There is a legend in the boxing world that a curse hangs over any heavyweight who comes close to surpassing the historic record of the phenomenal Rocky Marciano, who won 49 consecutive fights from the start of his professional career. On September 21, 1985, the curse struck the reigning heavyweight champion of the time, the great Larry Holmes.
At that time, Holmes had built an enviable, spotless record of 48 victories, 34 by KO, and was universally recognized as the world heavyweight champion since his narrow victory over Ken Norton on June 9, 1978. Despite the WBC stripping him of the belt in 1983 after 16 defenses due to his refusal to face mandatory challenger Greg Page over what he considered an inadequate purse, Holmes was immediately awarded the IBF world title and successfully defended it three times. Though often accused by detractors of his era of building a numerically impressive but qualitatively modest record, Holmes had sweated to remain undefeated. Besides his narrow win over Norton, the former sparring partner of Muhammad Ali had troubles against Earnie Shavers and Renaldo Snipes, from whom he had to recover after brutal knockdowns. As his athletic brilliance waned with age, mobile and elusive fighters like Tim Witherspoon and Carl Williams gave him trouble as well, resulting in controversial point wins for the “Easton Assassin”. Thus, the Larry Holmes who approached his fight with Michael Spinks in the fall of 1985, at nearly 36 years old, was certainly not at his best.
Spinks, an undefeated light-heavyweight champion, had moved up to the heavyweight division with the firm intention of achieving the historic feat of becoming its new king. He hadn’t even had a tune-up fight as a heavyweight and, just three and a half months before his seemingly impossible fight against Larry Holmes, he had defended his light-heavyweight title against Jim MacDonald, weighing in at 175 pounds. Unsurprisingly, Holmes was the bookmakers’ clear favorite. To adapt his physique to the new weight class, Spinks consulted young nutritionist Mackie Shilstone, who devised a diet of 4,500 calories daily, consisting of 65% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and 15% fats. In a pre-fight interview, Shilstone explained that despite Spinks’ 25-pound weight gain, his body fat percentage had dropped from 9.1% to 7.2%, meaning his weight increase was due solely to muscle gain. Even his training broke from tradition, favoring short, fast sprints over long runs, leading some to joke that he was training for a decathlon, not a 15-round bout against Holmes.
For fans of the occult, the curse—or simply coincidence for the skeptics—began to loom over Holmes during his preparation. The Easton Assassin started experiencing a burning pain in his shoulder every time he threw a right hand. Initially attributed to nerve compression, Holmes was treated with painkillers, heat packs, and massages, but the pain persisted. A specialist later diagnosed him with a herniated disc in his fifth vertebra and strongly advised surgery. The specialist warned that fighting under such conditions was like playing Russian roulette; each right hand thrown carried a risk of permanent paralysis. Though other doctors dismissed these dire predictions, Holmes remained haunted by the specialist’s words, and as he later recounted in his autobiography, it made him fearful of throwing his right hand with full force.
The fight, scheduled for 15 rounds as per the rules of the time, became one of the dullest heavyweight title fights in history. Holmes controlled the center of the ring but was sparing in his attacks, relying heavily on his famed left jab, which proved insufficient against Spinks’ unusual style. American commentators repeatedly described Spinks’ boxing as “awkward,” a fitting term for his seemingly off-balance approach that made him hard to pin down, with flurries of punches coming from unexpected angles. While Holmes never seemed hurt by Spinks’ blows, he struggled to assert his physical superiority as the fight was mostly fought at long range, a true chess match that remained relatively balanced for the first nine rounds.
Michael Spinks’ behavior in the ring was even stranger than his unorthodox style: he seemed exhausted from the fourth round onwards, breathing heavily with his mouth open, and collapsing on his stool between rounds as if on the brink of collapse. Yet, just when Holmes seemed poised to capitalize, Spinks would launch wild but effective flurries that often won him rounds.
By the end of the ninth round, it seemed Holmes had finally found the key to securing his 49th victory. Some body uppercuts had put Spinks in serious trouble, and with six rounds left, many thought the challenger had spent his last energy and would soon succumb to the champion’s superior power. But the opposite happened. Holmes became lethargic and ineffective again, while Spinks, seemingly reborn, dominated the next four rounds with superior activity.
At that point, Holmes would have needed a miracle akin to Joe Louis’ 1941 knockout of light-heavyweight Billy Conn, who was beating him on points. The Easton Assassin, however, couldn’t find the spark within to trigger a comeback. He started both championship rounds with aggression, but his efforts quickly fizzled.
The judges rightly awarded Michael Spinks, who, to the astonishment of all, became the new heavyweight world champion. Holmes initially accepted the defeat with grace, congratulating Spinks and blaming his troubles on the challenger’s unusual style. He even said he had nothing to be ashamed of for not matching Marciano’s record. But later, Holmes, agitated and bitter, began criticizing the judges and made a controversial comment about Rocky: “I’m a 35-year-old fighting a young man, and Rocky was a 25-year-old fighting an old man. Technically, Rocky couldn’t carry my jockstrap.” Though inaccurate—Marciano fought his last bout at 32—this remark was considered offensive by many in the boxing community, leading Holmes to apologize later.
Holmes and Spinks faced off again in a rematch the following April, and once again, the former light-heavyweight won, though this time with a verdict many deemed unfair—but that’s another story.
As for Marciano’s curse, it has continued to loom over the heavyweight division to this day. Particularly striking was the case of Danish heavyweight Brian Nielsen, who had matched Rocky’s record through a career filled with fights mostly held in his homeland against journeymen and lower-tier fighters. In his 50th fight, Nielsen faced the modest Dicky Ryan, a clearly winnable opponent, but during the bout, while comfortably leading, Nielsen suddenly ran out of energy, struggling to stay on his feet, forcing the referee to stop the fight in the tenth and final round. It was later revealed that Nielsen had suffered from dehydration. The legend of Rocky Marciano still lives among us.