Why did post exile Ali get fat and then remain fat even after his return?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by tinman, Apr 20, 2017.


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  1. tinman

    tinman Loyal Member Full Member

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    Before Ali was exiled he was a faster and leaner fighter. Then I'm assuming during his exile the body fat increase happened. He didn't get "huge", but he noticeably got out of shape in comparison to what he was before. So why was he content without being fatter and slower when he returned? Even years after his return he was still the chubbier Ali.

    And it should have been easy for a guy like him to lose the fat. He was 200+ pounds of muscle. Guys like that are burning loads of calories just due to their sheer size. That's why you see retired lower weight fighters get fat as hell after they retire. They don't have the muscle mass that burns all those calories at rest. So when they retire and stop working out they just get so damn fat. Guys like Duran, Arguello, Gomez and Morales are examples of this. But Ali was a Heavyweight.

    It's like he was content with just being fatter than he was.
     
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
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  2. Cecil

    Cecil Boxing Addict Full Member

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    You're right regarding the heavyweights.
    I mean, just look at Tyson Fury.
     
    Cecil, Apr 20, 2017
    Cecil, Apr 20, 2017
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  3. tinman

    tinman Loyal Member Full Member

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    Fury is Fury. He's a flash in the pan who's claim to fame is bums and 1 UD over a past prime HW who was destroyed by an ancient Corrie Sanders.

    We're talking Ali. I think Ali lacked the discipline necessary to get himself back into shape. He was known to drink like 3 or 4 pepsi's a day. I mean come on. A pro boxer can't put down the soda. What is this? He was known to skip workouts during his training for Frazier. Which he shouldn't have done because he lost to Frazier when Frazier introduced Ali's ass to the canvas. And he arguably lost to Norton twice as well. And maybe that was because he decided to get fatter after his exile. That undoubtedly had an impact. How big of an impact is debatable, but I know that being fat, drinking sodas and not training hard impacts a boxer's performance.
     
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
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  4. Cecil

    Cecil Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Well if all you say is true, then he was much better than even I thought!
     
    Cecil, Apr 20, 2017
    Cecil, Apr 20, 2017
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  5. tinman

    tinman Loyal Member Full Member

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    Well we kind of already saw what he looked like when he wasn't fat. That's called the year of 1966.
     
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
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  6. Azzer85

    Azzer85 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Because no fighter has ever been the same after a long layoff.
     
    Azzer85, Apr 20, 2017
    Azzer85, Apr 20, 2017
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  7. Stevie G

    Stevie G Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    There were a few times post lay off when he got into awesome shape - The second fights with Frazier and Norton plus the Foreman fight to name but three.
     
    Stevie G, Apr 20, 2017
    Stevie G, Apr 20, 2017
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  8. Bokaj

    Bokaj Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    When Ali got into shape post exile he was actually surprisingly close to his pre-exile weight. He was just lazier training for the regular fights. Because he was always big if he didn't train. I remember reading in King of the World that he was 240 lbs when he started training for the Liston rematch. He travelled extensively after winning the title and probably hadn't trained for a months when he came back into the gym for the rematch.

    When he started training for Chuvalo in 1966 he was 225 lbs according to the commentators. And I think his habits then were better than they were in his 30's. In the 70's he probably was somewhere in the range of 230-240 between training camps - closer to 230 in the early part of the decade and to 240 in the later.
     
    Bokaj, Apr 20, 2017
    Bokaj, Apr 20, 2017
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  9. HerolGee

    HerolGee Loyal Member banned Full Member

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    part of its mental. when they retired, u feel the need to catch up with what you missed out on. the semi-binging claps on weight. apart from the fact that 30somethings are supposed to be chunkier (and the weight just stays on some areas of your body no matter how hard you train).
     
    HerolGee, Apr 20, 2017
    HerolGee, Apr 20, 2017
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  10. janitor

    janitor VIP Member Full Member

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    All kinds of athlete are prone to rapid weight gain when they abruptly stop training.

    They need an enormous calorie intake in order to maintain their training regime, and when it abruptly stops they run up a huge calorie surplus.

    The principle is the same regardless of the size of the fighter.
     
    janitor, Apr 20, 2017
    janitor, Apr 20, 2017
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  11. tinman

    tinman Loyal Member Full Member

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    You're right about post retirement binges. Those guys spent their whole lives working so hard to stay in shape. We can see though that Ali got into pretty decent shape in the 2nd Frazier fight which he ended up winning. Coincidence that chubby Ali lost the 1st fight and then the more disciplined Ali won the 2nd? Maybe, but probably not.

    Post Exile Ali was only 29 years old which is young, even for pro boxing if you haven't absorbed too much punishment. It's not like Ali was 36 and running on fumes when he returned either.
     
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
    tinman, Apr 20, 2017
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  12. klompton2

    klompton2 Boxing Junkie banned Full Member

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    Fat compared to what? He didnt train as hard for some lesser challenges but usually he was in as good shape as anyone before or after him. Its not a bodybuilding contest.

    [url]https://www.google.com/search?q=ali+training+for+frazier&client=ms-android-americamovil-us&prmd=vni&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs3J2h07XTAhXEZCYKHa1DAvgQ_AUICSgD&biw=360&bih=559#imgrc=BxFMBN9IpIAx3M[/url]:

    [url]http://www.pba-online.net/uploads/photo/muhammad-ali-072216.jpg[/url]

    [url]https://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/catImages/ali-frazier-fathead-1.jpg[/url]

    [url]https://photos.smugmug.com/02Sports-2/Other-sporting-events/Muhammad-Ali/i-nwL8Q9q/0/XL/ALI1-XL.jpg[/url]
     
    klompton2, Apr 21, 2017
    klompton2, Apr 21, 2017
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  13. LittleRed

    LittleRed Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Post exile Ali realized he was good enough to pull out fights even without training 100%. That's dangerous because you never know when you might run into a Ken Norton who was better than you thought or when the magic might run out and you run into a Leon Spinks.

    Still when people get older they put on weight. Ali at 213 in Zaire was in as good shape as he was against Chuvalo or Cleveland Williams; he was just older and had added a little fat and muscle. Hell he looked good if atypical against Blue Lewis and he was over 220.
     
    LittleRed, Apr 21, 2017
    LittleRed, Apr 21, 2017
    #13
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  14. Glass City Cobra

    Glass City Cobra H2H Burger King

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    You'd be fat too if you were 30 years old with a million dollars and no fights lined up for the past 3 years.
     
    Glass City Cobra, Apr 21, 2017
    Glass City Cobra, Apr 21, 2017
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  15. seck

    seck Active Member banned Full Member

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    Ali was not fat in the Rumble in the jungle.
     
    seck, Apr 22, 2017
    seck, Apr 22, 2017
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