On this present day in 1982, considered one of the voices of boxing decided that he’d seen enough.
Before Larry Holmes suffered his first defeat in September of 1985, he built a staggering record of 48-0 while holding the likes of the IBF, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight titles.
‘The Easton Assassin’ was still yet to face the likes of Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson during his reign as an undefeated champion.
Having already develop into the one man to stop Muhammad Ali, Holmes had already put together a formidable resume that now puts him within the GOAT conversation.
Nonetheless, his title defense on November 26 of 1982 was far less glamorous than sharing the ring with ‘The Best’ two years prior.
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Howard Cosell said he’d never call one other boxing match again during Larry Holmes vs Randall Cobb
After beating the likes of Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes held each the WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles.
On November 26 in 1982, Holmes’ next title challenger was Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb, a fellow American who had won three consecutive bouts to bounce back from consecutive defeats.
Cobb was simply outmatched when sharing the ring with the defending champion for 15 rounds.
He lost every round on two of the scorecards along with his famously durable chin being the one thing stopping the fight from being stopped far sooner.
The one-sided beatdown took place just two weeks after the tragic passing of Kim Duk-koo following his fight with Ray Mancini, which might go on to have a big impact on the game.
Legendary commentator Howard Cosell was incredibly critical of Holmes vs Cobb and the referee’s decision to let it go the space when calling the fight from the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
Cosell went one step further than this by saying that if the referee didn’t stop the overall mismatch, he’d never call one other boxing fight again.
While he did return to cover amateur boxing on the 1984 Olympics, the Hall of Famer stayed true to his word.
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Huge changes took place in boxing in the identical yr as Howard Cosell’s exit
Despite Howard Cosell’s concerns, his response to the fight was laughed off by Randall Cobb after his one-sided defeat to Larry Holmes.
While they weren’t in place for the heavyweight title fight, the tragic passing of Kim Duk-koo did result in significantly better safety protocols in the game.
The standing eight count and longer suspensions for fighters who had been knocked out were implemented shortly after.
Championship fights were also dropped from 15 rounds to 12 by the WBA, with other sanctioning bodies following suit over the following several years.