When Should Ali Have Retired..?

Muhammad Ali should have stayed retired. Ali officially announced his retirement on Feb 3 1970 prior to the Feb 16 1970 title unification bout against 5 State Champion Joe Frazier and WBA Champion Jimmy Ellis, this was during Ali's banishment from boxing, Ring magazine continued to recognized the undefeated champion who was stripped of his title and license in April 1967 for refusing military induction. Ali did not train or spar during those 43 months that he was inactive from the ring, he lectured on the college circuit to make enough money to live on and pay his attorney's to appeal his Draft Evasion conviction. When Ali returned in Oct 1970 against no.1 contender Jerry Quarry, it was obvious that Ali lacked his physical gifts that he possessed from 1964-1967 as champion, he lacked the footwork, reflexes, stamina, and timing, the only thing that Ali retained was speed. Ali should have remained retired.

 

After Joe beat him. Edited because I saw a better idea.

 

After the Manilla fight Ferdie Pacheco told him to quit, he suffered a brutal assault from Frazier that seriously damaged him and Dr. Pacheco quit working with him. After the Shavers fight was probably his last chance to avoid brain damage . Ali himself told Pacheco years later,,,,, "you were right"

 

Yes, I remember seeing something on that now that you mention it. I believe Pacheco showed him film clips of how he spoke just a couple of years earlier and Ali wouldn't listen. What's worse was Angelo Dundee, a man who's job was to protect his fighter rode that horse till it dropped virtually dead. In my opinion letting Ali fight Holmes and Berbick were criminal acts committed by his entourage and boxing commissions. Seems like I remember he actually failed the physical for the Holmes fight.

 

But retiring with a record of 1 win and 1 lose in one of the biggest fights of all time (Fotc) would gall the hell out of me if we do not get it on for the 3rd time. Even with that sunset, people would still bring up a 3rd Frazier fight that never happen.

 

After the Rumble.

 

His brother Rahman had eighteen pro fights and he has Parkinson's.

 

Ferdie Pacheo said he observered slight neurological damage after the first Joe Frazier fight in 1971 that and from cumulative damage from his previous bouts. However Pacheo stayed on for another six years up to the Earnie Shavers fight in 1977. However Pacheo i said the real cut off point was after after Ken Norton rubbermatch a year earlier in 1976.

 

Mark Kram.

 

His comeback after his hiatus he actually improved as defensively as a boxer although his natural attributes had declined but he trained harder than ever for his respective rematches with Ken Norton and Joe Frazier in 1973 and 1974 according to Gene Kilroy

 

I see what you mean but Ali having beaten Foreman resoundingly - a guy who thrashed Joe could well have given Muhammad a sense of closure. Nice to have thought so anyhow.

 

He couldn`t even hit a speed bag while training for that fight.

 

If you look at top ten hw lists he moved up to 1 or 2 on just about every list after whupping Foreman.

 

Yeah I know Kram wrote that book but it just struck me that I used the book name when I actually was talking about the HBO documentary.

 

Long before he did.