Larry Holmes' Famous Act Of Respect For Muhammad Ali

"Howard Cosell," the man said as he looked at the camera with a puzzled face, "who's he?"

The man on camera was, of course, Muhammad Ali. And anyone who knew anything knew that Ali was perfectly aware of who Howard Cosell was. Of course, at the time, I didn't know anything. How could I? I was just a kid. Yet even I knew the colorful Ali, despite the fact his days of ring glory were well behind him.

Funny, famous and literally "the greatest" during his heyday, that's what I knew Ali to be when I was young. Oh, the man was still fighting, but everyone - even I - knew his best days had passed. Still, I remember pulling for Ali when he tried for one last shot at glory against the great Larry Holmes. It was Ali, after all. He was someone special, advancing age be damned.

"See that moon?" me grandfather asked, pointing to a moon which was visible in the midday sky. "That guy's going to send your buddy over it." That was my grandfather's prediction for the impending Ali-Holmes showdown. I remember my father and I being amused. Grandpa, who knew his stuff, was simply saying what everyone else was. But we knew better. We had faith.

But faith in worldly matters too often proves fallible. Holmes ended up breaking his own heart through his utter dominance of Ali. Indeed, had he wanted, Holmes may well have been able to send Ali over the moon that night, fulfilling Grandpa's prediction. Holmes didn't want that, though. He was too decent a guy.

He was also a guy who knew this wasn't the Ali of yore. In fact, he probably knew it better than anyone, as Holmes had been Ali's sparring partner when he was younger. Now, though, it was Holmes who was champ. But champions, if they're worth a damn, respect their own. And just as a younger Ali had spoken flatteringly of  Rocky Marciano, Holmes held back from doing what he essentially had every right in the world to do that evening - utterly destroy his opponent.

It wasn't that Holmes couldn't do it. It's that he wouldn't do it.

Some adversaries simply earn that kind of respect.

RIP Muhammad Ali.

The Top Five Heavyweight Champs Of All Time

These guys simply rise above the rest

Let's face it, the heavyweight division is getting hot again - finally. So, during this transition period, I've decided to look back and think about just who the greatest heavyweight champs were. You may not like the list, but that's fine. Comment and tell me where I'm wrong.

The truth is, guys like Corbett, Johnson and Dempsey, great as they were, probably wouldn't do to well against the guys on this list. Boxing, frankly, simply moved on beyond their skill sets. Then again, you won't find names like Klitschko and Fury on this list, either. They may be big, but just imagine them facing the Tyson who faced Michael Spinks.

1. Muhammad Ali - Hey, they called him The Greatest for a reason. Liston. Frazier. Foreman. Spinks. He beat them all. That's saying something. What's particularly great about the man is he didn't rely on an undefeated record. When defeated, he would simply come back and win. Admirable stuff.
2. Larry Holmes - Surprised?You shouldn't be. The man was that good. Yeah, he's known as the guy who held the belt in between the reigns of Ali and Tyson, but ask yourself this - would the Holmes who fought Cooney have lost to a prime Ali and Tyson? Maybe. But then again...
3. Lennox Lewis - Here's a man who had the misfortune of never fighting Tyson or Holyfield in their primes. That's too bad, because I wouldn't write him off against either of those two. In fact, I'd favor him against both. And their both on this list.
4. Mike Tyson - If you want to know why Iron Mike's on this list, then with all do respect, you don't know boxing all that well. Pure dominance. Dempsey on steroids (no, not literally). Too tough to swing with, too fast to run from. Truly the baddest man on the planet. 
5. Evander Holyfield - My favorite fighter of all time is still a tough sell on his list. Riddick Bowe won two out of three against the man. What's more, it's hard to figure out if Holyfield could have beaten Joe Louis if both men were at their best. Regardless. Some fighters just have other fighter's numbers. It's been said, for instance, that Ken Norton had Ali's number. Yet Norton truly doesn't belong on this list. Bottom line: Bowe never went on to achieve what Holyfield did. And yeah, prime Evander could probably have bested prime Louis.