Was Howard Cossell a commentator in any of Ali's big fights?

Cossel did one of of the Clay-Liston fights- maybe both.

I always thought it was a conflict of interest for Cossel to do an Ali fight since they were married to each other.

 

Poor Larry, to this day, probably has nightmares of Cosell.

 

I liked Cossel on Monday Night Football. He was the house ass and played his part well.
His mix it ups with Dandy Don are legendary.

 

Cosell is one of those characters that can't be understood out of context -- you watch a fight on youtube and you don't get the full effect. When Howard arrived anywhere to call a sporting event, it lent credibility to that event as an EVENT.

When Howard told the world that Benitez was the real deal, that this was a real test for Leonard, he made that fight legit to the casuals. When Holmes -- seen by the casuals and the cogniscenti alike as an unworthy successor in Ali's shadow -- began to get Howard's respect, the fans began to warm up to Holmes as a true heavyweight champion.

Was he perfect? No, but he was more than competent to call fights and his interviews and interactions brought things out of fighters that the Dunphys and Wallous of the world could never get. He was a component in helping us understand Ali and Frazier and Foreman and Holmes and Leonard.