Did Muhammad Ali train during his exile?

Yes, and his comeback was so rushed also. The Quarry fight was only agreed like six weeks before it happened, so that's a very short time to shake off as much rust as possible before facing a world class opponent. Then the Bonavena fight was only about six weeks after that. So that was not a proper camp either.

But Ali was still out on appeal during this time, so they probably tried to cram as many fights in there as possible while he was still free.

 

If my memory serves me right, there was a lot of uncertainty on the Draft Evasion conviction hanging over this fight, rumor was if Ali had beaten Frazier, he would lose the pending appeal with the U. S. Supreme Court and would have had to serve out his sentence. If Joe won, which he did, Ali's case would be heard, and he would be set free, it is conjecture of course. But you are right, it was rushed, I think because of the pending date with the court, no one knew the outcome of the case against Ali.

 

Some months before the thing with Marciano he was working as Ellis's sparring partner for a week, and I would think that he probably worked out at least the weeks preceding the thing with Marciano to look decent in there.

 

Yes, I find it hard to think that Ali's people thought six months back in full time training and fighting would be enough to prepare optimally for someone like Frazier, but Ali didn't want to go to jail without having had that payday either.

 

Good Post.

 

I think you are right because remember the way Ali lost his title, and it was not in the ring. I think that he felt that Frazier was just handed the belt, because he did not want to serve in Vietnam. That would make a good thread. What would have happened if Ali had joined the military in 1967?

 

A year of doing exhibitions and then back to face the same guys he did face in 70-71 basically. He would have lost a year of his prime, but not have time to gather that much rust and also kept reasonably busy with the exhibitions, so he should have been back to his old self after a couple of fights.

 

I think one factor as to why there was such a noticeable difference in speed and stamina between pre exile and post exile Ali is that he never got the time to settle back into things as he probably should have. A hurried schedule and then the brutal beating he took against Frazier could well have deprived us of seeing just how much Ali could have regained under the right circumstances.

He should have had 4-5 months for the Quarry fight instead of 6-7 weeks. First 2-3 months of just gradually getting his conditioning and weight back to where he had been and then a proper camp. Going into camp immediately after a long inactivity must be really punishing for the body.

Then the same MO for Bonavena and also preferably another tune-up before Frazier. Chuvalo would be good, I think, because it would be another 15 rds with a fighter constantly coming after him.

And then Frazier in March '72. By this time Ali would probably have regained about as much as he could before age would start to be a factor. So I think such an Ali would probably be as good a version as we would be likely to see post exile.

 

your second paragraph is actually factually correct Ali said so

 

like he was made to lose

 

Yes I’ve read about Archie trying to teach Ali the cross guard, it truly is an ageing mans style one of longevity Foreman captured the title again with it after all.

 

The toll of the mental fatigue of fighting for his freedom, the punishment of quick camps for Quarry, Bonavena and then straight into a prime Frazier without, as you say, getting real conditioning and timing and, in my opinion, fight mentality back, took years out of his legs and athleticism.

It is no surprise that post exile, he started to get lazier in his training and whilst retaining good handspeed 1971 - 1974, his dancing lacked the same fluidity and co-ordination.

 

I think that 215 pounds for a 6'3 guy is a poor weight. In the Ali case was good because he was a fast boxer but. Overall 215 pounds are few pounds for a guy that tall

 

But in my day, if a fighter was over that, he looked out of shape, and truthfully many fighters felt more fatigued. I do not know about today's heavyweights, were they fed special vitamins as children, years ago people were not built that way. Besides being overweight is bad for the heart, not enough to satisfy any h2h fans, better to take care of your health, especially for your older years, with that kind of weight, one may develop Diabetes, and Coronary Artery Disease. No muscle mass, just fat.When Ali was in his prime years, he was 212 lbs, but near the end, he was 225, he looked fat no muscle mass, slow. He could not glide around the ring as he could at 212 lbs.

 

Ali never looked as he gained any real muscle after the exile, only flab, Against Chuvalo in 1966 he was 215 of defined muscle. He never got substantially bigger than that without looking a bit flabby.