes, in which case i would pick douglas to stop cooney in the late rounds.

Answer 6

First of all let me please state the obvious

There is absolutely NO COMPARISON in the skill level of these 2 men

Larry Holmes in his prime was one of the most skilled boxing legends of all time and Buster Douglas was simply a good solid pro

9 times out of 10 Larry would definitely be triumphant over Buster

Sometimes in certain cases however we must look at the intangables to pick a competitive contest even if the reality of the situation seems very obvious

The Holmes that fought Cooney was motivated to say the least. He very much wanted to shut up fans that were dissing him

Buster Douglas however on the night of Febuary 10 1990 was fighting from the very bowls of his soul

Just weeks earlier he had lost a piece of himself when his beloved mother passed away

He was dedicating THAT fight to his mother

Nothing merely human with boxing gloves was going to stop him

Having said that a PRIMED Larry Holmes pugilistic skill would certainly be a MUCH bigger obstacle than a small flat footed target that simply folds and gets frightened the minute something effectively stands up to it

It would be tough for me to put money on this fight because overwhelming logic would be prodding me to do one thing and strong intuition would gently be serenading to me another

All things considered though I would have to put my money on THAT Douglas.

THAT Douglas with the guiding inner force of MAMMA Douglas in his heart would SOMEHOW find his hand raised in joy after the fight

Answer 7

HOLMES WOULD HAVE KILLED DOUGLAS by THE WAY Tyson WAS ROBED IN THAT FIGHT THE REF SCREWED UP THE COUNT

Answer 8

Larry Holmes in his prime would have taken both Buster and Mike.

Answer 9

without a doubt larry holmes !!!

Answer 10

Larry Holmes would knock him out in 5 rounds to strong and a very good jab