On the night it happened, the title fight between Larry Holmes and Carl “The Truth” Williams was framed as potentially historic because it was one of the final hurdles on the path for Holmes, then the heavyweight champion with a record of 47-0, to match Rocky Marciano’s iconic 49-0 mark.
Forty years later, it is indeed a somewhat historic fight, but not quite for the reason advertised at the time.
Holmes vs. Williams, contested on Monday, May 20, 1985, at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada, stands now as the last successful title defense Holmes would ever make, his final win as an undefeated fighter before Michael Spinks spoiled his march to Marciano four months later.
In 1985, you either watched the fight live or set your VCR; otherwise, you risked never seeing it. In 2025, you can watch it anytime you want. The full broadcast is – minus the Marvis Frazier-James “Quick” Tillis co-feature, which uploader “katis999” trimmed out (along with all the commercials).
Here, now, is a 40th anniversary running diary of a viewing of that video, with accompanying YouTube time codes:
0:02: “Programs regularly scheduled at this time will not be seen tonight so that we can bring you the following NBC Sports special.” Yes, there once was a time when heavyweight title fights were on NBC in prime time on weeknights. For you younger readers, NBC is a broadcast network that was in every American home, regardless of whether that home paid for cable TV. And cable TV is that thing your grandparents are currently overpaying for and blowing your inheritance on because they don’t know how to sign in to any streaming apps.
0:55: In a quick opening vignette establishing the narratives that (a) Holmes is two wins shy of the number at which Marciano finished his career and (b) Holmes still hasn’t received proper acclaim because he immediately followed Muhammad Ali as champion, Ali is called “Cassius Clay” on first reference. Yeah, 1985 was a long time ago.
2:27: The broadcast is sponsored by the Stroh brewing company – another sign of the times, as the Stroh’s brand was discontinued about a quarter-century ago. I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually seen a can or bottle of it in all the time I’ve been drinking, which, of course, spans back to my 21st birthday and not a moment sooner.
2:50: As we’re shown a scenic Reno mountain shot, Dick Enberg notes that it’s 6 p.m. local time, which means this aired at 9 p.m. on the East Coast. When we see Enberg, he’s in a full tuxedo with a red bow tie. Boxing used to be a fancy sport.
3:42: We’re told this is the first heavyweight title fight in Reno since 1910, and that Holmes and Williams weighed in on the same scales as the fellas who fought there 75 years earlier, Jack Johnson and James J. Jeffries.
4:18: Enberg sends it down to Marv Albert and Dr. Ferdie Pacheco at ringside; they are also in full tuxes. Albert is the only member of the trio of broadcasters who is still alive 40 years later (he’s now 83). Fun fact: I once got butt-dialed by Marv, making him by far the most famous person who has ever butt-dialed me.
6:40: The YouTube video has jumped past the excised Frazier-Tillis fight, and a portion of a vignette about Holmes’ pursuit of Marciano is set to the song “Axel F” – just in case we didn’t already know it was the mid-’80s. I guess Harold Faltermeyer’s copyright/usage fees were fairly reasonable.
8:07: In a pre-taped interview with Enberg, Williams is sitting on a couch in a leather track suit – all black with a couple of patches of blue – wearing sunglasses and a gold chain around his neck, looking for all the world like Eddie Murphy doing stand-up. (Are you starting to understand just how massive Eddie was in 1985?) Williams refers to himself as a “younger lion” ready to “take over the den” and notes Holmes is 35 years old while he is only 25.
9:51: Enberg, apparently not shy about asking tough – bordering on insulting – questions, inquires, “What if you lose and are embarrassed in defeat? What happens then to The Truth?” Williams, a smooth, relaxed talker, chuckles and responds, “That’s something that I really can’t foresee.” Enberg keeps pushing: “What if he really beats you up? What if he really humiliates you?” He’s lucky he wasn’t interviewing Kostya Tszyu here, because we’re entering, “” territory.
11:25: Enberg sums up the situation effectively: “The current champion Larry Holmes has two opponents tonight: the 25-year-old Williams, with his incredible 85-inch reach, and Rocky Marciano, the former champion.” We then go into a lengthy examination of Holmes vs. Marciano, complete with a clip of Marciano’s title-winning knockout of Jersey Joe Walcott (described as arguably boxing’s greatest one-punch KO) and interviews with brother Peter Marciano, sister Betty Marciano, friend Goody Petronelli (best known for training Marvin Hagler), journalists Barney Nagler and Dick Young, and publicist Murray Goodman. Along the way, we learn that Brockton, Massachusetts, was once known as the shoe capital of the United States. I had no idea. I looked it up – it was in fact once known as “Shoe City.” If you ask me, the Brockton City Council really dropped the ball not attempting a rebrand as “Sock City” when prime Marciano was knocking everyone out.
17:59: We see a clip of Marciano announcing his retirement: “I like to profit by others’ mistakes, and if Joe Louis couldn’t make a successful comeback, I will not try it.” Are you listening, Manny Pacquiao?
18:36: The long vignette wraps up with experts weighing in on who would have won between Marciano and Holmes, those experts spanning from 79-year-old Harry Markson, to 84-year-old Ray Arcel, to 67-year-old whippersnapper Teddy Brenner. As best I can tell, nobody young (or female, or non-white, for that matter) worked in any capacity in the boxing industry in 1985.
20:04: Bulldog Enberg is back at it again in his interview with 8-1 betting favorite Holmes, who acknowledges that some people will be unhappy if he surpasses Marciano but says that it’s not his fault. Challenges Enberg, “But those on the other side say you’re not fighting anyone.” Holmes responds by pointing out Marciano faced his share of soft touches, alleging that Rocky fought his own brother four times under assumed names. (The internet suggests Lou Marciano may have fessed up to facing his big brother once, but not four times.)
21:35: Jose Feliciano performs “The Star-Spangled Banner,” singing and playing acoustic guitar, while somewhat resembling a skinny Meat Loaf. Not sure if anyone was betting over/unders on the lengths of national anthems back then, but this one came in at a crisp 1:45.
24:25: Williams enters the arena at what I’d estimate was at least 10:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Enberg says he’s “built like a tight end at 6-4 and 215.” Interestingly, the average NFL tight end in 2025 is 254 pounds – showing tight ends and heavyweights have expanded at about the same rate.
26:20: Champ Holmes enters the arena with a large, fired-up entourage and, like Williams, no entrance music. Honestly, they don’t need it. It’s in some ways better to be able to hear the roar of the crowd instead. Enberg notes that Holmes is getting paid $2.3 million, to just $150,000 for Williams.
27:42: Ring announcer Ed Derian notes the fight is “sanctioned by the International Boxing Federation, the honorable Robert W. Lee, president.” Calling Lee “honorable” .
28:35: Ref Mills Lane gets a serious pop from the crowd, maybe because he’s from right there in Reno – or maybe just because he’s Mills Friggin’ Lane.
29:36: Derian strings together the words, “The only recognized heavyweight champion, the International Boxing Federation champion, Larry Holmes.” Holmes was the lineal champ, and he was universally regarded as “the man,” but it’s interesting that the promotion insisted on that “only” champ wording. In case you’re curious, Pinklon Thomas and Tony Tubbs also held belts at this time. It’s noted at this point in the broadcast that Holmes is making his 20th title defense. (Some, however, considered it his 19th defense because no alphabet belt was at stake when he stopped Marvis Frazier in 1983.)
30:36: Whether it’s defense number 19 or defense number 20, it’s underway! Here’s an oddity: NBC’s clock in the corner of the screen is ticking upward, toward three minutes, rather than counting down from three minutes. Anyway, though Holmes is considered perhaps the finest jabber in heavyweight history, Williams, with that aforementioned 85-inch reach, is outjabbing him from the outset.
38:40: Williams is cut above the left eye midway through the third round – and I mention this in part just so I have an excuse to write that his cutman was Eddie Aliano, who had the absolutely spectacular nickname, “The Clot.” Gash aside, things have mostly been going challenger Williams’ way to this point. His hands are faster than Holmes’, he doesn’t seem intimidated, and Holmes looks like a once-great heavyweight champion who has started to slow down. That said, Holmes has landed a couple of strong right hands and is keeping the rounds close – but I’ve scored each of the first three for The Truth, as has Pacheco.
40:11: Williams comes out for Round 4 with a glob of white coagulant over his left eye, courtesy of Eddie the Clot. He lands a double left hook, and just under a minute into the round, the first, “Truth! Truth!” chants start. They are followed, though, by “Lar-ry! Lar-ry!” chants. Late in the fourth round, Williams reacts as if thumbed in the left eye, and Holmes – who was already starting to dial in his jabs and his counter rights before that – seizes the moment and clearly wins the round.
44:59: A classic Ferdie line in the fifth round: “Oh, what a shot by Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams that missed.”
48:33: Williams just keeps landing his jab better and better, then scores with a flush right hand in the final minute of the sixth round. I have the challenger leading 5-1, and if I didn’t know how this ends, I’d be worried for Holmes at this point.
51:50: After a warning from Lane to close his fists and not use his thumb, “The Easton Assassin” begins to rally in the seventh, landing a right hand that freezes Williams, then a right to the body, and then an uppercut – his best sequence of the fight so far.
55:56: Pacheco notes early in the ninth round that Williams told his corner between rounds, “I’m tired” – then Pacheco interrupts himself, as Holmes is warned by Lane for using his forearm, to comment, “a little forearm to the trachea there.” Forearms to the trachea don’t score points, but purely on the punches that do count, I have Holmes sweeping rounds seven through nine.
58:52: NBC doesn’t cut to commercial between the ninth and 10th rounds, instead following the fighters to their corners. Williams looks exhausted, and a chyron pops up on the screen noting that the 16-0 challenger has never fought past 10 rounds. Over in Holmes’ corner, a trainer hollers, “Forty-eight and oh, big daddy!”
1:01:22: After Albert notes it’s been reported Holmes didn’t train his hardest for this fight, Pacheco treats us to his least coherent ramble of the evening: “Well, it’s never been more evident than this, and in this round, because Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams has been bouncing along like a little, uh, tennis ball, and with sodden legs, Holmes has come forth, not trying to catch him particularly.”
1:03:55: Holmes’ left eye is suddenly swelling shut in the 11th, and Williams is beginning to talk trash, Ali-style, as the round winds down. The 10th and 11th are both close, but I lean toward the challenger in each of them and now have him up three points with four rounds to go.
1:05:46: Albert and Pacheco relay that Holmes’ corner is telling him to pick it up because he may be losing, and then they begin discussing just how many times he had to rally or lift himself up off the canvas to win a tough fight. Indeed, Holmes didn’t make it to 47-0 without some narrow escapes – against Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Renaldo Snipes and Tim Witherspoon. The champ digs deep and has an excellent 12th, and he also appears to benefit from another thumb to Williams’ eye. (On replay, though, it looks more like a scrape with the tape over the laces than a thumb. Either way, let’s euphemistically praise Holmes for his “veteran savvy.”)
1:09:19: At the start of Round 13, Pacheco says he has Williams up 116-113, but he acknowledges the judges could see it differently: “It may be some of those close rounds went to Holmes on reputation.” This round, in which Williams is on his toes, running more than boxing, you pretty much have to score for the champion.
1:12:20: Between rounds, with a massive upset seeming possible, NBC presents a graphic of some of the greatest upsets in heavyweight history – from Jim Corbett vs. John L. Sullivan to Leon Spinks vs. Ali – and boy does it feel strange as a citizen of the year 2025 to see a list of great heavyweight title upsets that doesn’t include Buster Douglas vs. Mike Tyson.
1:16:15: Williams is having a very strong 14th round until, with five seconds left, Holmes lands his best right hand of the fight. The Truth freezes for a moment, then moves away on wobbly legs, and Holmes has stolen the round – and moved into a 133-133 tie on my scorecard.
1:19:22: The crowd is booing with a minute to go in the fight, as Williams is choosing not to engage – either because he’s confident he’s ahead, or because he just has nothing left in the tank. Whatever the case, this ain’t exactly the 15th round of Holmes-Norton. Holmes lands enough right hands to clearly win the round, rallying for a 143-142 win on my very unofficial (and 40 years too late to count) card.
1:21:48: We’re back from commercial to hear the scores read, and Enberg sends it down to Derian for “the moment of truth” – which he means with a lowercase “t,” though for those watching live and unsure what the cards will say, “the moment of Truth” also seems plausible.
1:22:25: A 146-139 score draws a round of boos. A 143-142 score earns applause (how ’bout that, cheering just for a score?). Another 146-139 conjures more boos. And the words “and still” draw the biggest boos of all, and Derian again pronounces Holmes “the only recognized heavyweight champion.” Those 146-139 scores from Paul Gibbs and Al Rothenberg – giving only four of the 15 rounds to Williams – really are quite laughable.
1:23:16: During his post-fight interview, Holmes calls Pacheco “Freddie.” In Larry’s defense, he’d been taking punches to the head for 45 of the last 60 minutes.
1:24:52: Albert is conducting the post-fight interview with Williams – an interesting move to have both the blow-by-blow man and the color analyst in the ring conducting interviews. Marv asks Williams, “Do you think he won?” and Williams replies, “Yes, I do. I think the least I could have got was a draw.” Clearly, Williams misheard the question and thought Albert asked, “Do you think you won?”
1:26:31: Enberg ends the broadcast with, “The measure of the champion indeed is in the heart, and Larry Holmes rallied to retain the title.” Yep, the aging champ won this on experience, guile, knowing how to pace himself, and knowing how to seize openings and moments, on a night when his decade-younger challenger probably had him slightly outmatched physically. He was slowing down, and watching this fight on its 40th anniversary, it’s easy to see why 48-0 was as close as Holmes would get to Marciano.
***
I want to offer a quick word of thanks and praise to Tris Dixon, who has been running the editorial side of BoxingScene for the last 15 months or so and who has now opted to step back and transition to a role that allows him to do more writing (and presumably more hiking with his dogs).
I’m very much looking forward to working more directly with Matt Christie, the new man in charge, but I’ll have plenty of opportunity down the road to gush about him if indeed he proves gush-worthy.
For the moment, I’m focusing my gushing on Tris. He’s been an easy editor to work with and routinely improved my article pitches with his suggestions for roads to go down. And I deeply admired from a slight distance the magnificent job he did retooling the editorial team on the fly, which seemed like a 24/7 job for a while there.
The switch to a less intense, less stressful position is well-deserved. I now look forward to enjoying more of Tris’ feature writing – as should the entire BoxingScene readership.
Eric Raskin is a veteran boxing journalist with nearly 30 years of experience covering the sport for such outlets as BoxingScene, ESPN, Grantland, Playboy, and The Ring (where he served as managing editor for seven years). He also co-hosted The HBO Boxing Podcast, Showtime Boxing with Raskin & Mulvaney, The Interim Champion Boxing Podcast with Raskin & Mulvaney, and Ring Theory. He has won three first-place writing awards from the BWAA, for his work with The Ring, Grantland, and HBO. Outside boxing, he is the senior editor of and the author of 2014’s . He can be reached on , , or , or via email at [email protected].