On 6th of November 1981 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, two ring gladiators Larry Holmes and Renaldo Snipes, both then undefeated, fought for the WBC world heavyweight title.
Early in the 7th round, the defending champion Holmes, who stopped Muhammad Ali in 10 rounds prior to the fight and was then looking forward to a $10 million payday against Gerry Cooney (he called the Snipes fight a tune-up), was knocked down by a perfectly timed overhand right that he didn’t see coming. He laboriously got up and miraculously survived the round and went on to stop the challenger in Round 11.
After the fight, however, Snipes complained that the champion received the benefit of a long count. “It only takes 10 seconds to win a title, but it took Larry 14 seconds to keep it. I walked out of that ring with my head high and my pride intact. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Not winning the title might have kept me grounded. I’ve always surrounded myself with well-rounded people. Hopefully they wouldn’t have let the victory go to my head. But you never know,” said Snipes.
Watch the fight that took place exactly 28 years ago today.
Sources of this story:
Renaldo Snipes Came this Close (The Sweet Science)
Mellon Arena Final Year
Snipes vs Holmes – Boxer recalls Walcott Bout
Custom Search
No comments:
Post a Comment