Holmes angry

Press, 29 November 1982, Page 42

Holmes angry

NZPA-Reuter Houston An angry Larry Holmes has accused promoter Don King of cutting his purse by half a million dollars following his one-sided points victory over Andy (Tex) Cobb on Saturday. The 33-year-old World Boxing Council heavyweight champion said that King, Holmes’s former manager who has promoted all his title fights, told him at a victory party early yesterday that he was cutting his purse from $2.1 million to $1,6 million. “King told me I had to take a cut because he lost money on the house,” Holmes said. The fight was watched by a crowd of about 12,000 in the 55,000-seat Astrodome in Houston. “Maybe it’s time I looked for another promoter or go my own way like Sugar Ray Leonard did,” Holmes aid. “I think I might call up Bob Arum” (King’s major promotional rival). Asked later to comment on Holmes’s charges, the normally voluble King said: “I have nothing to say about that.” Holmes also indicated he had had a change of heart about retiring after his next title defence. Last week, the champion, unbeaten in 41 professional bouts, said he planned one more fight before quitting. But yesterday Holmes said he was looking forward to fighting “a couple more times.” “I’ve got to get somebody easy next time,” said Holmes, unmarked after pounding Cobb almost at will but failing to floor the challenger. Holmes had said before the fight that he was not interested in a rematch with Gerry Cooney, whom he stopped in the 11th round last June; but yesterday he appeared to have had a change of heart. “Sure, I’ll fight him for $25 million,” Holmes said. “He keeps saying I didn’t whip him. I guess he cut himself up in our fight and knocked himself down.”

Holmes harbours.a genuine dislike for Cooney, whom he feels belittled -him in the build-up to their title clash. But he had 'nothing ; but admiration .for . Cobb, who became only the second of 13 challengers to last 15 rounds with the W.B.C. champion.