Manila

Most certainly. After Zaire would have been the perfect time for Muhammad to have rode off into the sunset. Post Manila would have been really good timing too.

 

And the eroding athleticism exposed the lacking fundamentals which he had to compensate for with pure toughness and character.

Ali truly is the greatest. Only Robinson is his peer.
The pure thought of "rope a dope" against one of the hardest punchers ever is actually completely absurd. NOBODY else could have pulled it off that way.

 

Yep! Ali was definitely a one off.

 

It's shocking he still beat Shavers afterwards but Manila took so much from him n Frazier. Athletes usually don't hang it up b4 becoming shells of themselves but I dont doubt the main reason us bcuz of money.

 

Athletes rarely know when it's time to go

 

Muhammad Ali was a singular, tough, dog of a fighter. the HW Robinson? No I don’t think so, they’re kind of the antithesis of one another in some notable ways.

 

Can you imagine recent heavies fighting in that sun and heat for 15 rounds?

 

Ali is a GOAT.

 

Dr. Ferdie Pacheco after examining Ali told him he needs to retire after the Manilla fight. That he had suffered some permanent damage. Of course Ali laughed it off. Pacheco quit not long after that not wanting to be a part of this.. Many years later Pacheco and Ali were together at a function, Ali was trembling and expressionless but he leaned over and was able to whisper into Ferdie's ear,"You were right",,,,
How sad, maybe if the rest of those leeches around Ali had sided with Pacheco he might have listened, who knows.

 

Ali had too many around him with a vested interest in him continuing to fight, health be damned. He was sadly a willing cash cow for Herbert, Bundini and the rest, and was an easy touch for anyone in the entourage. He needed someone close who was honest enough to tell him to step down at the top.

The Parkinson’s may have still happened, the jury’s out on genetics vs abuse in the ring, but it may have been pushed back a few years, or in terms of severity.

 

Who are the leeches?

 

Ali had an entourage around him constantly, hanger ons that fed his ego I suppose. Angelo Dundee should get a lot of blame, he knew Ali had zero chance against Holmes and had actually failed a physical in Las Vegas before the fight, and going into the ring with Ali against Berbick was a criminal act. He was visibly brain damaged and probably lucky he didn't get killed.

 

I read Angelo Dundee's slender autobiography. I don't recall if he addressed this subject or not. But there could have been a justifiable reason for working Ali's corner for his last few fights. Angelo might've felt he was being loyal, or that only by being in Ali's corner could he protect or help his man. I don't feel comfortable casting Dundee as a villain or a leech. It's a hard and unsentimental business.