If Muhammad Ali Never Developed Parkinson’s….

I can’t remember where I saw this comment. It was something like, “Larry Holmes performed well as an old man because he always fought like an old man.” I think there’s something there. Holmes was always sound fundamentally but he didn’t have a really dynamic style that demanded his reflexes be insanely sharp. He was smart, fast enough, durable, and had a good enough defense to last a long time. He was pretty conservative with his moves.

I can’t see Ali changing his style to ironically, mimic what Holmes did. Like everyone has said, it’s like Roy Jones without all his natural gifts. If Ali was in perfect health and trained better, I can see him maybe squeezing in 1 or 2 more wins but that’s it. I don’t think much changes.

 

I have never seen an Ali sparring session where he actually “spars”. I never get it. I guess he thought he could just turn it on when he needed it?

 

I just took a peek at my interactions with Richard since he recemtly passed and saw this post. Sounds like Ali was full of sh-t.

 

I've always contended that he should have kept on going, Parkinson's or not, through at least the mid 80's. His effort against Berbick was excellent. I had him winning. And that puts him right in the thick of things. A Weaver, Coetzee or Dokes fight, or all three, would have been fantastic and really sealed his legacy.