The Greatest Heavyweight of all times showing the greatest personality of any sport of all times. World wide, no athlete has yet received the pure love and adoration Ali received. Don't think one ever will. Think about this. Ali probably had the greatest will to win of any fighter or athlete in history. Yet humble enough to make himself look like a total goof in front of millions of people. He was truly one of a kind.
Yeah he’s a good example of someone who was beat before a fight. He had absolutely no chance against a peaking Larry Holmes and he definitely would have known it during the training camp yet his outsized ego and his contempt for Holmes, still thinking of Holmes as his former sparring partner rather than the dominant current champion, made him go through with the fight anyway. The bigger share of the fight purse he got paid was obviously a great incentive as well,
The Bruno rematch was frustrating in a way ,seeing how he'd put a decent show on first time .But of course Frank was maybe suffering the mental health problems then so its maybe understandable .
Oliver McCall vs Lennox Lewis II That man lost something long before the bell sounded in that fight. Still one of the most heartbreaking moments I have seen.
In the moments leading up to the opening bell of the Wilder-Breazeale fight I was thinking, "Breazeale doesn't look or sound like a fighter who thinks he's going to win." It wasn't at a Spinks before Tyson level, but it was certainly noticeable. I was rooting for him because he came across as a polite, soft-spoken guy in the pre-fight footage. But his body was soft (which does work for some fighters), he didn't look warmed up, and he plainly lacked the fire and intensity of a man who was going to come in and take the belt. He even showed his uncertainty when it came time to touch gloves. Credit to him for momentarily getting Wilder off him with a couple of nice shots the first time he was hurt, however.
I don’t agree. He dabbled in overt racism, even against blacks. I don’t think his will to win was necessarily better than other elite athletes. Kobe Bryant’s dedication and competitive nature were above Ali’s, for one.
Not too sure about this one. I thought that Tyson actually looked better prepared and in better condition for the rematch and it was pretty even in the first round and Tyson seemed more bothered by Evander’s head than his punches in the second which would eventually lead to him losing his mind in the third and Holyfield losing part of his ear as a result of that.
In a bit of a different light, I don't think De La Hoya was afraid of Pacquiao but I think he knew he was going to lose when he was in the ring that night. He was clearly completely drained and became the poster boy of a fighter who lost all of his strength and speed trying to make weight. His weight making efforts earned him several million dollars and also many flush punches from a man who was at his peak and ready to take on anyone.
No they weren't, Kobe had his own issues as BB player and had an ego and problems as big a Ali's … and he is NOT as big or better of a BB player than Ali was as a boxer … and it's not even close. Kobe had Shaq. Ali was in the ring solo
