So I was bored watching an Ali fight...

cant say I blame you. he basically just pecked away at opponents

some of his better work came vs Quarry, Dunn

 

I just figured you were new to the sport since most people don't wait 30+ years after becoming a fan to watch Muhammad Ali fights.

Didn't you own a TV before YouTube? You said before YouTube you just had to take people's word for it when it came to Ali.

Muhammad Ali fights have kind of been playing around the clock on ESPN since 1986. I started recording fights on VHS that year, and the first ones I recorded were Ali fights on ESPN.

Whatever.

 

Not that it's any of your business but I come from a very poor family, we didn't have cable , no ESPN, no ESPN classic. I would watch fights at my friend's houses , but I don't even remember them playing that many Ali fights on ESPN classic besides the Foreman fight.

 

Don't really know what "mythical" defence you're referring to. Prime Ali is known to have been exceedingly fast for a HW and to have had that speed as his main defence. If you wish to debunk that, a snippet from a fight where he was way over his fastest weight and had lost speed to the lay-off isn't the best way to go.

 

Can't say I have. But I saw Alexis Arguello vs Ruben Castillo on Jan 20 1980 in my hometown live. I also saw Sugar Ray Leonard vs Daniel Gonzalez on March 24 1979 live, same location. That is where I ran into Carlos Monzon. I saw Tommy Hearns vs Randy Shields on April 25 1981 in Phoenix, Arizona live. I met Archie Moore in Dec 1969 at the local Junior High in my hometown, he provided us with refreshments and a truck load of Carnation ice cream. He showed us films of his bout with Rocky Marciano on Sept 21 1955 and Muhammad Ali on Nov 15 1962. Archie had a Boys Club built for us in our neighborhood with a boxing gym, ring, equipment, color televisions, snack bar and stereo equipment to listen to music. Archie was a cool guy.

 

In what way did this "cement head" give him wins against Patterson, Chuvalo, Mildenberger, Terrell, Folley, Quarry, Bonavena, Ellis, Bugner or even Lyle?

Against Frazier, yes, he had to rely on that chin and his will to get the win in the third fight and hear the final bell in the first. Shavers, definitely. But these wins were years past his best. He did have to ride through some hard shots against Foreman also, but not as much as the legend makes out. Against Liston he wasn't hit that much, but stood up some heavy blows that others wouldn't have. His will more than his chin is what made him pull out the win in the Norton rematch.

But if you face just about everyone relevant for some 15 years and are past your best for many of them you often have to rely on grit and chin at times. Especially if you face opponents that are in or around most's top 10.

 

I have heard of Cement Shoes being issued by the Underworld like Sonny Liston's friends but Cement Head? I have heard of Bucket Head. What do we call Medusa? Snake Head. Lol.

 

Exactly. Muhammad's defence was pretty damn unique. Especially for a heavyweight. Even up to the mid-seventies he was getting hit in the face and head a lot less than many other big men of the time.

 

He called himself "The Greatest", and many take it as truth when it's really not. There were a lot of his fights that were boring as snot where he didn't look that great. Everyone has to have a "hero" to look up to for whatever reason.

 

Happens

 

Ali looked a lot slower in that fight than he did in the 60`s, he used to skip a lot of training during the 70`s, in the 60`s he was pretty good at evading right hands but open to eating hooks.

 

He certainly didn`t.

 

Ali`s hand speed was bad in this fight much slower than Louis`s v Conn.

 

I think his bad hands had a lot do with it. In the less important fights in the 70's he didn't put much force in many of his punches. When everything was on the line, such as against Frazier and Foreman, his punches was much faster and sharper, but in the in-between fights I think he wanted to save his hands as much as possible. He said that was the case against Lubbers, for example.