GGOATRANK
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Boxing · Heavyweight · United States

Larry Holmes

1973–2002 · Twenty heavyweight title defences and a 48-0 start to his career.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
91.4
Cultural & brand footprint 58/100 · total legacy 83.8
Heavyweight title defences
20
Professional wins
69
Knockouts
44
Unbeaten start in bouts
48
World title reign in years
7

Category profile

Dominance
90
Peak
94
Longevity
90
Honours
90
Statistics
94

Career timeline · Form index per season

SeasonForm index per seasonShare of career
197345
197450
197556
197661
197766
197872
197977
198082
198187
198293
198398
198494
198590
198686
198783
198879
198975
199071
199167
199263
199360
199456
199552
199648
199744
199840
199937
200033
200129
200225

Data sources

  • International Boxing Hall of Fame
  • BoxRec records
  • World sanctioning body archives

Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method

Why Larry Holmes ranks #9 in Boxing

Larry Holmes ranks 9th among Boxing athletes on GOAT Rank and 126th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 91.4 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 90, Peak 94, Longevity 90, Honours 90, Statistics 94. Those categories are normalised against the full Boxing reference universe of 231 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.

The record covers 1973–2002 with 30 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1983, which sets the Peak component at 94. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 94 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes heavyweight title defences 20, professional wins 69, knockouts 44, unbeaten start in bouts 48.

Immediately ahead sits Harry Greb on 91.4, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Joe Gans on 91.2. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.

Larry Holmes GOAT Score explained

Dominance90/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Holmes stood above the field while competing. Scored 90/100 against the full Boxing cohort.
Peak94/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1983. Scored 94/100.
Longevity90/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 29 years of competition and 30 recorded seasons. Scored 90/100.
Honours90/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 90/100.
Statistics94/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 94/100.

Larry Holmes — frequently asked

Is Larry Holmes the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Larry Holmes ranks 9th in Boxing with a GOAT Score of 91.4, behind Sugar Ray Robinson on 94.3.
What is Larry Holmes's GOAT Score?
91.4 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 90 (25%), Peak 94 (20%), Longevity 90 (20%), Honours 90 (20%), Statistics 94 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Larry Holmes rank all time?
126th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 9th within Boxing.
Larry Holmes vs Harry Greb: who ranks higher?
Larry Holmes, on 91.4 against Harry Greb's 91.4 — a margin of 0.0 points.
Compare with Robinson