Was Berbick given the decision in the Ali vs Berbick fight?

If the bout had happened, then a swift KO of Ali would have been the most merciful and damage limitation health outcome, Weaver laying on headshots round after round would most definitely have had a long term negative effect.

 

I notice Weaver doesn't get too much credit around here, and there are good reasons for that. However, at one point I feel he truly was second only to Larry Holmes (which at the time was saying a LOT), and he was a viable contender for years after.

 

I think Ali had enough juice to got until at least '87 with proper matchmaking, an outside shot at seeing the 90's.

His fitness regimen was poor. If he had a modern trainer and applied science rather than old school witchcraft he would have been in good form.

 

Old witchcraft?? LOL

 

Old Ali wouldn't have made it past prime Tyson. No way no how.

 

Seriously?

 

Tim Witherspoon had Ali in training camp for publicity in '84 sparring for a defense against Pinklon Thomas and absolutely refused to throw head punches during their sparring sessions. Bad enough that back in 1980 Witherspoon couldn't believe how bad Ali was in sparring together for Ali's fight against Holmes. Witherspoon called Ali's handlers on it and they kept saying he would get better, but he never did. Ali's last sparring session for the Holmes fight was against a small cruiserweight with the idea to boost Ali's confidence and he could do absolutely nothing in six rounds against him. Yes, Ali was improperly medicated for Holmes with a thyroid medication that he was popping like smarties, but the point was that even by 1980, he was probably not even a top 30 heavyweight due to Parkinson's syndrome, bad training/sparring habits, accumulated physical damage and middle age. I don't believe a 39 year old Ali could head into the 80's with any realistic hope of being competitive and would be a huge risk for a tragedy waiting to happen.

 

Juice? Only juice he might find would be inside a kid;s lunchbox.
Ali was a sick man & worsening for years.
He was embalmed for Holmes due to popping Thyroid meds like tic tacs.
But the only way he could have "lasted for years" is if he started fighting li\teral "Winos from the Alley "& worked his way down to pre-schoolers.

Ali being permitted to fight at all past then would have been an act of cruelty against the deluded old GOAT,
Fighting to '87, let alone the 1990's?
This would have been cruel & demeaning.

 

Only managed to watch it once, but I had Berbick winning.

 

Ali couldn't have beaten Marvin Hagler by 1984 that's how fast his health was deteriorating.

 

I've mapped out potential Ali matchups till 1989. He would definitely have a belt at least once. Careful study and analysis of his Berbick victory is much needed in this field.

 

Seamus you know your boxing, but few agree with you.
There were a few belts, but Ali WAS deteriorating significantly each year after 1975.
There is no way you can consider that he would have been fit to fight for any title more than a couple years after Berbick-3 if you are generous.

So please tell us who you think he could have beaten up through 1984 for a title.
Anytime after that seems especially far fetched.
But who could he beat when to take a title of any kind?

 

One big issue with Ali continuing his career post-Berbick would be where would he be licensed to fight and could he get a license to fight in the US again? The answer to the latter is no. That's why Ali's last fight took place in the Bahamas with a cowbell doubling as a ring bell. Backtracking a bit to 1977 right after the Shavers fight, Ali's physician Ferdie Pacheco wrote letters to several people closely associated with Ali imploring them to convince him to retire. When it became clear Ali would continue after Shavers, Pacheco quit the Ali camp. Prior to Ali's ill fated bout with Larry Holmes in 1980, he submitted himself to a full evaluation by the Mayo Clinic. Ali showed a slight degree of missing when he tried to touch his finger to his nose, had difficulty coordinating his muscles when speaking and did not hop on one foot with the expected agility of a world class athlete. He also admitted to tingling in his hands and was aware of his slurring, especially after the Shavers bout. The doctors unbelievably gave him him a pass for the Holmes fight but I think even Ali knew that that was his last hurrah in the US as far as fighting.
In 1983 Sports Illustrated reported that an abnormal condition - an atrophy more characteristic of older people, had been discovered in a CAT scan of Ali's brain. It was described as a widened third ventricle that shows up on 50% of fighters with more than 20 bouts.
I don't believe that Ali would be licensed to fight in the US again after 1980. I also believe that other jurisdictions outside the US would have followed suit as Ali was too well known (and well loved) by the general public and no commission would want to have his blood on their hands, unlike sadly, someone such as Wilfred Benitez whom also fought on way too long and sustained way too much damage. Ali was too high profile for that to be allowed.

 

I can't see Ali getting past Weaver, though Weaver's style might actually have made him look half-good in the early rounds. The hook would have caught him (Mike's left hook might actually have been as heavy as Frazier's, he just delivered it with less hand speed). Angelo would have only let him take that hook so many times. TKO in 12.

He might have beaten Spinks again...even Coetzee would have taken a decision from him imo.

 

Doubt it especially with his health rapidly declining.