While the odds makers saw this as a mismatch, LeDoux brought his trademark Minnesota grit. He forced Holmes to work for every inch of canvas before referee Davey Pearl waved it off at 2:05 of the seventh round.
LeDoux entered the ring with a respectable 26-8-4 record, beloved locally for a rugged style and a total lack of fear. He had earned draws against Ken Norton and Leon Spinks, though he fell short against elite punchers like George Foreman, Ron Lyle, and Mike Weaver. Sitting at No. 8 in the WBC rankings, LeDoux got his golden opportunity after plans for a Holmes vs. Muhammad Ali bout in Brazil fell apart.
The event set a state-record gate of roughly $253,000, though only 6,500 fans scattered across the 16,800-seat arena. Holmes pocketed a cool $1.2 million, while LeDoux walked away with a career-high $350,000 payday. Outside the ropes, Ali himself stole plenty of the spotlight, joking with fans and shadowboxing from ringside throughout the evening.
Holmes established supremacy from the opening bell. He pumped his legendary left jab, circling beautifully and keeping LeDoux glued to the outside. The challenger pressed forward with plenty of heart, but he simply could not solve the distance. It was a textbook opening stanza for the champion.
LeDoux found his single moment of glory in the second round, landing a looping right hand that caught Holmes cleanly. The champion barely blinked, instantly resetting behind that piston-like jab to regain total command.
By the middle frames, the gulf in class became undeniable. Holmes snapped LeDoux’s head back repeatedly, blinding him with the jab before slamming heavy combinations behind it. The champion mixed up his approach beautifully, boxing on his toes before standing right in the pocket to pick the challenger apart. The relentless punishment left LeDoux’s left eye heavily swollen.
The fifth round turned into a complete rout. Holmes fired stiff jabs and straight rights at will, pinning LeDoux against the ropes and forcing him to cover up. The challenger threw desperate counters, but he lacked the speed to bother the champion.
Everything collapsed for LeDoux in the sixth. Holmes rocked him early with a massive right hand. LeDoux fired back with a heavy shot of his own, showing immense pride, but the champion kept coming.
Late in the round, Holmes connected with a vicious right uppercut that sent LeDoux down to his knees for the only official knockdown of the match. LeDoux complained bitterly to Davey Pearl, screaming that he had been thumbed in the eye, but the referee ruled it a clean blow. LeDoux beat the count, but he returned to his corner with his left eye completely closed and leaking blood.
LeDoux answered the bell for the seventh round fighting on pure instinct, virtually blind on one side. Holmes showed zero mercy, targeting the ruined eye with precise jabs and hard straight rights. With LeDoux taking unanswered punishment, Pearl stepped in to save the brave challenger.
Holmes was pitching a complete shutout at the time of the stoppage, leading 60-53 on all three official scorecards.
Three months after matching Joe Louis’ stoppage record, Holmes defended his title by stopping a completely washed Muhammad Ali in ten rounds, a fight that remains one of boxing’s most uncomfortable spectacles. Holmes ruled the division until losing to Michael Spinks in 1985, cementing his legacy as an all-time great.
The fight left a permanent mark on LeDoux. The damage to his left eye included retinal injuries that altered his effectiveness for the rest of his career. He suffered subsequent defeats to Greg Page, Gerrie Coetzee, and Frank Bruno before hanging up the gloves in 1983. He later worked as a professional wrestling referee, remaining a beloved sports figure in Minnesota until his passing in 2011.
History often overlooks the LeDoux defense because of the Ali fight that followed, but this bout captures Larry Holmes at the absolute absolute apex of his powers.
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