Holmes Back In Las Vegas Looking To Regain Heavyweight Title At 45

Larry Holmes sat with a friend at a bar overlooking the swimming pool at Caesars Palace and recalled the night 17 years ago when he took a nighttime dip.

He was wearing trunks, but they were boxing trunks. Holmes had just outpointed Ken Norton over 15 brutal rounds to win the WBC heavyweight championship on June 9, 1978.

In his jubilation, Holmes forgot about the news conference, started back to his hotel suite and, on an impulse, jumped into the pool.

Since beating Norton, Holmes has fought in 14 championship fights in Las Vegas, but he has appeared only once here in 14 bouts since 1986.

Saturday night, the 45-year-old Holmes will be back in a Caesars Palace ring to challenge 29-year-old Oliver McCall for the WBC title.

“If George can do it, why can’t I do it?” Holmes asked, referring to the 10th-round knockout victory over Michael Moorer that made George Foreman the oldest heavyweight champion in history. Foreman, who turned 46 on Jan. 10, beat Moorer on Nov. 5, two days after Holmes’ 45th birthday.

“If I win, I’d like to fight George,” Holmes said. Such a fight, however, is considered unlikely.

“I’m not looking at Mike Tyson,” Holmes added. “I’d like to get him like he got me. I want him to be ring rusty. After two or three fights, he won’t be ring rusty.”

Holmes came out of 21 months retirement and was stopped by Tyson in the fourth on Jan. 22, 1988.

Tyson, the former undisputed champion released from prison on March 25, is expected to a have one or two tuneup fights before challenging for a title.

“If I lose this fight, I’ll quit right away,” Holmes said. “There’s no sense in going on.”