Why did Ali call Chuvalo "The Washerwoman"?

Probably because it's very funny.

 

Quite possible.

 

Classic.

 

and it's not that it didn't also come from his style, but that Ali saw it as a way to get away with being particularly mean, I remember watching something once where Tyson kept saying "Ali was MEAN!" like maybe he could say something that was particularly insulting to the fighter and play it off more innocently

that's actually so cool Chuvalo dressed as a washwoman, what a great psychological warfare counter because it probably captivated the audience more than Ali's mouth

 

No one really went at Ali the same way Ali did with his opponents.

I imagine if anyone coined a derogatory nickname for Ali - one that was anchored in some reality, hit Ali in the heart and stuck hard - it would’ve really p*ssed Ali off.

Just calling him his former name was enough to get him extremely steamed but labels such as The Big Ugly Bear, The Washerwoman, The Rabbit, The Gorilla etc. were so much more innocent, weren’t they? Lol.

 

Bonavena did a good job, "me white, you black, you smell", also calling him a black kangaroo and a maricon