Jim Jacobs vs Archie Moore

I don't blame Jake for starting this thread. I blame Cus for coming up with this cockamamie idea. He was kind of an odd guy.

 

What? Was this a publicity stunt through which Cus wanted to get name recognition? I vaguely recall he wanted tot rain Chamberlain to fight Ali, too. (And that was far more intriguing, too!)

 

I assume this was a jesting thread though!

 

Go to Jim Jacobs's web page. Cus was serious.

 

I am saying the OP was unserious, not Cus. But then maybe the OP was in fact serious?

 

Speaking of which: Has there ever been a Chamberlain vs. Ali thread? This was a lot closer to actualization, as I understand it.

 

He may or may not have done as well as George Plimpton.

 

TIMBERRRRRRRR!

 

Evidently Jacobs was a great athlete. He's still not a prizefighter.

 

Yes, I remember that opinion! It was from Dundee, no?

 

I think the story goes is that they were having a meeting about the fight in a conference room somewhere and when Wilt walked into the room, Ali yelled "TIMBERRRRRR" and it shook Wilt so much he backed out of the fight.

 

ROFL, that's funny - though somewhat suspicious! I vaguely recall someone asking Dundee what would have happened if this fight went through, but then I am an old man with extremely fading memory... ;(

 

Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age but I'm not totally convinced this ever happened. It's a typical Jack McKinney story - he was told an amazing story by a famous boxing figure, but kept it to himself. By the time he finally publishes, everyone who could have confirmed or denied it is dead.

 

I believe I read it in Thomas Hauser's Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, but that was a long time ago and I could be mistaken.

A quick Google says that it happened at a press conference to announce the fight, but it seems there would have been cameras rolling at that point, though there's a chance it happened and wasn't recorded. It is also suggested that after "TIMBER," Wilt all of a sudden had lots of problems with the contract and used that as an excuse to back out of the fight.

Who knows.