That's right. I remember it was a Saturday afternoon, live from Tokyo presumably, during the football season. And the wrestler constantly sitting/lying and then kicking at Ali.Yeah. What the hell was his people smoking to get him into that. The wrestler just lay on the canvas kicking him in the shins to my recollection. And I think Ali got some sort of infection from it. Possibly the stupidest thing I've ever seen in sport.
Got a copy on video somewhere.If you have never seen the documentary movie "When We Were Kings" about the Rumble in the Jungle fight between Ali and George Foreman for Foreman's World Heavyweight Championship....I highly recommend it.
Ali Bumaye.
It could be argued that he wasn't the greatest boxer. I was reminded recently that he didn't win as many fights as Sugar Ray Robinson, and that Rocky Marciano was never beaten. One thing that could never be argued, however, was that he was so much more than just a boxer. He was a remarkable athlete, but an even more remarkable man.
Not sure if that was a deliberate slight Bob, but I assume it was notHe was The Champ.
Cassius Clay is will live on forever.
He was a great boxer and a great show man .Not many sportspeople had the reach Ali did. Great athlete and a modern day icon. Boxing isn't really kosher these days with the PC set, but Ali plied his trade when it was fair dinkum and if your were heavy weight champion of the world you were indeed a champion. He really was one of a kind. Such an intelligent man so it was sad to see his slow decline.
Watching that brings a tear to the eye - a great life diminished by the same thing that made him greatNot just a pretty face.
And Dempsey lived to a pretty fair age, dying in 1983, kept his marbles and did well in business. Treat Williams played him in a miniseries in the late 1980s.Agree with that, Frank. Ali is a huge loss to the world in general. He was a great boxer, the best self promoter for himself and the sport, a man that stood strong in his beliefs, a comedian and a genuine athlete. That's why his passing doesn't just affect the world of boxing, the sadness and sense of loss due to his passing reverberates around the world, touching people from so many different walks of life.
RIP Muhammad.
Although Ali was light footed, stylish, even graceful in the ring....the greatest fighter of all, in my opinion, was Rocky Marciano. Just to fight in the heavy weight division for Marciano was a feat in itself. Rocky only stood 180cm (about 5ft 10in) and fought at around 85kg. He had a heart as big as Phar Lap and an unstoppable will to win. 49 fights, 49 wins, 43 knock outs, 0 losses.
Also, I have always admired Jack Dempsey. With the Irish, Jewish and Cherokee ancestry, how was Jack not going to become a great fighter? His life story is a good read also...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dempsey
And Dempsey lived to a pretty fair age, dying in 1983, kept his marbles and did well in business. Treat Williams played him in a miniseries in the late 1980s.
Poor Marciano died in a plane crash back in 1969. Jon Favreau (of Iron Man fame) played him in a movie about 16 years ago.
I loved the boxing docos that they regularly showed on WWOS etc, with the old newsreel footage of the fights. SBS recently showed a 2005 documentary on the intertwining careers of Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. Some of the characters they interviewed could have stepped out a Damon Runyon story.
For feature films on boxing and the tragedy of the fight game, check out the original Kid Galahad (Wayne Morris), Requiem for a Heavyweight (Anthony Quinn - brilliant), Champion (Kirk Douglas), Body and Soul (John Garfield) or The Set Up. In the last one Robert Ryan plays a boxer who doesn't throw the fight, like he is supposed to. A topical subject at the moment!
That's right. I remember it was a Saturday afternoon, live from Tokyo presumably, during the football season. And the wrestler constantly sitting/lying and then kicking at Ali.
Bob Fulton was the greatest athlete in my lifetime . The greatest Sea eagle of all time . An ImmortalGreat moment when he lit the Olympic Flame.
Probably the most admired athlete of my lifetime.
I'm not into boxing, in any way, but you have to give it to him he made boxing "fashionable" , and certainly was a unique character, its just such a pity for him that his last 30 years of life were pretty ordinary from a health sense.
Plenty say the sport should be banned, and I guess seeing him probably support that.
Regardless, the world has lost both a great athlete and a truly remarkable human being.
RIP
Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
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7 | 6 | 1 | 99 | 14 | |
7 | 6 | 1 | 54 | 14 | |
7 | 5 | 2 | 36 | 12 | |
8 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 11 | |
8 | 5 | 3 | 64 | 10 | |
7 | 4 | 3 | 49 | 10 | |
8 | 4 | 4 | 73 | 8 | |
7 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 8 | |
8 | 4 | 4 | -14 | 8 | |
8 | 4 | 4 | -16 | 8 | |
8 | 4 | 4 | -60 | 8 | |
8 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 7 | |
8 | 3 | 5 | -25 | 6 | |
7 | 2 | 5 | -55 | 6 | |
8 | 3 | 5 | -55 | 6 | |
7 | 1 | 6 | -87 | 4 | |
7 | 1 | 6 | -136 | 4 |