Sonny Liston never blinded Muhammed Ali. Well, not with chemicals.

A few thoughts:

1. Monsel’s solution is, indeed, an eye irritant. It says so on the warning label.

But here’s the thing you’re missing @SonnyListon> you cite as proof that the label recommends rinsing with water for 15 minutes if it comes into contact with the eye and Ali’s eyes weren’t rinsed for 15 minutes: but the irritation also did not go away. He fought an entire round blind due to it, so rinsing less than 15 minutes did not cure the irritation.

These things are general medical recommendations: The label does not say ‘rinse for exactly 15 minutes, no more and no less, and if you don’t do it for at least 15 minutes your eyes will be irritated for the rest of your life.’

It would also depend on the amount and/or concentration of exposure (watered down in this case probably by sweat, probably, so not full strength as if someone smeared it straight from the bottle into Ali’s eyes). So maybe only a little bit of watered down Monsel’s was transferred say from Liston’s cut to Ali’s glove to Ali wiping his brow or whatever and his own sweat carrying small amounts into his eyes. And after a rinse and more time blinking and his eyes tearing up (which they do when irritated), it finally washed out after two one-minute rest periods and a 3-minute round.

2. You also didn’t address the possible liniment (we don’t know what kind I’m pretty sure) and that if not Monsel’s then perhaps it got to Ali’s eyes by some sort of contact — either it got on his gloves and he wiped his brow or maybe in a clinch his eyes rested against Liston’s shoulder in the area with the linament.

3. Finally, and here’s why your proposed solution (pardon the pun No. 1) doesn’t hold water (pardon the pun No. 2) … if Liston indeed ruptured Ali’s eyeball then …

A) How the heck did the fluid being drained out of his eye by the impact of a jab heal itself in a matter of 5 minutes or so? Did the fluid somehow find its way back into the eye? Such an injury would surely linger until a doctor saw it and tended to it (eye patch, maybe surgery, etc). That eye isn’t going to fix itself.

B) Ali would need to go to the hospital after the fight, which didn’t happen.

So I lean toward Dundee’s version. He’s been in fight corners for years and years, including ones where Monsel’s solution was used, so he’d know on a practical level what would happen if some got into a fighter’s eyes. A warning label is a general ‘here’s what to do,’ not a ‘do it exactly this way for exactly this long or you’ll be blinded forever.’

 

Some posters, to remain nameless, are getting mixed up between Thomas Dolby and Alton Brown. Also, some are forgetting that even highly notable boxing historian Boxed J. Ears has been known to say quote "Liston's best punch was his SCP or Super Chemical Punch." and why would he say that if it weren't science fact? There simply is no reason, I'm sorry.

 

I think everyone is starting to get blinded by his shyte. It's just everywhere one looks, there's no respite!!!!!!

He/she has some real QED going on, from our side of the fence.

 

I'd be far more impressed if it was beer.

 

I could be choking to death and I still wouldn’t spit out a drop of beer

 

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Ok. Jim Beam and coke. No answer required as i feel it will (further) ruin my image of you

 

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