Larry Holmes Defends Heavyweight Title For Ninth Straight Win – April 11, 1981 (This Day In Boxing History)

Over 40 years ago, Larry Holmes made his ninth successful title defense.

Holmes retained his WBC world heavyweight title by going the distance with Trevor Berbick, and eventually walking away with the unanimous decision victory.

While Holmes wasn’t too challenged in this fight, very little people thought it would go all 15 rounds.

“You can’t take anyone lightly,” Holmes said at the time. “I didn’t take Trevor Berbick lightly, and he gave me a good fight.

He even called Berbick the strongest fighter he had faced. There were no knockdowns and neither boxer seemed to be winded or hurt.

Berbick entered the fight – which was his first in the U.S. — as the Canadian heavyweight champion and the WBC No. 5 heavyweight contender.

Holmes, meanwhile, went into the fight with eight straight title defenses by knockout, tying the record of Tommy Burns for most consecutive knockout victories by a heavyweight champion. Berbick, however, ended that.