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Heavyweight boxer Larry Holmes, whose 20 consecutive defenses of his heavyweight title from 1978 to 1985 was second only to Joe Louis’ 25, was finally inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. For a boxer who had a 69-6 record with 44 knockouts, the accolade was long overdue. Consider some of Holmes’ accomplishments. First off he won the title in 1978 with a hard fought battle against Ken Norton. He won that fight even though he had torn a ligament in his left arm a week before the fight. He went on to defeat Earnie Shavers, who Muhammad Ali had called the hardest puncher ever, as well as Leon Spinks and Ray Mercer, an undefeated challenger and 1988 Olympics gold medal winner. At one point Holmes, nicknamed the Easton Assassin, was 48-0 and fell one win short of tying Rocky Marciano’s record.

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