Why did Ali let his conditioning go in the 70s?

He might have been better conditioned since he was taking body shots from Frazier and Foreman

 

he uh, got older and stopped training for roughly 2 years, lol? He still trained like a beast and was in great shape, he just could never reach the same state again

 

He for less muscular,but his extra weight gave some more power,size and durability for him,fair trade.

 

This gets asked all the time… Ali used to be a LHW for a small duration of time off the back of that he slowly grew… he was leaner because he was smaller, noted was his bad eating habits early on… he just slowly got bigger and once he got exiled he started spilling over at the waist. He was absolutely in condition a lot of the time… his 70s body composition is irrelevant, he was as in shape as before he was just fighting tougher guys and didn’t go as low in weight for a reason, I doubt it’s because he couldn’t shave 5-10lbs he probably felt more comfortable at a higher weight.

 

Ya he kinda slipped with training at times like Mac foster / Ken Norton 1 / and after the foreman fight I don’t think he trained like he used to ::: fought as a business man : should have stopped after Ali v Frazier 3

 

what Ali did was outstanding. And he was terrific at it---get in razor sharp condition for the premeir opponents. B game for the others. But B game of Ali was still good enough to come out with the W. And helped his longevity.

Lots of other fighters could have used that skill and had better and longer careers if they could have won fights--instead of losing--when they had their B game.

 

I wouldn't agree on that, just look how hard he trained for Foreman fight and for Norton fights.

 

Dang,kinda forgot he was a light heavyweight before,eh?
Whatever his physique is though,if he trained good for the fight his opponents are cooked,their chances being trimmed from slim to none.

 

Right answer..

 

He never regained what he lost in the exile and he only trained really hard for the big fights. For what it's worth it's said he didn't train as he should even for FOTC. Not by himself, but by Dundee and Ali's then wife Belinda.

 

With age and the hiatus, training would’ve felt that much harder and Ali did complain that no matter hard he worked he couldn’t get rid of some very slight flab that had formed around his belly.

Also, Ali didn’t appear to be one of those guys who necessarily kept in shape for the sake of it (say, like Ken Norton) so he let go a bit between fights only to have to whip himself all the way back into fighting shape again.

Here’s Ali weighing in (at 210 1/2 lb) on the Carson show for his rematch against Norton.

He looks pretty close to his old trim, tone and overall physique, including his more defined/cut facial appearance - but he really had to work his ass off to get there.

For the Carson clip if interested, go to the 16:00 min mark.

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Ali was obsessed about rematching Norton, so he put himself through hell to be in tip top condition. And indeed, he was. He looked great in that fight. Probably only Foreman fight tops that performance when it comes to his second career.

 

I don’t think Ali was ever someone who would work out for the sole sake of being in shape - when he was younger, pre-exile, he had that crazy vitality we all did at that age; but it’s hard to keep that edge year in and year out, over 20 years. I think he just got lazy, relied on his genetic gifts of reflex and quickness over the hard work of conditioning; post-exile, unfortunately, he discovered his other gift: an uncanny ability to take punches and absorb punishment until the opponent tired out. He paid a price for that.

Not that he couldn’t put forth an heroic effort if there was a reason - Norton ll and lll, Spinks ll - but Larry Holmes stated on several occasions that Ali was the laziest boxer he knew when it came to training, and was more interested in chasing ***** instead of doing roadwork and sparring.

 

I've always thought that could have been a reason to why they had him fight so frequently even in the 70's when he was getting up in age and made a lot of money as it was - that it was a way for him not getting the time to ge in too bad a shape. Of course, he was burning money as fast as he could make it, especially with Herbert bleeding him dry.. Anyhow, despite having 4+ fights a yaar he still often came in at 225+ lbs.