Have Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali ever fought each other?

Yes. Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali met once on October 2, 1980, and Larry Holmes won by RTD in round 10.

Who has the better record, Holmes or Ali?

Larry Holmes is 69-6 and Muhammad Ali is 56-5. Larry Holmes has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Holmes or Ali?

Larry Holmes has 44 knockout wins and Muhammad Ali has 37. Larry Holmes has more.

Do Holmes and Ali have any common opponents?

Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali share 5 common opponents: Trevor Berbick, Leon Spinks and Earnie Shavers (and 2 others). Larry Holmes fared better against 4 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Holmes and Ali?

This comparison is drawn from 76 bouts tracked for Larry Holmes and 61 bouts tracked for Muhammad Ali. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Larry Holmes vs Muhammad Ali — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Muhammad Ali

Larry Holmes (69-6) and Muhammad Ali (56-5) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 5 common opponents.

Holmes

Wins44 KO · 64%

Losses

Draws76 tracked bouts

Ali

Wins37 KO · 66%

Losses

Draws61 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Holmes leads 1–0

Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali have met 1 time; Holmes leads 1–0.
Met	1980Oct 2	Series
Larry HolmesFighter A	WWon	1–0W–L
Muhammad AliFighter B	LLost	0–1W–L
Result	RTDR10Holmes vs Ali	1Meeting

Holmes vs Ali · Oct 2, 1980

The Numbers

Holmes 3 · Ali 4 of 7 measurable rows

HolmesEdge = longer wingAli

Record: 69-6 (edge)56-5
Win %0–100%: 92% (edge)
91.8%
Wins by knockoutmax 44: 44 (edge)
37
KO rate0–100%: 63.77%
66.07% (edge)
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 63%
66% (edge)
Times stopped^†levelmax 1: 1
1
Title reignsmax 9: 3
9 (edge)
Bouts per year^‡max 2.9: 2.6
2.9 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 76: 76
61

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

HeightLevel: Larry Holmes: 6′3″; Muhammad Ali: 6′3″
Reach+3″: Larry Holmes: 81″ (edge); Muhammad Ali: 78″
Agenot comparable: Larry Holmes: 76; Muhammad Ali: Died aged 74
Stance: Larry Holmes: Orthodox; Muhammad Ali: Orthodox

Larry Holmes left, Muhammad Ali right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Larry Holmes70 wins · from 76 tracked bouts

44 by KO/TKO 63%26 on the cards 37%

Muhammad Ali56 wins · from 61 tracked bouts

37 by KO/TKO 66%19 on the cards 34%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Larry Holmes 76, Muhammad Ali 61 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

5 shared

5 shared · Holmes better on 4 · even on 15 shared · Larry Holmes better on 4 · even on 1

HolmesLarry Holmes

Opponent

AliMuhammad Ali

Larry Holmes
Win, UD
1981Apr 1981
BerbickTrevor BerbickCanada 49–11–1 · HeavyweightHolmes betterLarry Holmes better — 1–0 to 0–1
Muhammad Ali
Loss, UD
1981Dec 1981
Larry Holmes
Win, TKO 3
1981Jun 1981
SpinksLeon SpinksUnited States 26–17–3Holmes betterLarry Holmes better — 1–0 to 1–1
Muhammad Ali
1–1 against
Win, UD
1978Sep 1978
Loss, SD
1978Feb 1978
Larry Holmes
2–0 against
Win, TKO 11
1979Sep 1979
Win, UD
1978Mar 1978
ShaversEarnie ShaversUnited States 76–14–1 · HeavyweightHolmes betterLarry Holmes better — 2–0 to 1–0
Muhammad Ali
Win, UD
1977Sep 1977
Larry Holmes
Win, KO 7
1978Nov 1978
EvangelistaAlfredo EvangelistaSpain 62–13–4 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 1–0 both
Muhammad Ali
Win, UD
1977May 1977
Larry Holmes
Win, SD
1978Jun 1978
NortonKen NortonUnited States 42–7–1 · HeavyweightHolmes betterLarry Holmes better — 1–0 to 2–1
Muhammad Ali
2–1 against
Win, UD
1976Sep 1976
Win, SD
1973Sep 1973
Loss, SD
1973Mar 1973

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Larry Holmes last boxed on Jul 27, 2002 — 8,849 days ago. Holmes had won four straight since losing a decision to Brian Nielsen.LWWWW

Nielsen Jan 1997Harris Jul 1997Smith Jun 1999Weaver Nov 2000Esch Jul 20022.6 tracked bouts per year

Muhammad Ali has lost two straight, after one straight win. Ali last boxed on Dec 11, 1981.WLWLL

Shavers Sep 1977Spinks Feb 1978Spinks Sep 1978Holmes Oct 1980Berbick Dec 19812.9 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali ever fought each other?: Yes. Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali met once on October 2, 1980, and Larry Holmes won by RTD in round 10.
Who has the better record, Holmes or Ali?: Larry Holmes is 69-6 and Muhammad Ali is 56-5. Larry Holmes has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Holmes or Ali?: Larry Holmes has 44 knockout wins and Muhammad Ali has 37. Larry Holmes has more.
Do Holmes and Ali have any common opponents?: Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali share 5 common opponents: Trevor Berbick, Leon Spinks and Earnie Shavers (and 2 others). Larry Holmes fared better against 4 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Holmes and Ali?: This comparison is drawn from 76 bouts tracked for Larry Holmes and 61 bouts tracked for Muhammad Ali. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Larry Holmes vs Muhammad Ali — record, stats and common opponents compared

Larry Holmes

Muhammad Ali