Holmes’ last title: Hall of Famer

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When Larry Holmes gives his induction speech at the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 8, he will almost certainly note how pivotal Las Vegas was to his career.

The former heavyweight champion — who held the title for seven years and made 20 successful defenses — said Las Vegas was like a second home during most of a professional career that lasted nearly three decades.

Some of Holmes’ greatest victories, and a couple of his toughest losses, occurred here.

"I felt so comfortable when I’d come to Vegas," Holmes, 58, said from Easton, Pa., on Tuesday after he and 11 others were named to be enshrined at Canastota, N.Y. "It was my home away from home. I think there were so many people betting against me, and for me, it fired me up."

Despite a 69-6 record that included 44 knockouts, a perceived lack of respect was a thread running through Holmes’ career. But he long has since made peace with others’ perception that he wasn’t a popular champion, or that his string of title defenses somehow lacked legitimacy.

"I guess (making the Hall of Fame) validates a lot of things in other people’s minds, but not mine," Holmes said. "I didn’t box to be a Hall of Famer or to be great. I was just trying to pay the rent."

Holmes’ first Las Vegas fight came at Caesars Palace in 1975 when he knocked out Ernie Smith in the third round on the Muhammad Ali-Ron Lyle undercard. Holmes fought here 21 times, going 17-4, and once in Reno, where he won a 15-round decision over Carl "The Truth" Williams in 1985.

Several of Holmes’ biggest fights were at Caesars. He won the WBC heavyweight title for the first time June 9, 1978, when he defeated Ken Norton in a memorable 15-round fight at the indoor pavilion.

Holmes won the fight with a final round cited by many as one of the greatest in boxing history. The two fought evenly in the 15-round slugfest.

As the fight entered its final minute, Norton delivered an uppercut that knocked out Holmes’ mouthpiece. A stunned Holmes responded with a flurry of punches that badly staggered Norton with the seconds ticking down.

"No one thought I could beat Norton," Holmes said. "No one thought I could be heavyweight champion of the world. I worked him. That was 15 rounds of fighting, something they don’t do today.

""No one thought I could (beat Norton). But the one thing I had was determination. Six days before the fight, I pulled a muscle in my arm. Most guys would have called off the fight. But I was determined to go through with it.

"When we got to the 15th round, I said to myself, ‘He’s gonna have to kill me to beat me.’ Even when he knocked my mouthpiece out, I was still moving forward. I wanted it that bad."

Holmes defended his title against Ali at Caesars in 1980, scoring an 11th-round TKO on Oct. 2. And his much-hyped title fight against Gerry Cooney in the outdoor arena on June 6, 1982, set a record at the time for closed-circuit sales.

Holmes admitted it was tough emotionally for him to beat up the fading Ali, his boyhood idol, who had given a fledgling Holmes a break by letting him be a sparring partner.

"I loved him. Still do," Holmes said of Ali. "People were saying he was washed up and if I beat him, so what? I couldn’t win no matter what."

But it was the Cooney fight that really put the spotlight on Holmes. In a racially charged promotion, he came across as the villain, even though he liked Cooney and respected him as a fighter.

"When I said, ‘He may be white, but can he fight?’ that pissed off a lot of people," Holmes said. "But to me, it wasn’t about color. Black, white, yellow, orange, green. It didn’t mean (expletive) to me. It wasn’t color that was gonna win that fight. Whoever was the best man was gonna win.

"I told Gerry before the first bell, ‘Let’s have a good fight.’ "

Holmes dominated throughout and finally scored a 13th-round TKO.

"Gerry Cooney could punch," Holmes said. "I wasn’t going to take any chances. I never underestimated his ability.

"My thing was to act like a champion, not take any wooden nickels from anyone and be prepared for anything he threw at me."

Holmes’ 20 successful title defenses are the second most ever, topped by Joe Louis with 25. Holmes was on the verge of matching Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record when he was upset by Michael Spinks for his first loss in 1985. He lost to Spinks again in 1986.

In 1988, a 38-year-old Holmes was lured out of his first retirement by a $3 million purse to challenge Mike Tyson, the undisputed champion. Tyson became the only fighter to knock out Holmes, in the fourth round.

Holmes again retired but came back in 1990. In 1992, he attempted to win back the WBC title but lost a 12-round decision to Evander Holyfield.

Holmes’ final try for the WBC title came in 1995 when, at age 45, he lost a decision to Oliver McCall. Holmes was a one-armed fighter that night; he had broken a knuckle on his right hand a couple of weeks before the fight.

"I still thought I could beat him with the jab," he said.

Since retiring, Holmes has become a successful businessman. He owns a nightclub and restaurant to go with real estate ventures and a boxing training facility. He does speaking tours, was featured in a documentary and starred in a TV reality show. He also has written an autobiography.

Marc Ratner, former executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Holmes is a deserving recipient of the Hall of Fame honor.

"He was a great champion," Ratner said. "When I think of Larry Holmes, I think of his left jab. He had one of the best jabs of any fighter ever. He never got his just due because he came in at a tough time. He was in the shadow of Ali."

Holmes will be inducted along with junior welterweight champion Eddie Perkins. Middleweight Holman Williams will be inducted posthumously. All three are in the hall’s modern-era category.

Middleweights Len Harvey and Frank Klaus and welterweight Harry Lewis were honored in the old-timer category, and 19th-century Irish heavyweight Dan Donnelly in the pioneer class.

The other inductees are trainer Bill Gore, promoters Mogens Palle and Frank Warren, and journalists Dave Anderson and Joe Koizumi.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.