Muhammad Ali was simply incredible. Look at this

Ali didn't have that when this was filmed. Ali dumped Herbert Muhammad in the late 80s as his manager when he married his last wife, and a new team came in who made him a new fortune - with major advertising campaigns, the Museum in Kentucky, etc.

That wasn't Herbert's doing. Herbert had him getting punched in the head in a nearly empty gym to try to drum up business.

 

That snarl when he threw the right cross made him look just like his prime self for a brief moment.

He was bouncing on his toes and flicking sharp punches remarkably well for a 40 year old with a debilitating condition. Honestly there are pros in their 20's who look worse. His muscle memory and fundamentals were still there.

 

I was stating what I know about Parkinsons.
It has nothing to do with removing merit from Ali.
I'm sorry if it doesn't fit with your misty-eyerd narrative but it's based on some knowledge.

Ali was about as great as it gets for a heavyweight boxer.
But that has little to do with him being still capable of sparring and bouncing around at age 42 with early stages of Parkinsons.
Many Parkinsons sufferers find themselves capable of performing bursts of strenous or energetic activities in the early stages, even at the stages where they are shaking when doing normal less energetic things or trying to be still.

Again, apologies if that doesn't jive with your version of events.
Ignorance is bliss, and I didn't mean to spoil your blissful fantasy.

 

Yeah, and ?
He went to war with K.P. Porter in sparring, under pressure. He was giving a hard effort in there against a kid who was perhaps taking advantage.

That doesn't indicate he was anywhere near world class or that his athletic functions weren't harmed.

What exactly are people thinking they are seeing in the sparring footage ?

 

He's Muhammad Ali, yeah.

Yeah, he could probably beat up most journeyman fighters in the world still, even with the disease. If he got fit enough to do the rounds. Until the disease really took him down, which was still a few years away.

BUT, perhaps 30 or 40 or 50, or perhaps even as many as 100, fighters in the world in 1984 would beat him regardless. That's a minority of fighters globally. Still, that's a long way down on what he was even in 1981, when he faced Berbick.

 

This notion that Ali was being manipulated by Herbert to spar is ridiculous. Ali sparred because he wanted to. If anything Herbert probably tried to convince him not to.

The notion that any individual controlled Ali’s life, especially post-retirement, is far from reality.

Herbert did a lot for Ali. He didn’t bleed him dry. He, and others on the team, were responsible for managing Ali’s affairs and business interest. They were the reason that income never stopped pouring in, and enabled Ali to live his lifestyle of giving to others.

 

Herbert was cut loose by Ali's wife when Ali was nearly broke.

The last quarter century of Ali's life were managed by others, who helped Ali make a fortune selling Ali's likeness and films of him speaking and fighting in his younger days to advertisers around the globe and creating the Ali Museum.

Herbert Muhammad ruined Ali's finances. Took 50 percent of his income. Let Ali sign anything giving away his rights to products that were never produced.

He was gone by the early 90s.

 

This is the correct story.Herbert was a greedy arse hole.

 

You misunderstood what I said.
It seems that you were saying that his athletic functions might not be impaired by then.
What I said clearly indicated they were-& that he was very impressive given age, inactivity, & especially at least 7 years of Parkinson's disease.
I was not implying he was World Class. But others have said he things indicating or specifically that he could probably beat most journeymen.
It was remarkable that he seemed say near the Berbick fight level at the end of 1981-where it was no blow out.
And Berbick was a good fighter by any rational standards.

 

Muhammad Ali was incredible?

Thanks for the heads up!

 

There's a difference between sparring and the real thing. Also KP Porter was a journeyman heavyweight not some top contender.

 

This is completely and unequivocally false. This narrative of Ali being used by Herbert is a made up narrative.

It was probably fabricated by salty journalists. You have to remember that Herbert and the team were responsible for giving journalists access to Ali. And some of them had an axe to grind due to their own egos.

I’ve yet to see or read an accurate depiction of Ali’s post career life while he was still relatively healthy, and out and about.

 

No, it’s isn’t correct.

Herbert is the one who actually encouraged Ali to spend more time with Lonnie and to slow down his travels abroad. Herbert did a lot for Ali.