Larry Holmes: Against the Odds (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An odd twist of publishing fate once again has former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes locked with and overshadowed by the presence of Muhammad Ali; David Remnick's superb biography of the Greatest, King of the World, was published at the same time. The image of his former sparring partner--the beloved, quick, and graceful Ali--haunted Holmes throughout his career, which is too bad, because Holmes was a terrifically skilled fighter who could both box and hit. Like so many boxing stories, Holmes's begins on the wrong side of the tracks; he fights himself out and up from there. Straight-ahead, hard-working, cautious at times, and free of attending glitz, Against All Odds mirrors Holmes's style in the ring and out of it. Its strength is its candor. Holmes never could hide his emotions--or his petulance. His autobiography makes clear his respect for Ali, his hatred of Don King, and the angers that raged around his fight with Gerry Cooney. Indeed, rage is a character in itself. "It was the part of me that always scared me a little because I never completely accepted the fact that I had it in me," Holmes writes. Accept it or not, he rode it to the title, and, no small feat, held that title for seven years. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly

There could not be a more appropriate subtitle for this autobiography chronicling the rise of the man who was the heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1985. One of 12 children, Holmes and his family were moved from rural Georgia to Easton, Pa., by a father who then abandoned them to the most abysmal poverty. Holmes didn't have a chance to finish grammar school?he began work at 13?but while there he was introduced to wrestling and boxing. In 1968, at the age of 19, Holmes began to train as a boxer with Ernie Butler. A couple of years later, he had the good fortune to work as one of Muhammad Ali's sparring partners and the good sense to learn from him. In 1973, however, he had the misfortune to tie himself to Don King; eventually he would have to battle his manager for even 50% of his winnings. Holmes's portrait of the promoter is so devastating that readers may come to dislike King as much as Holmes does. Equally depressing are his observations about many other figures in boxing and the racism that still governs the sport. Despite all this, Holmes managed to draw on the lessons of his impoverished childhood: he saved enough money to buy and develop land in Easton, allowing him to live as a wealthy man. Berger (Smoking Joe) is adept at explaining Holmes's unwillingness to live with injustice (he once turned down a $30 million purse for boxing in South Africa) and his resolve to triumph over it. In a memoir that is by turns saddening and inspiring, Holmes comes across as a heroic American athlete.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031218736X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312187361
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #261,436 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Holmes tells it like it is., March 1, 2000

By	christopher kopera (buffalo n.y.) - See all my reviews

Heavy-weight champion, Mr. Larry Holmes takes the reader through the battles in the ring and his struggles outside as a human being. An honest man in a dishonest 'sport'. This easy reading, swift moving story of his rise to greatness is inspiring as well as disturbing. Mr.Holmes' inside view of the sweet science paints a picture of a greed filled, violent (outside as well as in the ring)world where money talks, and Don King does the loudest talking! The descriptions of Ali's camp in N.Y., the Norton, Cooney, and Spinks fights (Leon &Mike), bring the reading to the edge of the spit bucket. His story of the boxing establishment and the equally greedy media strips the polished image off the so called 'good guys' of boxing,King, Ali, Cosell, ABCsports. The lesson he teaches is one of perseverance. The chapters that tell of Roy Williams, an extremely talented boxer, whose skills were wasted due to the greed of D. King et.al., is moving and reminds us that our own talents and skills are often fleeting and must be preserved. For those who like boxing, for those who hate it, this book will have you cheering 'the Champ'.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holmes is still not pulling punches!, January 3, 1999

By A Customer

Larry Holmes never received the respect he deserved for his accomplishments in the boxing ring, and this book gives the reader a look at the entire path which he took to becoming champion.

From fight for $150 purses early in his career, to being robbed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by Don King, to having a fight against Michael Spinks stolen from him, this book will help the Holmes admirer and detractor better understand how he had to battle to become and stay a champion. The book also gives the reader an insight into the seediness of boxing and the personalities.

Very good read for the fight fan.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read but skips over important fights, January 27, 2006

By	Peter (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews

This was a good read about an important fighter, the man who very nearly became the heavyweight champion with the best winning record.

Larry's story is interesting and while there may have been a touch of self-aggrandishment throughout, he did not overdo it. I think that he could have gone into more detail about certain fights eg vs Tyson, and he could have discussed the life of a champion outside of the ring more than he did, but these are minor quibbles while looking at the book overall.

A good read.