Ali was most fighting sluggers

Young gave Ali all he could handle and Banks dropped him, maybe slick boxers bothered Ali.

 

Floyd Patterson was pretty skilled

 

Yes check out their second fight, despite the size difference, he was doing well until his eye gave out. Ali did acknowledge Patterson was the most skilled boxer he faced.

 

He's a better benchmark than Banks when he was young and Young when he was old and fat

 

You mean Ernie Terrell Mark, right?

 

Mark it is amazing how you can watch the same fight as everyone else and reach a different conclusion.

Does this look like the face of a man who Ali couldn't land much on?

https://images.app.goo.gl/s9ZJbcZ6qYKSQ3kFA

 

He was borderline obese for the Young fight to be fair.

 

Do you think Terrell was a genuine, full 6’6”?

Fairly light at 212 lb for that height - but he was pretty cut and lean.

I guess for the most part he appeared to be that tall but in some other instances , perhaps not quite so.

I know Ali fought tall with the added illusion gained from bounce when he danced - and Ernie himself was hunched, primarily concerned with protecting himself.

So at least in that frame, Ali didn’t appear to be dropping as much height as you might’ve calculated.

 

How many rounds in that fight was he on his toes? A prime or near prime Ali would have pot spotted him all night. Ali wouldn't have got close enough to allow him to make him look bad.

 

He should have called him by his chosen name. He could have told him he still is going to kick his ass. He was the only fighter Ali wanted to punish. The conventional wisdom is he wanted to punish Floyd but Ali denied it and I believed him.

 

Floyd said he didn't believe Ali wanted to carry him as well.

IIRC, Ali said he went easy on him cause he didn't want to hurt him too much (by knocking him out) since he had children.

 

I guess Terrell, Folley, Ellis, Bugner, Mathis and Young were all sluggers...

Even guys like Quarry or Patterson can't be called sluggers, they were skilled and versatile boxers.

Ali's resume is complete, you can't find any holes in it.

 

I remember a week or so after their fight. Muhammad Ali appeared on ABC's Wide World Of Sports with Howard Cosell, talking and commentating about the fight. Howard as usual was his instigating self, was telling Ali that Terrell was complaining about Ali's roughhouse tactics and the thumb to the eye that Ali poked him with. Ali was starting to get mad, he stated that those were just excuses by Ernie.

 

What do you think, Rich, perhaps an accidental thumb?

I’m no expert but Ernie’s left eye didn’t necessarily have the look of one that had been battered shut by jabs or conventional punch damage.

Lot’s of feeling in that fight - Ali had slapped Terrell before the fight too and the usual suspect Cowell was of course present then also - maybe someone should’ve clocked old Howie. Ha.

As passionate as Ali was about his new name (rightfully) it seemed Terrell was even more militant in his perverse refusal to address Ali properly. Clearly it was to get Ali’s goat and tbh, Ali did invent some pretty nasty names for several fighters - Joe Frazier certainly not the least abused in that regard.

Rough housing and wrestling was Terrell’s schtick - funny when guys like Ernie get better than what they’re prone to dishing and then start crying foul tactics.

Otherwise, Terrell had quite a bit going for him as a fighter without all the spoiling stuff. Would’ve been nice to see him box more clean than he did.

I’m sure you’ve seen the sparring footage of Ernie and Liston - that would’ve been a good fight but I would def. favour Sonny. Ernie claimed he had it over Sonny during their session - don’t they all? LOL.

 

Foreman landed more than Patterson.