Ali VS Williams..whats up with that?

Story I heard was that Ali talked in the lcoker room about what a shame it was that Williams was a shell of himself, and that the best thing he could do was end the fight quickly.

 

People watched fights with their eyes than.

They didn't ***** and whine..blah blah, this Ali cat looks good but lets see him do that to an all time great. Easy to look good against a shot to ****, dead on his feet never was bum.

 

HARSH but true m8.

Patty, Sonny, Folley, Terrely, And Chuvalo-y were all way better gauges of how MINT teh PEAKED young Ali was. :mj

 

As I remember the buildup to the fight, in some circles Williams was actually given a chance. It was well-known about the shooting and that Cleve still carried the bullet, but the full extent of the damage was either not known or not reported. Still, he was conceded a puncher's chance. That Ali was victorious was not so much a surprise as how he achieved the victory. In addition to dazzling speed he displayed heretofore unseen power and punching skills against a man with the reputation of a feared puncher. In light of all the facts, it was an impressive exhibition moreso than an important victory.

 

I posted an article sometime ago that discussed Williams' chances.

The intrigue was that at the time he was considered a decent test because Big Cat would be one of the more dangerous punchers Ali faced outside of the slowed down Liston.

 

i forget who said it but a boxing historian who watched the fight live said that if they had compubox numbers back then, ali would have landed about 70-80% of his punches. considering williams landed in the single digits each round and maybe 12 punches in total, that's AMAZING if true

 

ali would've gave much better fighters the same boxing lesson that nite. his movement, angles, speed, timing and combos were on a higher level.

 

Yes, Williams was given a chance. But most of them are, especially punchers. There are always plenty of writers who are too clever (or too cowardly?) to completely disregard the possibility of an upset, and the promoters and publicity work hard to get the message out that they are selling a two-horse race. Everyone has a chance I guess.

 

Yeah, he whipped Terrell almost as bad in his very next fight. And no one had shot up Terrell with a .357

 

Ali knew that it was going to be an easy night.