Ali was 230lbs for this fight which at the point was the heaviest of his career. He claimed that he needed it for his strength because he had more fights coming up shortly and that he had 'some gas to burn'. Is there any merit in this claim or is it just an excuse he made for being lazy in training?
Depends what he meant. If he means that he's taking it easy because he can't keep training in peak condition for an entire year without some recovery time, I can see where he's coming from. If he means that he's storing up fat like an animal going into hibernation, then no. That doesn't make much sense.
The impression I got (at least from the way he phrased it) was more like the second option you gave. He was fighting Richard Dunn 24 days later so he didn't have to sustain a peak condition for an unusually long period of time. 24 days between title defences, though!! Surely, that wouldn't be allowed now.
