Ali did land a solid overhand right about 2:10 into round one but it had absolutely no effect on Holmes.
I remember a right hand that Ali landed a right hand on the bell or barely after the bell ending the first round. Ali was bending low and then came up with the punch. Holmes looked a bit ****ed and Ali touched him on the shoulder as if to apologise but it was one of those shots which was launched a nano sec before the bell and impossible to pull back.
That's not the one Pug. Holms pulled back from that one. With about 45 seconds left in the round Ali nails him with a right hand, first proper punch he threw after just walking around. The commentators believed it to be the first punch he actually threw. This content is protected
Fair play, that appears to be the right hand being referred to. This is one fight I don’t revisit that often. Shortly after that Ali appears to partially connect with another right hand. The punch at or barely after the bell did land partially but not solidly. Though Ali had next nothing in the tank from opening bell he was clearly looking to get the right hand over Larry’s left.
I know we’ve addressed it before, but even just reviewing the first round of Holmes v Ali was an extremely hard watch. It also brought to mind the unforgettable quote of Ali which more or less stated that he felt exhausted even during the first round, which left him basically thinking (not verbatim) - “Oh my God, I’ve got 14 rounds to go - I’m not gonna quit, Larry has to kill me otherwise and he knows it”. What a nightmare that fight was for Muhammad. Imo, the Holmes fight should’ve put paid to any question of Ali quitting after round 14 in Manila - it wasn’t going to happen.
If only he came in the shape for which he came in for Berbick heavyweight history would be so much different.
Agreed, even as he was walking around like a mummy he was looking for the right over the lowered left. It was an immense punch for him in his pomp.
Another world-beating thread on classic! I hope there's an "How did Ali like his mornings eggs" discussion soon.
I believe the answer is sunny side up. Pretty sure I did a thread on it not so long ago. It was a cracker, at least 20 pages worth sorting it all out. Its best not to be redundant. At least not so soon after the original fact.
