Muhammad Ali Punches

Frazier was one tough hombre.

 

1:08:03...Mute the sound, increase the resolution to 1080p60 HD, slow the playback speed to 0.25, then decide whether or not Ali's slip of Bonavena's wild left swing and Muhammad's left hook counter was actually the hardest single punch of Ali's career.

Again, that specific reverse camera angle sequence begins at 1:08:03...:

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Hi Buddy.
Firstly welcome aboard, as to your point about " see them coming " a reporter was interviewing Robinson after the KO of Fullmer and was saying what a hard puncher he was, not so came the reply, when the reporter started to remonstrate with Sugar Ray, the fighter said " right , get ready, then promptly poked him in the chest, " did that hurt Ray asked " no said the man, so he told the reporter to turn around, then poked him in the back with the same amount of force, " did that hurt " asked Ray, yes said the man, you know why said Ray, " because you didn't see it coming " nuff said.
looking forward to your next post.
stay safe.

 

"I'm sorry I called you chicken. You're a great champion." I'm crying.

 

If you watch his amateur fights with Alan Hudson and a few of his early pro fights, he really nails those guys. Nothing wrong with his power at all. I think Ali chose not to put as much weight into a punch. He decided to rely on the guy coming into it. He was constantly fighting top grade opponents who were less easy to nail anyway. Still, he really cracked George Foreman when he needed to. Nothing wrong with the way he decked him.

 

Great point Stevie.

And perhaps some validation as to the question of how much Ali’s brittle hands might’ve prevented him from punching without inhibition - prior to facing Foreman, Ali said his hands, for a change, were the best they had ever been.

I think Ali put on a tremendous punching display in Zaire - every shot well purposed and with excellent power.

Perhaps a punching display underrated in part due to not being fully informed on just how good George’s whiskers really were. Also over sighted maybe for undue accent on Foreman falling merely due to his own fatigue.

George was tired, but big shots landed on you will take your energy also - and there’s no equivocating on that last right hand punch - it was a beauty - which Foreman himself attested to you - I know though -cuddly “my knees were quivering” George’s claims are open to discredit.

 

I like watching the great HWs working the heavy bag - it can give you a better appreciation of just how hard they can punch - though I know some don’t necessarily take their completely unbridled training punches into the ring with them.

One of my faves re Ali is his heavy bag work (go to 50 second mark) prior to the Brian London fight in 1966. Aesthetically perfect, terrific variety of shots but plenty of oomph behind those punches at the same time.

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Accuracy and accumulation can be devastating.
You could argue that a modern example is Loma, can be very accurate and multiple combinations. It can be debilitating and ultimately close a fight down.

 

He had great timing and speed. Overall was a technical fighter, but average punching power. He didn't need more, nor there was ever a fighter having a complete set of skills. Would it be better if he had more power - sure.

 

Angie, "Don't skip in one place. It's bad for the heart." lol

 

Ali punched Foreman with such repeated venom that George (after final retirement) ultimately rated Muhammad fifth in punching power over all of Foreman's other opponents.

Jerry Quarry could one punch guys out with either hand. In their first bout, he repeatedly socked Frazier on the inside, yet Smoke's face was completely unmarked at the end. Yet, Ali always swelled up Joe's face, so much so in Manila that Eddie Futch was forced to retire him before round 15 (when referee Padilla said on camera he would've given Frazier around 45 seconds to rally before ending it).

Although it took him all 15 rounds to do it, Ali was able to put an exhausted but well trained Wepner down for what would have been a ten count if Tony Perez hadn't waved it off at seven. Nobody else was ever able to do that to Chuck in that way (cuts were no factor here, as Ali had declared there wouldn't be) and only Buster Mathis (in Wepner's eighth bout) and Liston had ever been able to deck him. Chuck admitted Ali couldn't have floored him earlier in their match, that it was indeed an attrition kayo, but the fact remains that nobody else ever came close to doing anything like that to Wepner.

Muhammad Ali decked Bob Foster with seven individual punches. At altitude, he didn't steamroll Bob the way Frazier did in Detroit, but it was a unique way to knock out Foster, and a unique way for Ali to win.

 

British challengers were always cursed by having Ali come in top condition for them after Cooper I. After hitting 230 for Jimmy Young, he dropped down to 220 for Dunn. If Richard had caught him in the same dismal shape Young got Ali at, Dunn might've just gotten the title.

Unfortunately, Dunn got him just a mere 24 days after Muhammad had gone the Championship Distance with Jimmy, and Ali looked fully recovered from Manila. Essentially, Ali remained in training from the beginning of his preparations for Young. Unfortunately for Dunn also is the fact the first HW Champion to ever defend against southpaws had abandoned his hooks to the body for Mildenberger in favor of his deadly right lead darts. A showman, Ali probably could've dispatched Dunn as quickly as Bugner did.

That "He sensed he would never again be the same fighter after Manila!" was dramatic post career hyperbole by Howard Cosell. It was actually Earnie Shavers who wrecked his neurology, career, and life. THAT proved to be Ali's true Manila, the moment where he truly couldn't ever recover from again. (Even during Leon Spinks II, Cosell noted how Muhammad was misfiring, something which hadn't been truly in evidence before.)

Ali told Johnny Carson after Leon II that he was holding onto his regained title as long as possible because of the things he could do while still Champion that he might not be able to do after resigning it. A grateful WBA allowed for this. (After Shavers, there was simply no way Ali could've won Norton IV. Incidentally, most surprised viewers of the entirety of Ali-Norton III in Yankee Stadium score Muhammad the winner 9-6 in rounds, NOT a closer 8-7. Ali's seven jabs to virtually no attempted punches by Kenny in the final round was enough for Muhammad to clinch it. When you moved on Norton, he simply couldn't pull the trigger. That's why Ali was the clear winner of their second match also.)

 

He took out Brian London with a classic shoeshine, but when you watch that footage carefully, it was essentially a one punch knockout, the tenth shot (a right) in that blinding 12 strike barrage that was the killer blow. (This is why Joe "johngarfield" Rein said Robinson did not shoeshine, that each combination of his was like whips cracking left and right.)

Ali seldom punched with sustained power because of his hands. So each stoppage was commonly from one single shot, usually cloaked in a combination. Bob Foster and Jerry Quarry II were a pair of exceptions, although JQ also gassed quickly after seeing brother Mike get nearly decapitated by Bob. Cosell noted Lyle's sweaty legs in contrast to Ali's mere seconds before Ali's right sent Ron to the ropes for an unanswered 46 punch barrage.

During live broadcasts, Cosell proved to be a VASTLY superior blow by blow announcer working solo than his critics liked to acknowledge Howard to be. He knew what he was watching as it happened, FAR too quickly for somebody to be piping that information into his ears (as was true for Monzon-Benvenuti II, where Nino's corner overreacted, betraying him, to Benvenuti's rage as he expressed to Cosell after the match - Nino's facilities were not remotely compromised at any instant for that one, and Howard correctly kept calmly saying INSTANTLY, "No-no...no no" in response to Monzon repeatedly shoving Benvenuti to his knees with missed blows to Nino's upper back).

Jimmy Ellis was probably the sort of puncher Ali was, but Jimmy was a very poor finisher. Each time he decked and seriously hurt an onrushing Bonavena (with a single right AND a single left) Ellis couldn't close matters. (He did have Shavers going in a corner with the best two fisted assault I ever saw Jimmy unload, but the referee broke them out of a clinch, giving Earnie the opening he needed for his left hand to hold down Jimmy's head for that right uppercut killer. Later, Shavers tried it on JQ, but it had no effect on Jerry. Mercante broke the action, warned Earnie against holding and hitting, then as Shavers moved back in, JQ's monstrous right sent Earnie back to the ropes and on his way to the end.)

 

Please break down Ali's stoppage of Ron Lyle when he looked like he had nothing go on that night. Thank you.

 

Well this was the first live network broadcast of an Ali title defense I ever saw, and it was a good one to view in its entirety. Watching it live, there was certainly suspense. Lyle had sparred with Muhammad, and knew how to box him. This was a very smart fight by Ron, but like with Wepner, Ali had youth AND experience on his side. The sequence begins at 40:43, and the killer shot comes at 40:46. You can mute it and slow it to 0.25 speed. Should it have been stopped? 46 unanswered punches provides the answer. After that one right, Muhammad didn't nail him like that again, he merely stayed on top of Lyle, and that was all which was necessary.

Again, a good and suspenseful fight as viewed live with an uncertain outcome until 40:46, well worth watching from beginning to end.

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