Muhammad Ali's 'controversial' decisions.

Yeah I had the 3rd Norton fight for Norton too - don't think I had it quite as clear as you though as I think I might've scored some rounds even from memory but I remember scoring the Shavers fight more clearly for Shavers but that's just me and found the Young fight frustrating to score will watch that again and let you know - the 2nd Norton fight I scored for Ali - and rate it as my second favourite Ali performance behind the Foreman fight all things considered

 

True, but Ali always seemed to be on the 'lucky' end of close and controversial decisions (unless of course you're one of those who thinks he beat Frazier in 1971, or Spinks the first time) ... with most other fighters who had a few gifts they usually have a few bad ones go against them too.

 

Problem with the Young fight is I suppose you could say arguably Young didn't do enough to win it - but then neither did Ali I guess - but again gotta rewatch that one as it was a While back

 

Young didnt deserve the win imo, the reason he was on the wrong end of a couple of close ones was because he did not have a winners mentality.

Young should have closed the show against Ali ,but he did not have the desire to step up to the plate, he gets no sympathy from me.
The reason Ali was in close ones was because he was past his prime and , or took his opponent lightly.

 

The only one I have ever scored the other way was Jimmy young but it was such an awful fight nobody deserved to win. Did not look like either wanted to win either. Like a lazy sparring session that never got going. Disgraceful.

 

Young's tactic of leaning outside of the ropes several times during the fight probably cost him those rounds, and the fight as well. That is what stands out in my memory about that fight.

 

I can't argue with what you wrote about his lack of a winners mentality. Still each round is scored on points regardless whether one goes after the win or not. My scorecard had Jimmy clearly based on who won each round alone.

 

I saw the Ali -Norton second bout live and thought it close but clearly an Ali win. Their third go will always be a contentious one for us fans, one side saying Ali won no question, the other never backing off that Norton was robbed. Like many I had the bout even going into the 15th and Kenny then gave the round to Ali landing 1 light jab in the first two plus minutes. His last seconds onslaught was too little to offset Ali's taking the first three fourths of the round.

 

Young by hanging outside the ropes was considered down several times vs Ali. No contender fights in that fashion and gets the nod over a champion.

The third norton fight was so close. I dispised ali in those days and saw the fight live and scored it 8-7 norton. Today I score it generally 8-7 Ali. Very close hard to score bout.

There was no controversy regarding the shavers bout.

 

There were dissenting votes after the Shavers bout, if you read the newspapers. Not many, but there were. To me that bout was a clear robbery.

 

I agree it was a awful fight to watch but remember it wasn`t Young`s fault that Ali came in out of shape or was past his prime. The fighter that scores more punches and wins the most rounds deserves to win the fight. That was Young in my opinion.

Had they reversed roles and Ali fought the same way Jimmy did then he might have been praised for fighting a smart fight and "doing what it takes to win".

The boxing establishment just wasnt ready to let Ali go yet. He mad a lot of $ for the game and was a beloved figure by that time.

I had Norton winning the 3rd fight in Yankee Stadium. The Shavers bout I can see Ali winning. The second Norton bout in Los Angeles wasn`t a robbery I thought it could have gone either way.

 

I am merely a casual boxing fan and new to the forum. This is my first post. Btw, english isn't my first language.

Regrading the Young fight; people often talk about Jimmy leaning out between the ropes all night. As I remember, he only did it in later rounds, and all in all it didn't last no more than a minute or so. Very bizarre, but he only did what he could do at that moment. What's worse is how Ali showed up without any clues and disrespectfully out of shape. I think the decision could've gone either way, if wasn't for the fact that one of the figthers happened to be "The Greatest". Awful. Holyfield vs Bean was one helluva fight compared to this.