OK, I was watching the cup replay tonight which was ****e so at half time I switched to ITV4 for the above programme. It's on all week from 9-10. Really enjoyed it, tonight it was about the British fighters he'd fought, Cooper & Bugner. Was disappointed that they showed his 2nd fight with Cooper so did not see Henry's mighty left hook floor the ****er. The two fights he had with Bugner both went the distance which I never knew. Tomorrow night is the rumble in the jungle with George Foreman & then on Friday night it's the thrilla in Manilla with Smokin Joe. Well worth a watch lads.
Fatha was a big boxing fan back in the 70s billy so we got to watch a lot of those fights on the old black and white telly, only saw the Cooper fights on repeat and sports shows. Still a lot better than todays fights too much showbiz and not enough fighting.
Billy,I can remember watching him beat Henry Cooper many years ago,and being well-impressed over the years with a true champion.Cocky,yes,but also brilliant.The establishment tried every trick in the book to beat him,but he won.One of my all-time greats....along with Monty!!!
I used to love watching the boxing with my dad but the whole sport has become a fiasco now. I,m currently reading a book about Gene Tunney who fought in the twenties, some of those guys mentioned had over 120 fights, back in those days there was a lot of "no decisions". One guy, Battling Levinski had four fights in one day! Men were men back then it seems. Anyhow, will be watching for the rest of the week.
Not everybody loved him there were biggots who said he was yellow cos he didnt go to Vietnam....Some might be surprised Ali loved the folk he met in South Shields and had his marriage blessed there...then was mobbed by the sandancers.....Laughing and smiling in his smart white suit....What a man! ...fantastic athlete...the best
Loved boxing from my grandad and remember the Ali era really well. He was and remains today simply the greatest sportsman of all time. I think he must be the most famous sportsman of all time too. Sad to see his poor health over the last 3 decades reduce him to the state he is in now but his magic still shines through for me. A true living legend.
Saw a documentory not so long ago about ali and frazier apparently JoeF supported Ali during the Vietnam draft pick "problems" and tried to help to get his boxing licence back. He also supported him with money and in return when Ali got his licence back he called Frazier an "uncle Tom" among other things (although apparently he was under the influence of Nation of Islam by then). We eventually had the Gorrilla in Manila episode and during that fight they got to the last round and Fraziers corner threw the towel in just before Ali's corner did. Ali was telling his cornermen that it was the closest he had felt to death when Fraziers corner threw the towel in due to the fact that his one good eye was closing and could not see the punches coming - apparently he had had an accident in training years before which had damaged his other eye. The sad thing is that Frazier was happy to see Ali with his current problems stating that he had done that to him.
I watched Ali in an interview on British tv a year or two ago. Sad to see such a great gladiator in such poor health. However he dis state that he was perfectly happy & content with life & if he had the chance he'd do it all over again. His fights with Foreman & Frazier ranked up there with the best ever imo. The Thrilla in Manila was two warriors going toe to toe & both were totally ****ed tbh. Ali was indeed a great sportsman but always very controversial. A lot of people tried to shut him up. Smokin Joe did it once & was the first to do it & had one of the best left hooks in the game.
Was once on the same flight as him. Never seen anything like it. He was afflicted with his disease, and not mobile and couldn't speak, but I have never seen so many people visibly moved by being in his presence. Before the flight boarded the entire area was abuzz, and as word travelled that the great man was there, it seemed the entire airport descended on that gate. In the states, Michael Jordan has been the biggest icon for the last 25 years, and if there would have been 50 Jordan's in the airport that day, no one would have noticed.
I bet the Tunney book's interesting, Billy. His hobby was reading Shakespeare, wasn't it? That second fight with Dempsey - The Long Count - will remain controversial forever. Retired undefeated in '29, a very rich man, I think. Max Schmelling won the vacant title the following year. Yes, Penguin, I think I maybe saw the same film. Joe hated Ali with a vengeance till the day he died.
At the time Chicago's O'Hare airport was the busiest in the states, huge by any standard, but that day it seemed as if it was the smallest...only one gate that mattered.
No Cutey, Tunney was beaten by Harry Greb but well ****ed him in the re match, Tunney beat Jack Dempsey twice but as is history, Marciano remains the only undefeated heavyweight. Tunney was very intelligent, born of Irish immigrents & served in the USMC. Raised in New York City, for some reason the American public never took to him. Tunney was hard as they came.
There are two people in world history I would love to have met. Winston Churchill is on & Cassdsius is the other.
This is very true Dyaavy. It took time for the states to warm up to Ali. The name change, the draft resistance, the constant bold talk from a black man, but worst of all, the complete lack of regard for the criticism thrown his way by the powerful establishment. It just emboldened him, made him stronger. Made them angrier. Today he is beloved, understood and recognized as the greatest of men, one who stood alone when standing alone was dangerous business. Special kind of courage that. People today see his dignity. Lighting the Olympic torch here was the greatest of surprises, as it was kept a secret (he was a Gold Medal winner), and those same people who despised him in their youth were brought to tears with pride, claiming him as their own.
I always liked his excuse for not fighting in Vietnam, 'No viet con called me a n****r', it summed up the treament he was getting from some quarters in the U.S. We don't have characters like him in sports anymore, it is a shame
OK, so I've dragged this back but did anyone watch it tonight? The Thrilla in Manila, what a ****ing fight, brought back memories that like. Possibly the best fight in history?
Those were the days when there was only one World Champion for each weight bracket in boxing, and only teams who actually won the league qualified for the European Champions Cup...So much simpler and in my opinion better then...
