War & Peace Quote by Larry Holmes

Holmes is doing two things at once: hyping the modern fighter and quietly defending the old-school era from the lazy accusation that it was simply “tougher.” On the surface, it reads like a straightforward comparison - today’s heavyweights are bigger, stronger, quicker. That’s the easy part, the kind of progress narrative fans expect in any sport that’s become more professionalized, more athletic, more optimized.

The sharper move is what he attaches to it: officiating and medical oversight. By stressing that referees, judges, and doctors “back then were very strict,” Holmes flips a popular boxing myth on its head. The subtext is: don’t confuse brutality with legitimacy, and don’t assume earlier generations were allowed to be more reckless. “If your head got busted up the fight would be stopped” isn’t nostalgia; it’s a pointed reminder that regulation has always shaped what counts as courage. The damage was visible, and the stoppage was decisive.

Context matters here because Holmes sits in that contested middle ground: not an ancient pioneer, not a modern pay-per-view brand. He’s speaking from an era that’s constantly compared, diminished, or romanticized depending on the agenda. His intent is reputational triage. He grants modern athletes their physical edge while reclaiming moral seriousness for the past - suggesting that older boxing had a firmer line, at least in the moments when harm became undeniable. It’s also a subtle critique of today’s incentive structure: when money and entertainment balloon, the “strict” stop can start to look negotiable.