Muhammad Ali's best post Manila performance

Was a while ago since I saw Dunn, and since Inoki was in between that fight and the Norton fight you may well have a point. But I'll go with Norton, nonetheless. He was clearly in the best shape he could get in at the time, and I think he looked surprisingly good.

 

It sure was.

 

it's maybe an obvious response, but how would you compare beating norton {in the third fight} to him beating shavers one year later ?

 

Hard to say, Norton was a more difficult opponent, but on the other hand he had slipped further when he met Shavers.

I'm leaning toward Shavers, though, since he had to pull it all out there and survived some legendary bombs. The Norton fight was more of a tactical affair, which I also felt Norton edged. Against Shavers, I think Ali clinched it with that epic final round (when he already knew the fight was in the bag, incidentally).

He was a better fighter and in better shape when he met Norton, though.

 

Shavers IMO. Ali takes some bombs in that fight and comes through.

 

Truthfully, I's say that the Shavers fight was his best post-Manilla..he outfoxed, took it and gutted it out with the "Acorn" about as well as could be expected, knowing that he was on an onward downward slide..basically however, he looked like **** after '75...Young and Norton both beat him, IMO,..and there was nothing to be really expected of Coopman and Dunn...Evangilista??? That was a joke...he was just going though the motions.

 

Post Manila, I believe we need to separate further, into pre Inoki and post Inoki. Generally, the legs are the first to go, and what Inoki did to his legs was something he never really recovered from. Yes, I think the 220 pound Ali of the Dunn fight does better against Norton and Shavers than the post Inoki brand did. Richard Dunn was the last time Ali and Dundee predicted the round of stoppage, and delivered. Muhammad actually carried Dunn a bit to make that prediction stick, and probably could have stopped him about as fast as he did Williams. Granted, Dunn had no chin, but he was a southpaw, something which gave Ali trouble in the amateurs, and helped Mildenberger last much longer than he otherwise might have. With Dunn, he proved that he had finally solved the southpaw puzzle, ditching his jab for the lead right.

 

Could you explain the Ali-Inoki exhibition to me please?
I'm clueless on the details.

 

Inoki lay on his back for 15 rounds kicking the crap out of Ali's legs.

 

Inoki was a wrestler and one of the very early prototypes and pioneers for what is now hybridized mixed martial arts.

He and Ali thought it would be cute to meld their disciplines (although Ali's people made damn sure the rules were heavily stacked to favor him).

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Ali's legs were badly ****ed up after this, including an infection and blood clots that arguably affected his speed and mobility for the rest of his career.

Inoki also had matches with other heavyweight boxers such as Chuck Wepner, Karl Mildenberger and Leon Spinks. He beat Wepner and Mildenberger by submission holds that may or may not have been legitimate, but his pinfall victory over Spinks is generally considered to have been a typical staged pro wrestling match.

 

What the **** were Ali's people thinking? That Manilla hadn't done quite enough damage? "Well, Frazier's hooks probably caused permanent damage to Muhammad's brain and internal organs, but they didn't really ruin his legs, did they? Now, how could we go about doing that in an effective way?":-(