Artie Lange's Podcast Channel - 8 - LARRY HOLMES

Episode Date: December 12, 2019

Artie and Mike interview the former Heavyweight Champion of the world, Larry Holmes.  Sponsored by... MyBookie.ag - to go http://bit.ly/MYB-Artie and use code Artie to get a 50% signup bonus BlueChew - go to BlueChew.com and use code Artie to try it for FREE!

Hey, welcome to Artie Lang's Halfway House. We are still on after several weeks. No one predicted it. No one predicted this motley crew would continue. But who knows? Tomorrow's another day and another chance to fuck up. I've had a lot of successes, but the failures are epic. There's a lot of failure on this face.

Right, Mike Boschetti, my co-host? I have more failure than you, I think. Well, isn't that nice to hear? A lot of people just looking at us might have predicted that, but I think we're neck and neck. We're waiting for the great Larry Holmes. This is unbelievable. I saw Larry Holmes fight live against Mike Tyson in 1988 in Atlantic City.

Holy shit, Tyson hit him with a right hand. But Larry Holmes was way over the hill at that point. And as we speak here tonight, Larry and I are going down to Gotham Comedy Club to roast O.J. Anderson. Not O.J. Simpson. Not O.J. Simpson. The other O.J. The O.J. that didn't decapitate two human beings.

O.J. Anderson of the 90 Giants. We're going down to roast him. Lawrence Taylor's going to be there. Oh, nice. There's a rumor Lawrence Taylor might be on the show. We don't know. We don't fucking know, but that would be amazing. Which means between me and him, there will definitely be blow in the studio.

Cocaina, as my Mejia Cano friends say. But Larry Holmes, we're waiting on him. But before, you know, the champ, the champ, beat Ali. Unbelievable. Was an amazing champion back in the 80s, beat Jerry Cooney. He was a sparring partner, right, as well? Yeah, he was a sparring partner for Frazier and Muhammad Ali, I believe, and then moved on to be champ.

A welfare kid from eastern Pennsylvania. So we've got a lot to talk about. Did he fight Foreman? I think he might. Everyone fought each other back then. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. But he fought Katie Holmes.

That's how he got his name. And also, I believe, blew Tom Cruise. He had a brawl with Jerry Cooney, that's for sure. But let me tell you something. The reason that I wanted to start a little early is because my co-host, Mike Boschetti, back after being absent for a show, there was a health scare. Oh, thanks. It was pretty scary.

Well, I'm not saying anything you didn't have to thank me for. I was worried about you. I understand it was a hard and looking at you, I would not say lack of health looking at you. What happened? Describe to the audience because the audience cares about you. Thanks. Thank you. What happened?

I was laying in bed. My heart started racing like a clock. What percentage of the day do you say you lay in bed? What percentage? 95%. 95% of the day. So basically the only time you're not lay in bed? What percentage? Give me a... 95%. 95% of the day. So basically, the only time you're not laying in your bed is when you're on your way here or on your way home.

Eating, drinking, it's like being in a prison sentence. Yeah, well, no, but you're 58 years old, Stan, now. You've outlived some of the best. No one would have predicted that you still dye your hair that wonderful, unique chatrouche. I was thinking about getting a haircut. Don't do it. Don't change your look, bro. Don't change your look. This is the chartreuse. I gotta get, I was thinking about getting a haircut like... Don't do it. Don't change your look, bro. Don't change your look. This is the look I want. Thanks. No, the guy from Midnight Rum with the two-tone

hair, the gangster from the 50s. Which guy? Dennis Farina? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Dennis Farina. Dead, by the way. You outlived Dennis Farina. Well, by a lot. But so what, you had chest pains? No, it was like, my heart was racing like a clock. Like, boom, boom, boom.? No, it was like, my heart was racing like a clock, like boom, boom, boom, and wouldn't stop. Then I laid in bed. Well, yeah, it's supposed to be like

a regular clock. Oh no, but I felt like, then I got heavy pressure on it, right? I'm like, fuck. Yeah, but the heavy pressure, don't you think the heavy pressure is the enormous amount of fat? Well, I'll tell you, you're a fat guy. I mean, look at your, look at your, you have the biggest second shin ever. I used to do, I used to advertise on your second shin. Remember that? I would rent it out. I would rent out Mike's second shin back on the old Artie Lang show. I would rent it out for a certain amount of money, and I would be like a billboard.

I'd have gigs up there, ArtieQuitter.com. We might do that again on the show. It's a good bit. So you said something. Again, I speak fluent Pochetti, but even I didn't understand this. You said you saw a walk-in doctor. What does that mean? You saw a doctor walking by or there's a walk-in window?

It's like a thingy. It's like a fancy word for fucking emergency room, but it's not as crowded. Walk-in is a fancy word? Yeah, like the walk-in doctor, the MD. Like you walk in, you sit. It's not as crowded as the emergency room. That's why I left it. Look, as most people drive into the hospital.

So you walked in? I walked in. They gave me some tests, and she goes, you're hot. So describe what a walk-in doctor looks like. I mean, is it like a regular doctor? Does a walk-in doctor need a medical degree? No, no, they're real doctors and everything. Just maybe some students possibly.

You mean like a doctor's on duty type thing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not the hospital? No, no, they're real doctors and everything. Just maybe some students possibly. You mean like a doctor's on duty type thing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not the hospital. Yeah, yeah, like the 40 emergency room. Where did you get the term walk-in doctor? Who said that to you? I think that's what they call it. I don't fucking know.

That's what they call it in Staten Island on Toad Hill Road. And so what does the walk-in doctor say? Let me guess. Let me tell you something right now. I am a walk-in doctor, and you've got to lose the weight. Those guys aren't there really. Those guys? What do you mean?

Those guys are in the emergency room. You mean the Indians? Yeah, Indians. Not the woo-woo. The Sri Lankans. Yeah, the Sri Lankans. But I just assume, are you sure you weren't in a 7-Eleven? No, no.

I think a walk-in doctor is a 7-Eleven clerk. Would you like me to take an EKG and a Slurpee? No, I'll tell you the truth. What a great bit that was. A bacon cheeseburger. Yeah, so you walked into the walk-in doctor with a bacon cheeseburger? I walk in and there are really cute chicks behind the desk. I love that.

Now, do you think you had a shot at those chicks? Do they look at you and they go, my God, I'm wet? They might be half wet. So, Mike, first of all, that's horribly inappropriate. You go to the walk-in doctor, and you're hitting on the nurse? Well, I go, what a nice day. I go, you just brightened my day. But what is your pickup line?

Hello, I'm currently having a heart attack. I go, what are you doing Friday? You know what? I could fake a heart attack, fall on the floor, have a make- a make-out session to wake me up. Yeah, but Mike, that's sexual assault. If they find out that you're actually faking a heart attack just to get some sort of mouth play... I love that he's laughing at that.

So, so... Fake a heart attack, it'll work. She was hot. Yeah, but, okay, but if you fake a heart attack just to get some sort of mouth touching going on with the opposite sex, or the current, you know, your sex, that's sexual harassment. I think it's sexual molestation. But if I'm like, I'm okay, it's okay, I'm sorry, it was just a little fun.

Oh, so you have a whole thing planned. How often have you had to use the explanation where I'm not trying to sexually molest you? I've got everything planned out. If I'm ever in a plane crash, I'm grabbing some tits on the way down. Wow. Well, it's great you're admitting to felonies on the show. It's like Minority Report. You're admitting to future felonies.

If you're going to die, it's not a felony grabbing a pair of hoodies if they like you. Just make sure you die at the end. Because if you don't, you're going away, bro. I wouldn't just grab them. I'd just ask you, we're going to die. Can I have some? This is the kind of banter people want on the end. Because if you don't, you're going away, bro. I wouldn't just grab them. I'd just ask you, we're going to die. Can I have some? This is the kind of banter people want on the podcast. Now, the iHeart Podcast Awards are coming up. I think,

I don't know if they're called the potties. Are they called the potties? Maybe. Do you think we'll be recognized? Yeah. I definitely think we will. Well, I mean, there's a lot of great, great podcasts out there. People talking about organic foods and gluten-free muffins and yoga and the biggest hooray of boring bullshit I've ever heard in my fucking life.

Here's the average podcast. Now, your elbows look a little dirty. Have you used organic soap? Yeah, but the holiday machine loves that. Yeah, right, but they don't love us talking about you. I mean, basically the first ten minutes here has been you talking about how you want to molest women. Yeah, but maybe we should get some bubble tea and wear yoga pants. Whatever that means.

I speak fluent Boschetti. What's bubble tea? It sounds like an awful gum. I don't really know what it is. I've seen it advertised. Bubble tea? Bubble tea, right? Bubble tea?

Yeah, yeah. Oh, bubble tea. I don't know what it is. It looks like you've had a lot of bubble stuff Whatever it takes Something's bubbling in your teeth I'll cry on Melissa Milano's couch It's Alyssa Milano

Not Melissa Milano I'll cry on a couch with yoga pants on It's Alyssa Milano You mean the broad from Who's the Boss And also the Me Too movie Well you're going to get Me Too She would hate your guts.

That's my point. You're saying you want to... You're talking about a plane crash. The only thing that comes to your mind is squeezing a stewardess's tits. You're going to get Me Too'd, bro. I'd ask her. I wouldn't just grab them.

Don't take me down with your fucking Titanic of a career. I wouldn't ask her. I'd ask her. I mean, I'm sorry. You wouldn't ask her. No, I'd just say, excuse me, you're hot.

Can I have them before we go? So we're getting closer and closer to Bill Cosby territory. Rape. No, I'd ask first. If you should know, then I'd just... I don't think the poddies, the podcast awards will recognize us, Mike. I don't feel we're part of that scene. Maybe they'll think, well, those guys need some help.

Well, I don't think they're going to do it to be altruistic. I don't think they're going to do it as a charity thing.. I don't think they're going to do it as a charity thing. I mean, I think it's going to be real quality, what they think quality is. And it's all boring bullshit. Everybody's so sweet nowadays. How you doing? How you doing?

How's your hemp sweater? Oh, no. It's like we're in 1940s Wisconsin. Yeah. Right. No, it's the direct opposite. 1940s Wisconsin was fucking cool, dude. They had the Klan.

Oh, no, I thought the Wisconsin and the Forties I thought they were like... No, it was all like Humphrey Bogart types. Now it's all this bullshit. Everybody's sensitive.

Everybody's worried about you having a heart attack. I don't want you... I want to say publicly I'm glad you're alive, dude. Oh, thank you, Artie. I appreciate it. Because you are my...

You're my favorite person. I've said this a lot. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I love you as well. I'm so sorry. I, you know... So you go... No, you don my favorite person. I've said this a lot. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I love you as well. I'm so sorry. I, you know. So you go, no, you don't have to be sorry about anything

except your horrible performance. Now, what, you go to the walk-in doctor. You say you need an EKG. So how long are you at the doctor's office? Like 10 minutes. That's it. 10 minutes? So you walk in, you hit on the nurse.

I get in there. The fucking guy that took care of me was kind of a dickhead. Dr. Dickhead? He wasn't a doctor, really, but I'm not usually going to, I don't know what the fuck that idiot's job title was. You know, you have health questions, and there's a perfect person we can ask about health questions because I think the former champ, the heavyweight champ of the world is walking in. Look who it is.

Wow, man. I can't believe you're really here. This is so incredible. I got a bodyguard. Look who it is. Wow, man. I can't believe you're really here. This is so incredible. I got a bodyguard. Look at that. He's a big guy. I can't believe you're really here, champ. What's up, buddy?

How do you like? It's so nice to meet you. That's my accountant, Mike Boschetti. So nice to meet you, Larry. Yeah, way to hear him. You got a lot of money, huh? This is why I'm broke. Have a seat, buddy.

It's so good to see you, man. It's incredible to meet you in person. I've been boxing since I'm 12. Listen, man, if we get Jerry Cooney in here, I know Cooney. You know, if you want to put those headsets on, you can, and just get right on the microphone so we can hear you, and we'll talk.

I just finished talking to Jerry. Oh, you did? Okay. I'm saying, come on, man. I want to talk more about the Cooney situation. You and him. You need help there? You want to use these? I'll take them.

No, no, that's all right. He's got it. I got it. He's got it. It's simple. I have to go to school again. Don't worry about it. Just get right on that mic and we'll talk.

So, first of all, my name is Artie. This is my co-host, Mike. Thanks for doing the show. Great to meet you, Larry. Thank you for having me. You're here. You know, we're doing something together later. We're roasting O.J. Anderson.

We're going to burn him. Yeah, we're going to burn him. Now, we're down at Gotham Comedy Club, former giant running back, the great O.J. Anderson. We'll roast him. Are you prepared? Do you have jokes written and stuff? No, I'm just going to play by ear.

You're just going to wing it. Yeah, you know, because there's only so much you can say about these guys. I know. Right. I've done a million roasts. They didn't, like, go out and knock out Jerry Cooney. Yeah, you know, because there's only so much you can say about these guys. I know. Right. I've done a million rows. They didn't, like, go out and knock out Jerry Cooney. That's right. That's right.

I mean, I've been to a million rows after a while. You need somebody interesting. Yeah, yeah. I mean, O.J.'s interesting. So, okay, I want to get into your amazing life. You are an American dream story. Well, you're an American, you know, the American dream in a lot of ways. You grew up in eastern Pennsylvania.

Right. Now, I didn't realize this. You're the fourth of 12 kids. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Wow. So you grew up.

No, in the middle, they put me in the middle. I'm the sixth. Five older and five younger. Okay. Okay. And there's 11 of us. Now, are all your siblings alive still? No.

A few of them are gone. My mom's gone. Your mom's gone? My brothers are gone. How old are you now? I'm like 21. Can I say this, Chip? I gotta say this, Chip. You look good, man. I want to make a comeback. You look good. You look 21-ish. You don't need anybody up now.

Jerry Cooney again in rematch. Well, listen. You should. I'd love to see you guys. So you grow up on welfare, basically. And you leave school in the seventh grade. Yeah. In the seventh grade. Okay. And now when does boxing come into your life?

Soon as I left school. Soon as you left school. Was your father into boxing? Your family at all? No. Just a local PAL, like a boys club. Right. That's what it was like.

And that's how you started boxing. Yeah. Now, you were a big guy. You know, did you immediately, like, did someone immediately sort of scout you and say, this kid's going to be something? No, I had to go through the Olympics. I went through the 1972 Olympics. 72 Olympics, okay.

I lost to Dwayne Bobby. Remember that name? I remember Bobby, yeah, absolutely. And he lost to Stevenson over there. Yeah. And I said, what am I going to do? I turned pro. Did you get a medal, though?

Did you medal? I got a piece of paper. See, but that just goes to show you never know what's going to happen. You never know. You're the future champ. But at that point in 72, that's the height of Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali coming back, you know, after. As a matter of fact, he called the shots.

Yeah. He was the narrator. He was at the ringside. Yeah, ringside with Howard Cosell and everybody. Where was it? 72 or Munich? Where was that? Munich.

No, Deer Lake. No, it was Butter Lake. Oh, yeah. But y'all got to excuse me for mumbling like this. Don't. Because I'm a fighter. Larry, don't worry about it. No.

You're not mumbling. Larry, can I ask you something quick? Yeah. When did you meet Muhammad Ali? I was a huge fan of him as't worry about it. Larry, no. You're not mumbling. Larry, can I ask you something quick? Yeah. When did you meet Muhammad Ali? I was a huge fan of him as well. Probably at that fight, right? No, I met him in 1971. In 71?

He was starting to come to Deer Lake to build a camp. Right. And it was only a half hour, 45-minute drive. And that's when... We drove. Okay, and that's when Frazier beat him in 71 at the Garden. Yeah, yeah. All those legendary fights.

So that's when you basically turned pro, early 70s. I turned pro in 1973. Now, before that, were you a sparring partner for Ali? I was a sparring partner for five years with sparring partners. He gave me a black eye. Right. Everybody wanted to put ice on his eye. I said, you crazy?

Muhammad Ali gave it to me. Now, you want to keep it. It's a souvenir. I'm keeping it. I'm keeping it. Now, you want to keep it. It's a souvenir. I'm keeping it. I'm keeping it. Now, what was your relationship like with him as a sparring partner? I mean, did he—I mean, so you were friends. Well, he had to get respect first.

Right. He beat me up a few times. Okay. Okay. I mean, a little shot of cup, like bang, bang, bang, you know. That's how it goes. Let me know he balls. Right.

And I knew that, but he'd had to be enough that many times. Now, did anyone in Ali's camp, like I see Angelo Dundee's around, all this stuff, did any of them realize that you would eventually go on and be what you were, or were you just another sparring partner? Yeah, Bodini Brown did, and Youngblood did, and Gene Kilroy, which, you know, I still talk to Gene Kilroy. Right. These are legendary boxing names.

He's a legendary guy, and Gene Kilroy. Right. These are legendary boxing names. These are legendary guys. And Gene Kilroy, he was a public person, you know. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In boxing, you have a whole team, right? I mean, it's crazy. The entourage you have. We call them to-rage.

Yeah, which is why a lot of guys go broke, which is another thing fascinating about you is you're doing great, man. My wife got it handled. Good for you. Good for you. So then you leave the sparring partner thing, and you beat Muhammad Ali. I didn't want to, but you know what?

What year was that? 78? Yeah. 78, okay. And I says, I don't want to fight you. You're my buddy. I know how you fight. Plus, he was at the end of his career.

Yeah. Right. But I ain't going to take it. He could fight like new money. Of course. He was good. But I was greater, man, that day, you know? Dude, you, but listen, you had that jab, man.

You had that jab and a right hand. I got it from Muhammad Ali. That's what he gets for letting me work. That's what I wanted to ask you. In other words, you had an event. You sparred with the guy for five years. You know his moves. I know him. You know how he fought and everything. I know him. I knew when he had to go to the bathroom.

What were the results of that fight? Was that a TKO or you got a decision? He quit, right? He quit. He had to quit because it wasn't out to kill him out there in that ring. And that would have been, I mean, it must be hard. Are there any boxers you fought that you, like, obviously were friends with him, but did you truly hate it? Like, you wanted to kill him?

No, I hated him after the fight. Right, right. Mike Tyson, for him, he was a nice guy. I was at that fight. But I hated it afterwards. Right, I was at that fight. Which is a sure thing. It wasn't fair, though. I wasn't ready.

He didn't give me a chance to get ready. No, no. And again... And the money they offered me. I had to take it. Yeah, you were older, and it's a business. But in between the Ali and the Tyson fight, there's 10 years there. You at one point were 48-0. Yes. Marciano was 49-0.

Perfect. You were 48-0. And who beat you? Burbick? No. Who beat you? Burbick? No. Mike Tyson you? Burbick, no. Mike Tyson beat me. No, I'm saying he was the first guy to beat you. Mike Spinks. Spinks beat you. Oh, yeah.

Because, you know, he was holding and never running, and I couldn't get him, and they gave the decision to him. Yeah. But if he wants to say he beat me, he did, but he didn't. Okay. Listen, boxing is complicated. Yes. But in those 10 years, the pinnacle

of your fame, probably, and your crowning moment is the Cooney fight. Because, again, here comes a guy, I love that guy. Here comes a guy, Jerry Cooney, and I know Jerry. I know Jerry really well. I love him. I just finished talking to him. He's a good man. Yes. Good man. But there was a time where you were not, you know, in love with Jerry Cooney. I love him. I just finished talking to him. He's a good man. Yes. Good man. But there was a time where you were not, you know, in love with Jerry.

I love Jerry. Okay. How can you not love a guy that's giving you $10 million? Yeah, right. Okay, so big fight. I think November 1981, all this is going to happen, and you're the champ. And again, they bring race into it. He's the great white hope.

All this bullshit. I told Jerry, don't worry about that. Be the great white hope. Be what you got to be Jerry, don't worry about that. Be the great white hope. Be what you gotta be, man. Right. But we out here fighting. It don't matter. It ain't about being a white hope. Right. You know what I mean? They want you to be a white hope? Be a white hope.

Right. Just be a good boxer. If they want you to be Superman, jump off the damn building. For $10 million? Yeah, why not? There's a lot I'd do for $10 million. You got that right. Now, so you, so, but a few months before the fight, you have a fight, you win, you're talking to Howard Cosell ringside, and Cooney shows up and you wanted to fight him. No, that's... You went at him.

Act. Was that an act? Yeah, act. That was, that was a, that was... Hollywood, you know what I mean? Oh, yeah, yeah. Really? I mean, because you almost threw a bunch at him.

I mean, he's in a suit, and you're like, well, you know. Yeah, yeah, you know, but it wasn't they gonna hit him. Okay. It wasn't they, I held back. Yeah. I ain't gonna hit this man to sue me.

Right. And he's gonna bring you a lot of money in a fight anyway. Why don't we get in the ring? Why should I hurt my money? Yeah.

Of course. That's literally like you'd be punching your money in the face. Yeah, I ain't gonna punch my money in the face. Larry, could I ask you something?

Did you ever fight George Foreman? He's scared. Yeah? He's scared. Yeah. He's scared. He said, man, we should quit. I said, you should quit. I ain't going to quit.

And I fought four or five more times. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I talked to George. A couple weeks ago, I talked to him. Another guy did all right for himself. Did he do all right? He robbed the bank. He's our greatest inventor.

Yeah. He's a nice guy, you know, but, you know, George is about George, and I, you know, I ain't like that. No, I hear you. I hear you. Now, a quick assessment as a guy who's been in great shape your whole life. What do you think of Mike Bocchetti? Is he the worst physical specimen you've ever seen? Look at Mike.

He can use a little work. I'm trying to give him work, a little work. Some sit-ups or something. He just had heart problems and he's doing fine. But, okay, so you go to the Cooney fight. Now, early in the fight, he kind of, like, were you ever hurt in that fight? It was 13 rounds.

Did he ever surprise you? Like, he had that left hook, man. It went to the body. He had just beaten Kenny Norton in that crazy way. Oh, yeah. But see, Kenny Norton was a hard guy to fight. Right. If you let him get off first like Jerry didn't do,

he'd have beat Jerry. But Kenny Norton was a hard fight, you know? Oh, but that was the first round he got right at him. Now, after seeing that fight, though, are you intimidated by that left hook at all? I mean, are you just... I didn't know Jerry was going to hit me so many times below the belt. Come on, Jerry, keep him up!

That was another... I'll never forget where I was. It was the Garden State Arts Center with my old man and my uncles watching that. It was 81 or 82. I think it was... I had a lot of fights. I can't remember. It was early 80s, and he hit you below the belt a lot.

That's what I'm trying to say. I thought he was going to go out with me or something. He hit you in the nuts a couple of times. He tried to go out with me. Jerry, you're not my type. Do you feel he was attracted to you sexually? I don't know if he was attracted to me sexually, but he sure had his hands out. He's like, I'm trying to grab your nuts.

No, but that's right. That big left hook. I told him, don't hit me like that. I mean, how many times did that happen? Like three or four times? He said he didn't mean it. Yeah, well, I don't know. Yeah, I thought.

That's all bullshit, bro, right? I know, man. I don't think Jerry was going to win any way he could. He's trying to win. Jerry, you hear me? Yeah. You hear me, Jerry? I think he knew he was up against a better fighter,

and at that point, you fight dirty, right? People fight dirty. No, well, I didn't. If the man beat me, beat me fair and square, that's all right. But don't hit me in the nuts. Don't hit me down there. Did it ever, like, were you ever, like,

really wobbly from it? It ruined my future. My son was being born gay, and my wife was pregnant. You know what I mean? And this man is hitting me down there. God damn. He was trying to affect your family legacy.

Jerry, come on. Don't do it no more. Please. But you get over that, and now the fight, you know, you start to wear him down. Again, you kept guys away with that jab, man.

You had that long reach. What was your reach? 81, I think. 81, okay. But you know what? I used to say when I hit him with the jab, wow, wow. I'd say, are you hungry? Did you eat yet?

Were you a trash talker in the ring? Only a few times. A couple guys like Trevor Burwick. Oh, man. He was, right? Yeah. You know, I don't bring family into my business, and he did.

Oh, he did. He got evil like that, right? Yeah, you know, I wanted to kill him. But that just makes you a baby fish. Remember what Tyson did to Burbick? He couldn't even stand up, right? That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mike is a good guy, but, you know,

you got to feed him before you fight him. Now, when you saw Tyson bite Holyfield's ear, do you think the man is mentally just mental? I thought I was... No, no, he's not doing that. Right. No, he's not. Like, it was literally unbelievable.

He's biting the ear. Yeah. Larry. Check it out, Larry. No, he's not. You were... Damn! Is that the craziest thing you've ever seen in the ring? I mean, it. No, he's not. You were, you were. Damn. You could not.

Is that the craziest thing you've ever seen in the ring? I mean, it is to me, I think. Man, I ain't never seen nobody bite nobody. Mike must have been hungry. They should have fed him. That's my point. You know, we're getting back to the, don't you think the, I love regular boxing. I love the old school boxing.

The MMA, UFC, I can't stand it because it's gay doesn't it look gay to you? every time I put MMA on it's two guys fucking it's two guys in the missionary position with bare feet spreading out and cuddling it looks gay to me like they encourage getting hit in the nuts or something. That's not boxing.

That's not boxing. Boxing is going out there hitting with right hands, left hooks and body punch. Not to go out there kissing and hugging. They're kissing, they're hugging, they're almost getting married in the ring. And they got bare feet. It creeps me out. It creeps me out. But real men, I think, are the old school boxing.

So you, in the 13th round, you knock Cooney out. I'll never forget that. It was round 13, and now, you know, you're vindicated, all this stuff. And then you have an amazing career. And do you think, in hindsight, would—you know, if not the money, would you have taken the Tyson fight in hindsight? You did it for the money? Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, why not? It's a good reason. It's America. For a million dollars. I mean, I can't make that shining shoes. I was at that fight, and he hit you with that right hand. But Tyson, I tell you, Tyson was very nice to you. No, he wasn't.

Well, in the interview afterwards, he goes, he says, listen, if this guy was in his prime, I would have beat him. Yeah. I wouldn't have beat Larry Holmes in his prime. He's right about that. And you sound just like Mike Tyson. He said, listen, Larry Holmes.

Are you hanging around, Mike? He goes, this guy could punch like a fucking mule kick. Oh, yeah. Sounds just like Mike Tyson. I made Mike Tyson the voice of the GPS on my car. Drop 2.3 miles to your theater stop. Larry, can I ask you something? What does it feel like?

I always wanted to wonder how exciting, what does it feel like the minute you get in the ring and it starts? I'm scared to death. Really? Even in your prime? I was scared. Man, I'm scared when I go out there and fight. I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt him real bad,

and I'm afraid of getting hurt myself. And I don't want to get hurt. And of course not. Again, like you say, it's a way for a lot of inner city kids to get out of the hell. Listen, I was in the ghetto. I was born in the ghetto. I didn't have no money. My mom didn't

have no money. My dad didn't have no money. And God bless you, man. God bless you. Your American dream come true for real. You can accomplish anything you want if you left us. And God bless you, man. God bless you. That's right. You're the American dream come true, for real. You can accomplish anything you want if you work hard. And that's what I did. That's what you guys did. You didn't just get to be here on the show. Actually, it's very easy to get a podcast.

I think my dentist has one now. Yeah, I got the Mike Tyson podcast. Do you get the free accidental work? You're right. I mean, we're comedians, and that's a hard world. But I'll tell you, boxing is—again, bringing up the topic, Don King, you're known as one of the guys who was able to beat Don King at his game, man. You never backed down to Don King.

21 years I was with Don King. Right. And I knew when he was going to rob me. Or take money from me. I shouldn't say rob me. Were you just smarter than the other guys? Tougher? Like, what made you?

Because you didn't let Don King do to you what he did to a lot of boxers. I was more demanding. No, give it to me. You know how you get these guys? You get up to the bell. When the bell for the bell rang, you said, I quit. I ain't fighting. Right.

Oh, yeah, no kidding. And the promoter's out of money. Give me my money. Yeah, yeah. See, what I always did. You held the cards. Yeah, I make them give me a check. Right.

I cash you a check before I step into that ring. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? Perfect idea. And I go ahead out there and then I fight. And that's like cash. But a lot of guys aren't bright enough to do that, man.

Or they don't have the balls to do it. Yeah, then Don King. this is what Don King did. After you win the fight, everybody happy, he comes to you and says, give me 10% of that money, man, I just gave you, man. Because you made that money. Yeah. I said, Don,

10%? No, I ain't gonna give you 10%. So he would come to you after the fight, you negotiate a price, and want more money. Yeah. And I mean, there's no legal grounds for that. Would he try to intimidate guys? I mean, he was a criminal. I mean, he did time. Well, you know, he had a reputation, but I'm not going to put that on him.

You know what I mean? I don't know what's beyond. I'm not judging him either. There's people who can judge him. There's a lot of crazy people out there, man. Yeah, right. Don King is one of them. Well, he was supposedly a numbers runner in Cleveland and killed a guy. It was manslaughter, you know. But that's not scaring you, right. Don King is one of them. Well, he was supposedly a numbers runner in Cleveland and killed a guy.

It was manslaughter, you know. But that's not scaring you, right? I ain't scared of nothing. No. My wife beats me up. I ain't scared of nothing, you know. That's another rare thing about you. You've had a long-term relationship with your wife.

38 years, man. God bless you. Dude, again, you are really a unique guy because you're a boxer who kept all your money, you're respected, you're a lovable guy. Now you were underrated as a boxer, man. And guess what I did, though? I built two buildings down there in the east. And you give them back.

And I give back. I've been to federal courthouse. When guys go to jail, they come through the brothel. I've been to jail. I've seen it. You look like that type of person. I've been to the federal courthouse. You know, when guys go to jail, they come through the bar. I've been to jail. I've seen it. You look like that type of guy. I've been to jail, bro. I look like a boxer, but no, this is all cocaine.

I look like a boxer more than you do. You box for 30 years. Look at me. Yeah, well, you know, hey, time. I got into a 30-year fight with life. How old are you? I'm 52. Oh, you're just a baby.

I look like your uncle. You could be.? I'm 52. Oh, you're just a baby. I look like your uncle. You could be. But I'm saying, so you really gave... And again, you know, what always pissed me off was I was always a big fan of you, and they said that, like, you know, the 70s heavyweights right before you got in pro and won the championship, like, you didn't fight in that time. You didn't have a lot of, like, guys who were real contenders in your time. That's why you were.

What do you say to those critics? I mean, it's ridiculous. I say, I'm glad. I wish I'd have had everybody like that. Yeah. That way I wouldn't have hit me, you know, and I got paid. Right, right. You know, I didn't go out there to kill nobody.

I went out there to try to make some money. You were more of a finesse fighter, too. Yeah. Well, you know, you don't get hit. The rule of the boxing is you hit and don't get hit. And you kept him at bay with the jab and the reach, and that's how you do it, yeah. Look what happened to our guy, Muhammad Ali.

Yeah, that's a shame, man. I know. I was his spine partner for five years. He took a lot of punches. Right. Punches that I held back. I hit him with the body instead of to the head because, you know, something will give up there

and you keep your head up there. Well, with the rope-a-dope thing. With the head because you know something will give up there. The rope-a-dope thing. That's doped him. Do you think that's a main reason which led to his mental issues? That's one of the main reasons why he laid on the ropes and took punches. He would just let a guy... The Foreman fighting Zaire is a perfect example. He just let him

tire himself out by it, but he had to get hit. Check this out. Ron Lowe. You got George Foreman. Ernie Shavers. Ernie Shavers. Norton. Norton. Mike Weaver.

Mike Weaver. Larry Holmes. You got all them guys hitting you inside the head. Did you think that could take it? No, of course. Oh, come on. Yeah, and then Leon Spinks, too. You got to call the cops on them guys.

You're beating them up like that. So, I mean, the rope-a-dope for young people who don't understand this, what Ali's, you know, theory was, he would let guys hit him for, like, sometimes 10 rounds. They would get tired. When they got tired, he would hit them. And it worked in the Foreman fight more than anything. I mean, Foreman is just hitting him and hitting him.

Well, Foreman's such a big guy. He's huge. He's big and strong. He don't—Foreman don't really care about nobody. He's a nice guy when he sees you smiling and everything. No, he really isn't. He's such a big guy. He's huge. He's big and strong. He don't, Foreman don't really care about nobody. He's a nice guy when he sees you smiling and everything. No, he really isn't. He's a big puppy dog. But he'll punch you out, man.

Right, right, yeah. You're real good. He ain't the, I'm sorry, George, but you ain't the guy that everybody think you are. Right. You know, you put on that mask and you go with it. And it makes some money. I mean, a lot of what you see is an act with him, I think. You think that'll make some money if I can do that?

Well, the George Foreman grill, that came out of nowhere. That's a billion-dollar thing. And you know, I don't know why people just don't flip the hamburger over. I know. I mean, come on. It's simple, right? So you're saying it's kind of bullshit. It really is.

It's like, just flip the burger over. Yeah, but people love him, though. That's the whole thing. You don't give a shit about the grill. Well, people love Larry, too. They love me, but. You don't give a shit about the grill. Well, people love Larry, too. They love me, but they didn't give me a grill. I know. I know.

It's weird. It's like. Now, how do you explain? I keep wanting them guys to give me. I can't even get good commercials or anything. Why? Back in the day, you had some, right? You had some endorsement deals.

But I'm a nice guy, man. You don't believe that? Ask my wife. I believe it. No, you are a nice guy. No, but married 38 years as a celebrity to boxing. I know. That says a lot about you.

How many children do you have? Five. Oh, God bless you, man. That's great. I'm going to find myself. Four girls and one boy. And how are they doing, okay? They're all good.

My son's got a good job. He just got married a couple weeks ago. Oh, congratulations. That's great to hear. And my daughter, she works for Don and Bradstreet, you know. Wow. She's been five, six years. So you really, so you put the kids through school and, you know, you gave them opportunities

you didn't have. I gave them opportunities that I didn't have, that I would never have gotten. Here's the other thing, though, that's interesting. You stayed in Easton. You're in Easton. Listen, it's only 26,000, 27,000 people in this whole city. I played the State Theater in Easton. I played the State Theater twice.

And you didn't call me? I didn't know you. I'll next time. You didn't call me, man. I've been to Easton. But it's great that you stayed there, man. Yeah, the State Theater right there, you know, we're remodelizing that thing

for, you know, historic theater. Yeah, State. It's a real cool theater. Yeah, they've done a lot of work. I played there a couple of times. How far is that from New York? Oh, like 65 miles. Yeah, it's not that bad.

It's right next to... No, they can drive down there. It's a good old room. Matter of fact, at that time, I owned a hotel. They could have drove down and stayed in the hotel. It's not far from like Clinton or Flemington, New Jersey. It's right there. 20 miles.

Yeah, it's right there. 20 miles. So did you ever consider like moving to Manhattan, Beverly Hills, like, you know, leaving Easton? But, you know. I did, and then I woke up. You woke up. Well, you got to remember, I started at Bobby Galicia's gym,

getting beat up by a guy named Randy Newman beat me up. Yeah, yeah. Wendell Newton, Jasper Evans, guys like that. Right. People might not know the name now. No, I remember. Those guys, man, you know, they taught me how to fire. Now, bringing up the name Randall reminds me, Randall Tex Cobb.

Tex Cobb. You've had an interesting career. There's a lot of highlights. You've got Cooney. You've got the Tyson thing. But in between, you ended Howard Cosell's career as an announcer. No, I didn't. Randall Cobb did.

Well, Randall Tex Cobb was this big sort of biker looking guy, white guy. He's in the movie Raising Arizona. He did a lot of movies and acting and stuff. But he's just this big brute looking guy. Looks like a biker. He didn't care. He didn't care. And he fights you and you basically destroy him.

I mean. Oh, no. I beat him up. I beat him up. But you know what I did? And God witnessed this. I told him, I said you know what I did? And God witnessed this. I told him, I said, don't take no more punches, man. Right.

You were almost saying to him, you got to stop. You got to stop. And Cosell. I'm going to knock your black ass out. Is that what he said? Yeah. Well, that's the wrong thing to say. He said black ass.

Yeah, that's the wrong thing to say. I'm not black. I'm brown, man. I'm brown. You're brown ass. So Cosell's point was it was a money thing.

He was kind of a celebrity for other reasons. He didn't belong in a ring with you. Right. And Cosell was like going, this is the

most sickening thing I've ever seen. I'm done. I'm done with buying. He thought it was just a money thing. Publicity hated it.

He quit. He quit. How can you quit a million-dollar job? I know. What's wrong with him? What's the matter with him? He's dead now, so. Yeah, you made Cosell quit boxing.

But Cobb did. Cobb did. Randall takes Cobb. Oh, he can't take those punches like that anymore. This is a beating like I've never seen. He had such a weird voice, right? That voice was just. But you know what? Howard Cosell, at the end of the day, he was a great guy I've never seen. He had such a weird voice, right? That voice was... But you know what?

Howard Cosell, at the end of the day, he was a great guy. Oh, yeah. Now, I was going to say your relationship with him, because him and Ali had that legendary relationship going back and forth. I used to come down to Easton, man. Easton. Easton. Nobody go to Easton. No, no.

Was that with the legendary bats, the Easton bats? No, the Easton batsats is in Bethlehem. Oh, okay. That's just the beginning of it. They just go, okay, they got Bethlehem and stuff. All blue collar, real blue collar stuff. Blue and orange, green, they don't know what color they are. And Cosell came down to Easton to check you out.

You know, he came to my functions when I raised money. Oh, that's nice. Fundraiser for kids and stuff. Oh, nice. And they show up and stuff like that. I want to get your opinion on this because, you know, being African-American, you know, the way he left Monday Night Football. Do you remember that? He called Alvin Garrett.

He says, look at that little monkey go. A black wide receiver. Do you think he was unfairly acute? I mean, you know, taken away from that? I don't know if he said, look at that little monkey go. He's just like a little monkey or something. But you know, whatever he said, you know, it didn't, listen, I was young.

It didn't bother me. But that's bigger you to say, man. I mean, it was unfair that they sort of fired him because it was more like a thing of affection. It's crazy. You're going to get a couple of crazy people out there anyway going to go against whatever you say or whatever you do. That's great that you defend him for that.

That's awesome. But that's the way it is. Sometimes you say things, do things you don't really want to do, and you apologize. No one's perfect. Look what they did to me. They killed me. When I said Marcellin couldn't carry my jockstrap.

They killed me. It was just a slang. You're a competitor. You're a fighter. I mean, that's how fighting should be. And I said, damn, I'm sorry, y'all. I didn't mean that. If I could bring him back into life, bring him back.

I know. It's like, yeah. You're right, because it's like. It's almost like you murdered him or something. I didn't do it. Of course not. They made it look like you murdered Jesus Christ after that. Well, that was the Romans and the Jews.

So you. He wasn't Jewish. What about political correctness now? Like you say, you know, you can't hit nobody in football. You can't say the wrong thing. Do you do Twitter, social media? No, I don't do that. My wife gets on there now and then.

Of course, she has a club and stuff like that. Oh, she does? She gets on there and stuff. I don't go on that stuff, you know? And you're better off. I don't want to have people saying Larry Holmes ain't this, ain't that. It's the worst, man. The Twitter people are just...

People are bullies. It sucks. I know I'm a great guy, and they're trying to tell me I'm not. Yeah, now you know it. I know I am. Now, you don't seem like, again, when people think of boxers, they think of angry guys. You don't have any anger at all to me. I mean, were you as a young

man, did you have a lot of anger? You just were always a fun-loving guy who just could fight. I never thought I'd be here today. Absolutely. Neither did we, Tony. I'm 70 years old. God bless you. And I'm living the life of the dream. Yeah. I mean, you seem happy. I got a beautiful wife, beautiful family. Which is great.

My kids. That's the most important thing. Now, how involved with the community are you still? You still do a lot in each thing? I still do a lot, but, you know, I'm tired of the city because the city, they pick and choose who they're going to try to help. Right. And I don't like it. Bureaucratic stuff.

Yeah, yeah. Politics. Are you involved with young boxers, like people trying to come up? No, I just sold my gym. I just sold my gym. You know, so I'm not going to do it because first of all, you got to get the kids that want to fight.

Right. And fight. Like my grandson, he wants to fight. He's 27 years old and he wants to fight. Pop, pop. Let me train him because I got a gym in my yard. And he's 21.

Oh, wow. And I said, well, use the gym, go ahead. And I hired a guy to watch him and stuff like that. Yeah, but obviously that's an interesting problem for you because he's your grandson. He's got more opportunities than you did. Do you want him to fight? Probably not, right? No, I don't want him to fight.

No. But they told me not to do it. Yeah. So I can't tell him not to do it. But again, you were struggling to feed your family. You were on welfare. He's got to, maybe, you know, he should go be like, you know. Let him be on welfare for a while.

Well, that'll make you fine. No, no, definitely. That'll make you fine. But our president, he's going to cut welfare off, so where he going to be at then? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Now, what do you think of Trump? What do you think of the president?

I don't think of him. But now, you worked, I think the Tyson fight was at Trump, right? You did a lot of work for him. And I did a lot of stuff down there. But, and I did a lot of stuff down there. But, you know, one day I went down to Atlantic City. I went to Atlantic City. Right. And I said, I seen Donald standing there.

I said, hey, Donald, how you doing? He looked at me like this. Right. He didn't remember you? He didn't want to remember me. He just blew you off. I wanted to punch him in his nose. When was that? That was about a year ago. About a year ago? Yeah punch him in the nose. When was that?

That was about a year ago. About a year ago? He was president? He was just going into president. Just become, okay, so a couple years ago. And really, he snubbed you. Yeah, Arnold Ford brought many people down there. Oh, my God.

He made a lot of money in boxing. He made a ton of money on you. And you know who? I'm going to tell you something else, man. Who loves this man and will fight you if you say negative things about Don King? Oh, yeah. Don loves me. Oh, look at that.

He didn't say that. He didn't mean it that way. Yeah. Yeah. Don King, though. Well, Don King is crazy, man. I worked with him for 20 years. Don did.

But Tyson beat him up, right? Tyson beat him up outside the Beverly Hills Hotel, supposedly. He didn't do a good job. He didn't do a good job. Well, you know, we're talking about money. I got to read a couple of commercials. I apologize. Okay, go ahead.

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Levity Live in West Nyack. If you want to come see me around the country, I got Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas, all in the works. Now, Larry, did you ever try stand-up comedy? Did you ever get into acting? No. Did you ever want to do that, like Ali did?

Yeah, but I do mine. Like, tonight, I'm going to do something. Yeah, I mean, like, tonight you're roasting a guy. Do you do that a lot, stuff like that? Yeah, I do it. Oh, nice. I do it nicely. You know, I don't hurt nobody. You know, if I do, I say, I can't help you. Roasts are rough, man. Oh, nice. I do it nicely. You know, I don't hurt nobody.

You know, if I do, I say, I can't help it. Well, the roasts are rough, man. Oh, yeah. I'm going to have to get a little rough tonight. I'm going to have to go like, because that's what I do. So you want to be roasted? I'm on the roast, yeah. All right, okay.

Should I roast you a little bit? Go right ahead. Go nuts. Now, do you know Lawrence Taylor and a lot of guys that are going to be there today? I know all of them. You know, like, what's it called? They're roasting O.J. Anderson. O.J. Anderson.

Not O.J. Simpson. How do you know O.J. Simpson? Poor O.J. Yeah, I know all of them. Poor O.J. Now, do you feel he decapitated those two people? Oh, Lord. Do you feel O.J. decapitated, too?

I don't really know, man. I don't know. Nobody knows. But listen, I'm going to tell you something, man. You don't know O.J. Go right ahead, man. Now, listen, I met O.J. and I know he was with us a lot of times. Did you know him well, Simpson? Not well enough to go to the house and eat dinner. Thank God you weren't there. But his wife was

nice and she was nice and pleasant. I met her and stuff like that. And that's as far as I know. But I don't know if O.J. had the, the heart, to do what they say that happened. Well, I think he was mad because maybe a little jealousy going on. You never know. Yeah, but how mad you get, man. That's bad. That's bad. That's some shame.

Oh, Lord, that means suicide. Instead of killing somebody, take a gun and shoot yourself in the brain. That's right, man. Because you'll be, again, I've been in jail. You don't want to be locked up for the rest of your life. Especially with Moe in there. And Bubba and those guys. Like I said, Mike Tyson.

Mike Tyson was in jail. What about the Tyson thing? You think he got railroaded? He gonna come get you. Yeah, well, listen, man. Don't tell him you know him. Boy, what the... You hear Mike Tyson? You hear him talking about you, Mike Tyson? This is Mike Tyson. He's him talking about you, Mike Tyson?

This is Mike Tyson. He's saying, Larry Holmes could have kicked my ass in his prime. I did it for the money. What do you think about Tyson and that rape allegation? I think he was innocent. You think O.J. was innocent? I don't think Tyson raped that girl.

Let me tell you something about what you do when you're that young. I was that young. Sometimes you get the hugging of do when you're that young. Because I was that young. Right. Sometimes you get to hugging the women and kissing them and everything. Pussy. Oh, yeah. Oh, Lord have mercy. It'll kill you.

And then they let you touch it a little bit and then you can't stop. You know what the devil is? White pussy. I hate it. That's why I don't go out with white girls. White pussy will kill you. Look what white pussy did to Mike. My wife is black.

B-L-A-C-K. Now, bring it down to your knees. This Mike is black. Yes, but I hope my son don't hear it because his wife is white. Well, that's nice. I don't hear it because his wife is white. Well, that's nice.

Are you married? He's out there waiting. Oh, wow. Okay, listen. Don't get a man to me. Is he as big as you are? Tall. He is? He's tall?

Yeah, he's about 160 pounds. Now, so you're close with your son? I mean, you know, and all your kids? That is so great to hear. I love my kids. I love my kids. It really is nice. Listen, I got grandkids.

Well, family's number one. Family's number one. That's so great. How many grandkids you got now? About four. And is the 21-year-old the only one who wants to box? No, he's 27 now. Oh, he's 27. And he's still on that.

I don't think he wants to box no more. Because I told him no, no, no, no, and damn no. Perfect example. Perfect. Marvis Frazier. Looked like Joe Frazier said Marvis. I told Marvis, I said, you know, you shouldn't take this fight. Nah, man.

I'm going to beat you up. And you did. And I did. But was that tough to do? Did you ever spar with Joe Frazier? Yeah, he broke my wrist once. Whoa. Yeah.

When he was getting ready to fight George Foreman or somebody over there. Yeah, Foreman ended up beating him, too. Yeah. Down goes Frazier, as Coach Teller said. But you, so, now, okay, so you're friends with Joe Frazier. Yeah. And now his son is going to fight you. You know you're going to beat him.

I know. Do you talk to Joe? Joe was in the ring. He was in the corner that night. I said, I ain't going to hurt him, Joe, just to get the goddamn money. Wow. But stay down. So that's what I'm saying.

So how, and it wasn't long. Was it the first round? Something like that. Yeah. But how do you know, that's a great point? Again, you seem like such a kind guy. I am. You're saying to the guy.

I am. But don't you need that killer instinct? Now, Marvis Frazier is still another guy who's a professional boxer. He may be there because of nepotism. But how do you not want to kill a guy? You don't want to kill a guy. The only time you do that is with Trevor Burrick. Yeah.

I didn't like him. You didn't like the guy. Because he talks stuff. He says different things about family and everything. Yeah, I didn't like he didn't like the guy cause he talked stuff He said different things about family and everything. Well, that's not necessary. And I wanted to do it man. You know what I mean? Yeah, that's not right. So when that guy killed him over there. Right. Wow, so you're able to just get just disconnect from him. Wow. Now did you in the boxing world not even just boxers, like the management world, the PR guys, did you meet a lot of people that you thought were evil people, like bad people?

Yeah, a lot of people. Yeah. Don King is one of them. Don King is one of them. But you got to know how to control him. Well, you did. That's again. And Bob Arum, he's the same thing.

Is Arum in the league as a bad person like King? Bob Arum is worse than Don as far as the money. No kidding. You can argue with Don King and he'll give you the money. Aaron just doesn't want to hear from you. He don't want to hear that. Maybe that Jewish thing they got on him. It happens.

Listen, it's a theory. They say, you know, the Jewish people, they don't give you the money. They say no. That's what they mean. No, it's a theory. The Jewish people, they say no. That's what they mean. No is no. No. Don King say no. Wait a minute.

I see. Right. When Don King will argue, the Jews will send a lawyer or something, right? You talk to lawyers. You can't argue with lawyers. The Jews are the lawyers. What are you talking about? No, no, you're right.

They are the lawyers. Well, again, this is a controversial stance, but I believe you. I believe you. I believe you. But boxing, tough world. Do you think the government should have come in and sort of regulated boxing back in the day? I mean, you know, because the Don Kings, the Arams, they were ripping people off. No, they need to do that because that's the only way you want to keep those guys straight. So you need somebody to try to help you organize something and go straight, you know.

But when it comes down to that old mighty dollar. Yeah, oh, sure, man. Holla. It corrupts a lot of people. Yeah. It corrupts a lot of people. You couldn't not be corrupted. You tell them, well, don't hit the guy below the belt.

Bang. No, they don't care. Do you think Cooney purposely hit you below the belt a few times? Hell, yeah, a couple times. He won't tell me that. Even to this day? But listen, man, I'm going to give you my card. You get him on your show.

Listen, I know Cooney. He will be on my show. Well, I mean, you're going to... Larry, there's a comic that we know, right, named Kevin Brennan. Kevin Brennan. He asked... You've heard of Kevin Brennan, right? I know that name, but I... Believe me, I don't know him.

Listen to this, right. He asked Jerry to punch him, which he wouldn't feel like. Wouldn't he be crazy? He is crazy because, George, he went like this, look. He just went this way, bam! He just went flying across the room.

He was black and blue for like three weeks. Well, you don't ask a boxer to hit you, right? What's the matter with the guy? Well, he's an asshole. No, he said he goes, Jerry, what's your feeling? When you hear Kevin Bren mean, that's just stupid. What's the matter with the guy? Well, he's an asshole. He's an asshole. No, he said he goes, Joe, what's your feeling? When you hear Kevin Brennan, think Bob Arum.

Now, this is your card. This is you fighting who? This is you and Burbank. This is you and Burbank. Okay, this is the guy you don't like. That's perfect. Yeah, that's the guy

I don't like. But now, that's the thing. There was a lot of good heavyweights in your era as well, and you were a 70s guy. I mean, you were around in the 70s. Do you think boxing will ever get back to that heyday?

I wish it would, but it won't. It won't. Because these guys got too much of their money, making too much money. Like, look at what Mayweather did. How much money he made up there. Fighting a guy from MMA. $300 million or whatever.

I don't know. He showed the checkup. I think after he fought Pacquiao the first time, he showed a $300 million check in. Well, you know, he's very lucky. He's lucky. You guys paved the way for him. Right, and he's lucky he wasn't in the ghetto

when he showed that check. Because that would be gone, man. But what do you think about Mayweather as far as greatest of all time? Everybody want to label me as one of the greatest of all time? Everybody want to label me as one of the greatest of all time. I don't want to be one of the greatest. Not the greatest.

Was Ali the greatest? Here you go. You're putting me on the spot. I don't want to judge Ali. It's not my job. He was a great man. He was a great man. Mike Tyson is a great man in He was a great man. Larson was a great man, you know? Yes. Mike Tyson is a great man in his own way, you know what I mean? Absolutely.

No, I don't, you know, but I mean, again, and I'm not just saying this because you're here. You are maybe the most unique boxer in a good way who's ever lived because you're a family guy. You really gave back. You stood up to King. You beat Ali. You lost to Tyson, everything in between. But, you know, you were, and you're a good person. You're a good,. You beat Ali. You lost to Tyson, everything in between. But, you know, you were a good person. You're a good, nice guy, too.

Unfortunately, a lot of sports celebrities, my world, comedy world, there's not a lot of people like that. We got a lot of idiots in this business, too. Yeah, I know a few of them. But you know what? They don't know. But they try to know. There's a lot of guys out there in your business think they know everything. Okay, it's nuts.

And they don't know. No, I know. It's nuts. When you think you know everything, you know nothing, really. You don't know nothing. Yeah. Well, a lot of Jews over here, too. Absolutely.

Now, do you feel good, Maddox? Half of my family is Jewish, too. There you go. I forgot to tell you that. So watch what you say. That's right. You said it. Not me. Me, too. I have cousins tell you that, so watch what you say. That's right. You said it, not me. Me, too.

I have cousins who have Jewish as well, so I got to be careful. Now, Mike's not good with money, though. He's the exception of the rule. Now, how do you feel physically, champ? Your hand's good? Yeah. I mean, you know, you feel good, right? Yeah, I feel good.

You know what? I've been knocking wood. You know, I had one problem a few months ago. Right. Medically? Yeah, medically. You need the blue chill? I fell out of bed.

I fell out of bed. Oh, you did? I fell out of bed and I hit the damn pole. Wow. You fell out of your bed? I fell out of the bed. What happened? I hit the damn pole or something.

I don't know what happened. And my wife said, you going to the doctor? I said, no, no, no. So I waited and waited and waited. I ended up going pole or something. I don't know what I did. And my wife said, you going to the doctor? I said, no, no, no. So I waited and waited and waited. I ended up going to the doctor. And then what happened? Did you hit your head? Yeah.

Yeah. And what happened is they operated on my brain. Oh, my God. How long ago was that? How you doing now? That was about five weeks, six weeks, six months ago. How you feeling now? Like I'm crazy.

So it's not going well. In all honesty, are you okay? Yeah, yeah, I'm crazy. So it's not going well. I mean, but so, in all honesty, are you okay? Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Wouldn't it be amazing, all the fights you've been in, what you've been through, the ghetto, welfare, and the pole of your bed kills you? Yeah. Unbelievable. You know, you can't go that way, champ.

I was lucky. I was in there five days. But isn't it great, too, that part of your story is you've got this caring wife that's there saying, go to the doctor. Yeah. And you went to the doctor, and if you didn't go to the doctor, you might have been in trouble because you needed a surgery. I probably would have been dead. Whoa. Somebody help me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, were you ever hit as hard as you hit the bedpole in the boxing ring? You know what? I tell you what. The bedpole got hit on top of the head. Bang. Yeah. And if you really look close, you see the scars and the stitches.

Right, no, I was just saying. But when I was boxing, I never got hit like that. I'm telling you, you look like you did in 1978. You look exactly the same. I'm a good-looking guy. You ain't not a bad looking guy. I'm a black guy. I'm a good-looking black guy.

You're Billy Dee Williams at this point. No, I ain't that. No, I ain't. I know that guy. Now're Billy Dee Williams at this point. No, I ain't that. No, I ain't. I know that guy. Now, what about the celebrity world? Did you meet a lot of actors and people you couldn't stand, like a lot of showbiz types over the years? Yeah.

There's a lot of guys. A lot of assholes, right? You know, I let them go. I don't just say, hey, how you doing? Keep going, you know? Yeah. Because that's a part of the boxing thing, too, is that Vegas dance. You got all these celebrities ringside.

You got to meet all these jerkoffs. There's got to be a pain in the ass. A whole lot of phony shit. Oh, it's phony as hell. Every time they ask me to come to a fight,

you know what I say? Yeah. How much? How much? Sure. Because you're the money, man. I mean, you're the man. Why should I go out

there and holler and scream and be mobbed with autographs and pictures and everything? Pain in the ass, man. It's stressful. How long were you actually the champ? Seven and a half years. Seven and a half years. It's a long time, man.s and pictures and everything. Pain in the ass, man. Pretty stressful. How long were you actually the champ? Seven and a half years.

Seven and a half years. God bless you. It's a long time, man. Seven and a half years. That is a long time. Yeah. And now what about, you talk about substance abuse and stuff, drug, did you ever have any drug issues at all?

Well, I never had any in my camp because I didn't allow it. Yeah, yeah. I didn't do that. You just said no way. No way. The painkillers. No way. The cocaine was around.

No, no way. Yeah. You want to do that? See you. Bye. But also, the other thing, you are a role model for kids. I mean, you're a health role model. That was my thing.

Yeah. You know, I wanted to get out of boxing and have something to show for it when I get out of boxing. Oh, you do? Absolutely. I wanted to have the kids. Larry Holmes is a great fighter. One of the best fighters, but one of the best people, too. That's so important.

That's important. It is. I mean, you can have a whole bunch of money, but be stupid as hell. You're the kind of person you are. Did you see Mike Tyson's one-man show? Did you ever watch that? No, I never watched it. But I know what he's doing to him.

He's crazy. He's from the ghetto. He's from the ghetto. And he can stop whatever he wants to stop. Yeah. He doesn't have to go through whatever he wanna stop. Yeah. He don't have to go through that. He can just, I quit.

Yeah. Yeah. Now, when Custom Auto passed away, do you think that was a big deal with him? I mean, like they said- To a certain extent, because he couldn't do nothing. When he gets in that group of people that he likes to hang out with- Right. Bad influence.

That's it. It's all over. Good night, Irene. Now he's smokin' $40,000 worth of weed. Yes. I smoked $40,000 worth of weed this month. You know what? That's what he says on TV. $40,000, that's a lot of marijuana.

But you know what that does for him? That picks him up. He's showing like he's Mr. Shit on the stick. I agree. He smoked $40,000 worth of weed. That's bloody, I get it. If a kid is watching. All these poor people out here and you smoking. That's right. That's right. Yeah, yeah,000. I know. I mean, again, if a kid is watching. All these poor people out here and you smoking.

That's right. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, that's a great point. That's how you think. You're smart and that's a kind way of thinking. There's a lot of people that need money. I mean, that's a lot of weed, dude.

Some people are so selfish and stuff like that. It's horrible. Well, you know, listen. So is there anything you want to plug? Anything you want to... No, you know. Any business or anything? What I've done, what I've been doing, liquidating a lot of the stuff that I do.

Okay. I built two office buildings down there with the federal courthouse. At one point you had 200 people working for you. Yeah, and that's a mistake, too. But that's learning, you know, because people don't care. They take from you and payroll. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know.

Most people aren't as nice as you. I know, I know. And I let them know that. Right. Listen, man, I, you know. Most people aren't as nice as you. I know. I know. And I let them know that. Right. Listen, man, I could be an asshole just like you. Yeah. But I'm not going to be that.

But you're still involved in Eastern and the community. You've built buildings there and it's coming back. And the kids need role models. Right. They need that. Especially today. It's horrible, right? It's a good place.

It's becoming a better place to live. That's right. Now, how big of a house? What kind of spread you got there? Well, I got a big house, but I've been there for 38 years. Same place? Same place. Yeah, yeah.

You know, I built it from the ground. You know, I got a ton of steam rooms, rec rooms. It's like your own little Graceland. Yeah. Also, you know what? We should say this, too. There was a great documentary about you several years ago that came out. Was it on Showtime or HBO?

I don't know. They did a few. I mean, they're still doing them. I don't know. Did you ever have control over those? Or someone else did them just without your permission? They did them, but they had control over them because I gave it to them. Okay.

But there was one where you were really involved, and it was nice. It was sweet. I thought it was well done, the last one. They did one. What was that? I can really involved, and it was nice. It was sweet. I thought it was well done, the last one. They did one. What was that? I can't think, man. Listen. And it talks about, you know, your house.

You redid it a couple of times. Yeah. Well, you know, I had a few fights. I don't remember all of them. But again, what's great is the fact that you could have left your hometown a bunch of times. You decided, son, I'll just make the house nicer and stay here in the community. If I want to leave the house, I come here to New York and hang out.

You like New York City over the years? I like New York City when it's warm out. Not like now. Yeah, I hate the cold, too. Well, again, the champ is here.

This is incredible. Can I come back again? Listen, this is the section where we call Bochetti of Thoughts. Bochetti of Thoughts on this interview.

It was just mind-blowing to meet you because I've been a fan of Bloxington since I'm 10 years old. Okay. And to hear what your life is like and Ali and all, it's like I get to meet him through you. It was great. I loved it. Well, I was creepy, but thank you. He was a great guy. I apologize.

But this was a big deal for you to come here and see us, Larry. And if you want to come back come back anytime host the show if you like no I'm not going to host the show I'll tell you you know

I only got I got a half hour show I would like to do but it's television it's television how do we find that where can we see that Eastern Pennsylvania

you go on my show is called What the Heck They Thinking What the Heck They Thinking okay and you just find it on YouTube or something probably on there.

I don't even go on that stuff. Dude, I'm the same way. I don't know anything about tech. I come here talking to Mike. They put it on. Yeah, yeah. But, okay, and tonight, you know, this makes no sense for the people listening next week,

but right now, the great Larry Holmes and I are going to go roast O.J. Anderson. It's going to be a great night. At Gotham Comedy Club with Lawrence Taylor and everything. It's going to be fun. Champ, I can't tell you how great it was to meet you. Thanks for coming in, man. It was so great to meet you.

Can I ask you a question? Go right ahead. You think O.J. Anderson is going to be all right when we tell him that he was better than... You got your jokes ready? Better than O.J. Simpson? Better than O.J. Simpson. Well, I think O.J. ruined the name for him. I'm going to bring that up to him.

Yeah. A lot of interesting guys are going to be there, but we're going to have fun. Champ, thanks, buddy. Thank you, guys. The great Larry Holmes was here. Mike, thank you. Thank you. So much fun today.

Hey, Mike, thank you, man. Yeah. Please. I appreciate it, man. That's nice. See, look at that. Two great athletes meeting. Tell the people that I'm a nice guy.

You are a great guy. Two great athletes meeting. Larry, thanks so much'm a nice guy. Two great athletes meeting. Larry, thanks so much, buddy. See you next time on Artie Lang's Halfway House. All right.