‘The Easton Assassin’ Larry Holmes had a widely successful career that saw him compete 75 times across 29 years.
From Holmes defeating Muhammad Ali to once being a 47-0 fighter, he is easily considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
Beginning his career in 1973, a 23-year-old Holmes started his journey to becoming a world champion. After 27 fights and wins, he would finally get his chance at a world title.
Holmes would then face a tough challenge when he was finally paired against a fellow legendary champion.
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Larry Holmes was awarded a world title shot in 1978 against Ken Norton
Five years into his professional career in 1978, Holmes would be given his world title chance in Las Vegas. Fighting on June 9th, 28-year-old Holmes challenged WBC World Heavyweight champion Ken Norton.
The champion had a professional record of 40-4, with his last loss coming against Ali two years prior. It was the second time he had lost to Ali, as Norton had also suffered defeat to George Foreman in 1974.
After winning a WBC title eliminator against Jimmy Young, Holmes would be promoted to become a champion.
Norton was six years older than Holmes, who had won three of his last four via stoppage. In Holmes’s last performance before fighting for the title, he defeated former title challenger Earnie Shavers.
Going into the bout, the defending champion was a slight favorite.
Larry Holmes edged out a split decision win against Ken Norton
In what could be considered to be one of the closest 15-round title fights of all time, Holmes was able to dethrone Norton.
A strong start from the challenger would be followed by a change of tactics from Norton, which would see him operate more on the front foot.
Going into the final round of the bout, the heavyweights could not be separated as the fight was scored evenly across the judges’ scorecards. In the final round of the world title affair, the judges would not see the same victor.
One judge would score the final three minutes of the fight for Norton. However, it would not be enough for the champion to retain his title. As the other two scored the 15th round in favor of Holmes, ‘The Easton Assassin’ became champion.
Despite the close nature of the bout, the pair did not have a rematch. The newly crowned champion would reign supreme at the top of the heavyweight division until Holmes suffered a shock defeat to Michael Spinks.
As for Norton, he was not able to become a heavyweight champion again after the loss.