I grew up in the greatest heavyweight boxing era ever. I loved me some Joe Frazier as a kid, still do. I grew to love Ali as I got older, dude was smart af. I’m tearing up a little, watching my childhood go away… great show. 4 episodes.
This Ali documentary on PBS has been incredible…
- Thread starter Kellerdog
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Agreed. Superb television. I'd also recommend a 2009 documentary called Facing Ali. Watched it a few months ago...Ali's career through the eyes of some of the great fighters who faced him in the ring. Really good.
I think Ali was the greatest of all time over the course of an entire career. He transcended sports. However, during that 4-year period or so when Smokin' Joe was in his prime, there was nobody better. Their first fight ranks as the best in the history of boxing, in my view.
When I was a teenager growing up in the coal belt of northeastern Pennsylvania in the 60's, a lot of people there hated on Ali because he refused to serve, but my Dad, solidly conservative and an ex-Marine to boot, respected him, which influenced my opinion as well.
Dad made the point that Ali could have gone through the motions of putting on the uniform and would have never gone near the front lines -- he'd have spent his time putting on boxing exhibitions -- but instead said no and forfeited three full years at the top of his game.
But like so many great athletes, he couldn't quit while he was ahead...and ended up paying a terrible price, which was a sad thing. In fact, it's also sad what's happened to his once great sport...now reduced to an afterthought.
Ali in his prime vs. Frazier in his prime? Ali. Its not even close.
Shocker you would bring up the draft. I commend Ali for staying firm to his beliefs.
Ali was not only the greatest boxer ever but philanthropist as well.
Uh, no. Ali’s best was the 60’s which made his accomplishments in the 70’s even more iconic. He wasn’t allowed to box during what most likely would have been his best years.
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That’s debatable, Ali was barely 29 during the first Frazier fight. He was in great shape and Frazier beat him. Knocked him down too. I think the way Ali treated Frazier is a real stain on his legacy. Looking back, he was just terrible to Frazier and his family.
When I was in HS, a bunch of us would go over to Deer Lake and watch him train for several different fights over the years. He was such a ham and outgoing he'd really ham it us with us, especially after he realized we were repeaters! He would call me the white kid with the afro. Italian I am!
I met him once by accident very very late in his life, very very sad to see him in the health that he was in at that time.
Ali had one fight in the 3 year exile before fighting Frazier. He did knock him down in the last round but Ali was up in 3 seconds. He did say terrible things to Joe and later apologized.
I have it DVRed and I’m probably going to watch a chunk of it tomorrow. I’m home by myself during the day tomorrow to recover from getting some teeth pulled today so I can watch it uninterrupted.
Ali would be so tired after those training sessions, yet he’d stay and sign every autograph and take every picture request and smiled the whole time. He loved people.
Dude. Nice to see you still here. Stick around.
When We Were Kings - Wikipedia
fantastic doc
Love the world of boxing in the late 60s & 70s One of the first dates I took my wife on was Ali v Zora Foley and MSQ. I followed that up with Jerry Quarry v Buster Mathis also at MSG. She's still with me more than 50 years later. What a great life!
Yeah watching that early footage, his speed was just mind boggling for a heavy.
Not what the documentary said. It said that Ali was in terrible shape for Frazier I. He considered Frazier an easy touch since he was small. He looked at him like Floyd Patterson. Ali couldn't move during the fight and got plummled. Ali trained hard for the second Frazier fight and dominated him.
Prime Ali, late 1966. Versus Cleveland Williams (no chump). The Ali of the 70s, including Ali - Frazier I was very formidable. But Ali, pre 3 year exile was incredible:
When I was in HS in the 70s I ran camera at WGAL in Lancaster. We taped a show with Ali outside in the parking lot and a couple hundred people were there watching. After the show he went around and shook everyone's hand and thanked them for coming.
His hand swallowed mine whole.
His hand swallowed mine whole.
I grew up in the coal region too but never went to Deer Lake. There is a great story about Ali during the 1960s. It seems that there was a garage sale in Shenandoah Heights. Elvis was visiting Ali at Deer Lake. The two of them decided to go to the garage sale. So there were Ali and Elvis in a huge pink Caddy roaming the streets of Shenandoah Heights and stopping at the sales. Probably the two most famous people in the world at that time. Story has it that the people went crazy taking pictures and talking with Ali and Elvis. Does anyone else know about this story?
Ali left the first fight with Frazier with a broken jaw.
Frazier went to the hospital with heart problems looking like he'd flipped a car 11 times.
Ali was magic. He lost the fight, but he won the war. Frazier was never the same.
Frazier went to the hospital with heart problems looking like he'd flipped a car 11 times.
Ali was magic. He lost the fight, but he won the war. Frazier was never the same.
In my opinion, the best Ali-Frazier was the "Thrilla in Manilla". And neither fighter was ever quite the same after that brutal battle.
Frazier was never the same because he fought Foreman a couple of fights later and Foreman ruined him.
I was in law school when "old" George Foreman was making his comeback before the launch of the grill. For the first and only time in my life, I actually bought the PPV for a title fight and decided to hold a party with friends, mainly because I thought Foreman would be entertaining. We laughed through the first part of the fight as george looked like a hermit crab going into his shell, but then he showed he still had that one punch magic... Really one of the most fun nights in my life.
Young George was frightening, except in one of the Ali documentaries, there's some outtakes of him filming some of the promo clips, and when he went candid, you realized he was the same showman he became later in life.
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That beat down of Frazier is ridiculous. What did he put him like 8 times in 3 rounds or something like that? And Frazier just kept barreling straight ahead at him. It was like King Kong swatting away planes.
Edit: Just watched it. 6 knockdowns in 4:35 before it was stopped.
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I lived in NEPA at the beginning of Ali’s career. My Dad and I listened to the first Liston fight on the radio. My Navy Vet Dad and me rooting for Cassius Clay. Fast forward, we’re at Ag Hall in Allentown Fairgrounds, for Leonard-Duran. Closed Circuit TV. 6,000 in attendance. Ten minutes before the fight was to begin, the side doors open and here comes Ali with his entourage, including Leila. The place went nuts. Chants of Ali, Ali, Ali all over the Hall. It was some night.
Yip was there as well. Same place I also saw my first concert - Rush.
Vicious. The best knockdown is when Frazier starts galloping like he’s on a horsey and Foreman catches him on the side of the face from behind.
Ali was extraordinary at slipping punches, avoiding getting hit flush. Even with that, he could take a punch as well as anyone. Who else could have remained standing after Earnie Shavers caught him flush?
Nice summary here:
Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers - Wikipedia
Watch the second round, in particular.
Speaking of Ernie, here’s an interesting article on best power punchers ever. Ernie was unquestionably #1.Ali was extraordinary at slipping punches, avoiding getting hit flush. Even with that, he could take a punch as well as anyone. Who else could have remained standing after Earnie Shavers caught him flush?
Nice summary here:
Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndic...-powerful-punchers-in-boxing-history.amp.html
Oh, yeah. Who else comes close? I see only Mike Tyson in his class. Foreman and maybe Ron Lyle, Liston on the next rung below. I said Earnie Shavers and didn’t think I needed to add a clarification.
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Shavers was another BEAST. Watching boxing then (and granted I was a kid) was so much fun, all of them. Ali, Frazier, Norton, Foreman, Shavers...just the best.Ali was extraordinary at slipping punches, avoiding getting hit flush. Even with that, he could take a punch as well as anyone. Who else could have remained standing after Earnie Shavers caught him flush?
Nice summary here:
Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers - Wikipedia
Watch the second round, in particular.
“FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY…..
STING LIKE A BEE”
STING LIKE A BEE”
