Folks, I scored the complete video package of "Ali-Berbick" from Tower Records in California for 10 bucks a few yrs ago. Well, today I decided to break-it-out and review this PPV stinker from the Bahamas...... Christ, poor Ol' Ali was slurring his words in the locker-room prior to doing battle with Trevor Berbick. At 236 pounds, Ali was soft and slow, with little to no power left over at all.... Meanwhile, Berbick was buffed and solid at 218 pounds, yet rough around the edges in skills...... Berbick looks like a football player more so than a fighter....... Anyway, yes, Ali was a shell and he fell behind after a decent start...... Berbick won fair and square..... I recall SELECTV in Los Angeles charged 15 bucks for this event back in 1981...... MR.BILL P.S. Hearns made his middleweight debut at 159 pounds in winning a decision over Ernie Singletary.... This was a mere 12 weeks after being stopped by SRL in Vegas at a drained 145.......... bbb MR.BILL
i too bought the 2 part vhs off Ebay...it does give an interesting view of ali in the early 80s thats not really available like footage of him in the 60s and 70s..ali performs better in this fight even manages to stagger berbick in the 5th round but he was a finished fighter because a crude fighting berbick still manages to give him a good pounding...at least he didn't get knocked out
Well, odd as it was, at age 39, Ali was better off a tad heavy at 236, rather too light like 218; like he was for Larry Holmes in 1980...... Still, by 1979, Ali was like Joe Louis of 1949--Washed-Up!! MR.BILL
that fight is on you tube in its entirety. I too watched it. Ali fought gallantly but his reflexes and body was shot as he was in the early stages of Parkinsons at that point. All I kept thinking to myself was if Ali was young again he would have completely taken apart this prime version of Trevor Berbick because as it was he still won some rounds as a sick old man. Hell even the Ali of 1977 coulda beat Berbick.
I heard he ate some medicine, dopamin or something like that before the Holmes-fight that made him look in pretty good shape but completely emptied his tank. Maybe he had more energy at 236 without the pills.
Ali was indeed better off at 236 in 1981 for Berbick than he was for Holmes at 218 in 1980..... Ali looked soft for Berbick, but at least he was in his element to a certain degree.... Still, he was a shell....... MR.BILL
