i remember howard said to ali.muhammad you are not the man you use to be 20 years ago .ali said howard go home and ask your wife if you are the man you use to be 20 years ago.
Ali had a lot of determination though and simply would not go down. I guess he had a lot of experience with Holmes and knew what to expect. Tyson of course would have finished him off though - an Ali that is not mobile and does not return fire simply would not stand up to Tysonesque punishment. A prime Ali takes out Tyson by round 10 or so.
Just goes 2 show that to make a good fighter, physical fitness is no good without mental fitness. Ali was only 39, still very young and mega fit in comparison with others of his age, but he already had Parkinsons. You can have all the muscles in the world, but your mind must be in harmony with your body. The shoalin monks use mind over body 4 example. Some of the hardest men around don´t look like much physically...
@francisjtuk Well actualy it would have been better if the fight ended earlier if you look at the later rounds how much of a beating he was getting thats way worse. also why didnt he throw any punches in this fight 90% of the time he was just standing there doing nothing.
@az4u100 Yes I think his determination did him no favours in this fight and his lethargy was almost certainly down to the thyrolat tablets that he was taking like vitamins .
The Counter right hand ali landed in the first round basically showed me how Easily Ali would have beaten holmes if in his prime. Holmes Jabbed almost too much and Ali knew that a counter right hand was there, too bad that was the only energy he could must all night.
I respect both of these fighters Ali should have retired he was way past his prime. Larry Holmes was a great fighter they both deserve respect and in my opinion they both need to be on the top 10 greatest heavyweights off all time
@Ztnarf1985 Fuck Larry Holmes. The top 10 is voor Ali, Marciano, Foreman, Frazier, Tyson, Liston, Louis not a dumb, no class, paper champion like Holmes.
@LordGosai I didn't mean that. I did mean: Fuck Larry Holmes. His attitude is bad and he is an idiot, but he was a great fighter. I'd say he's in the top 10 with Ali, Louis, Marciano, Foreman, Frazier, Tyson. I don't know about Jack Dempsey or Jack Johnson, I haven't watched them.
@michaelyouth Fuck off. You have no idea what you're talking about. Marciano, aside from being the most overrated boxer of all time, is not top ten and Liston isn't even top 20. Holmes was a great champion who didn't want to fight Ali and even held back against him and never got the credit he deserved because of people like you.
@bigmoney749 Fucking moron, I am saying that Holmes is a top 10 heavyweight. I didn't like his character, but he was a great champion, moron readddd, learn to read.
@michaelyouth I never said you didn't say Holmes was in the top ten. I'm saying he was top 2. Also, how would you feel if you had to fight your entire prime in the shadow of a guy who you're better than but takes all your credit because he never shuts up?
@wuspopNmane When you can no longer fight back effectively, when you can no longer defend yourself effectively, you have to stop. If you don't, you end up like Roach, Ali, etc. You got to know when to quit. I respect the warrior spirit, but the time comes when that's not enough. And when that time comes, you got to get out. Ali should have retired after the Foreman fight, or the last Frazier fight at the very latest. The Spinks fights were foolish, and the Holmes / Berbick fiasco... not good.
@dahaka13616 ignore the dumb fucks..no point . let him them think they know boxing, the ones who know boxing know ALI..some pple just wanna tlk bout the last two fights he lost because of old age and PARKINSON's disease. instead of focussing on the iconic career . Ali introduced the words speed and technique in boxing.
@whitedeviltx Ali was at the end of his career and was in the worst shape of his career. Watch Ali vs. Cleveland Williams, Sonny Liston, and Ernie Terell. You'd be ignorant to say he wasn't one of the top five greatest fighters of all time.
This is more like a spar then a fight. During round 2 there were so many times when Holmes could have stuck his left jabs on Ali's face and Ali wasn't even blocking him. It's like Holmes was saying "look, see, you missed this one, and this one, and this one."
I wish Ali would have quit after The Rumble in The Jungle, maybe he would have never gotten sick and he would have gone out with a beautiful huge BANG.
Holmes showed a lot of heart and empathy to not destroy Ali. He could have annhialated him if he wanted. He showed a lot of respect and people should show him respect for that
Ali said after the holmes fight. holmes went into his dressing room and apologized and told him he loved him his mentor. Ali- responded if you love me so much why the hell did you beat me up like that? hahaha ali humor.
@veeseee128 yeah he stood up to the government and they didnt let him fight for 4 yrs for what should have been his prime.not a good career move to screw with the feds.
Ali didnt have it any more, he knew it , cossell knew we the fans knew it but we didnt want to believe the greatest had run his coarse and was finished. i was disapointed to see ali lose this fight and to berbick a year later. ali was boxing and boxing was ali. there will never be a heavy weight in my lifetime that is fast or as charismatic as muhammad. ali went on to do decon roach commercials and mde millions off that. he was my favorite boxer when i was a kid and still is.
Ali looked so old. His balance is awful, which is why he never had to confidence to let his hands go. If I had been Holmes I would have been begging the ref and Ali's corner to stop the fight after the 3rd. It was clear Ali had no chance of even surviving.
I wonder what made Cosell think that Ali's right hand could do anything at all to hurt Holmes. Ali didn't really have any power at all, in either hand. It was a pretty rare sight to witness Ali hurting anyone, let alone knocking them out.
Prime Ali would destroy prime Holmes. 60s Ali had a combination of incredible speed, incredible hand speed and very good power. Holmes fought a 40 year old Ali that had first signs of P. Syndrome, Ali must have thrown like 15 punches all fight. Holmes could still not knock out Ali how do you think he would fare against 60s Ali? Holmes would get destroyed in a lopsided 15 round decision.
wow what a fight it would of been. Holmes IN HIS PRIME, Ali IN HIS PRIME. Far more interesting and entertaining than anything an Ali - Tyson fight could of mustered.
@tiopira5 You sir are the retard Ali was waaaaaaay overrated he lost to pussies like Berbick and and Spinks and Norton and Frazier werent exactly world beaters they were one dimansional and overrated as well. Larry Holmes was the greatest hw ever
@tiopira5 Its funny that a little pussy ass faggot lookin little bitch like you would talk shit, but I garuntee if this wasnt a fuckin trolling contest online your faggot ass would keep your bitch mouth shut. By the way I at least had an intelligent satement you on the other hand look like a complete moron who doesnt know a goddamn thing about boxing, you must have just watched the Ali movie and since you have such a crush on Will Smith you figure Ali must be the greatest, so fuck off pussy
@whitedeviltx you wouldnt say that to my face ill fuck you up bitch have you even been in a boxing ring before? hha think you know what your talking about aey bitch pleaze
Ali looked like complete garbage in this fight. Fighting at 38, he was as shell of his former phenomenal self. Sad part is, a young Holmes relished this victory.
@TheSaienTV he did relish this victory and it was very sad indeed. You just have to take in to consideration that Holmes acted as one of Ali's many sparring partners, providing Ali with priceless preparatory fighting practice. Holmes spent a long time looking up at ali from afar (behind hundreds of journalists) whilst the greatest era of heavy weight boxing was in full throttle, with Ali running the show. This fight provided the one brief moment where their positions were reversed - sort of.
I remember watching as a ten year old and crying. Ali looked 49 years old, this fight should NEVER have happened. As much as these guys want to continue fighting, it's the leeches who want to bleed these guys for everything they can, who make these fights happen.
@73dodge Ali had a medical at the Mayo Clinic before the Holmes fight. The doctors found that Ali had a hole in his brain, his speech was slurred and he had tingling in his hands. However Don King withheld the report so that the fight with Holmes would go ahead. A shameful thing for Don King to do, even if Ali said he wants to fight there's still a responsibility on the promoters. King made millions from the fight and will go to his grave a rich man from all the fighters he took advantage of.
People keep talking about Ali being faded and not in his prime. Ali was BEYOND FADED in this fight. If a state athletic commision had tested him they would have banned him from boxing. He couldn't even go jogging his legs were so far gone. This is not a faded Ali, this is just not Ali. Holmes is hitting a punching bag, all he can do is roll his shoulders and parry shots and stop Holmes from landing flush. This isn't a fight.
At 2:32 it's clear Alli has no chance whatsoever and he should not have been cleared to fight.
He's looking for his go-to move - the pull counter over LH's jab. And he can't get off even though the opening was there. From that moment on, the fight is over.
@sparkz2112 This Ali would lose to every top 10 heavyweight today. He can't throw punches. He is finished. This is a savage spectacle. Ali is a punching bag, still savvy enough to not be knocked out, nothing else.
It's sad to watch this every time I look at it....Ali wouldve most likely lost anyway, but I wish he didn't those damn thyroid pills........Even the 78 version of Ali who beat Spinks would have made this a very competitive fight.......
Tears still come to my eyes when I see this, people say angelo dundee cared for ali thats why he stopped the fight, if angelo really cared for ali he would have never let the fight happen.
@XavierMarciano it wasnt his choice, ali was gonna fight no matter who said not to, unless it was Herbert, and Herbert always let Ali be put in danger and taken advantage of, he is to blame more than Dundee.
are you talking about this specific fight or Larry Holmes in general as a fighter? We americans complained plenty about both at the time. Over time, most did come to respect Holmes as a fighter. He did hold the title for about 6/7 years which is an accomplishment. This fight over time, however, still is what it is. A bad mismatch.
ali never looked good in a fight since the thrilla in minilla in 1975. i think holmes in his prime wud have a good chance of beating ali from 1976 to 1978. before manilla i reckon ali would have beaten holmes. the 60,s prime ali would have made holmes look silly like he did every other fighter he faced then!
Holmes used to be Ali's sparring partner and it looks like a sparring session. Holmes said that after the first round he knew that Ali had nothing left and so he carried Ali, quite possibly out of respect and also to give everyone a good show!
Ali certainly went too far with his criticisms of Frazier, and he later apologized to Joe and his family. As for the Holmes fight, Ali was like most fighters as they age... he stayed too long. A shell of his former self.
To those that say Holmes took it easy, I disagree. Larry TRIED to hurt Ali early in the fight BUT, the one thing that Ali still had going for him was his CHIN. NOONE could take a punch as good as Muhammad. He took punishment like no other.
1st time I've ever seen this fight and I'm amazed. This is the shadow of the man we used to call "The Greatest!" He's slow, no foot work, little to no headmovement...no sharp jabs etc. I can't believe how much he declined at this point. You can't beat age!
How did Ali pass his physical? He's obviously not right. Sure he has some of his old skills, but not enough...and his mental state is definitely in question. I would love to see a 1980 Holmes vs a 1970 Ali. Larry himself later fell victim the same way vs. Mike Tyson. Again, a great match in some alternate timeline.
@LewisDre4m The day after the fight, I think I remember Ali saying that he dehydrated himself too much before the fight. He said dehydration was also the reason he couldn't perspire.
I would regard Holmes as one of the best heavyweights in the history of boxing. 'A bold statement, I know. But, I believe that he's far too underrated. And his handspeed coupled with agility is something to behold.
agreed, it was unfortunate for Holmes that his reign was between Ali and Tyson. He was 48-0 at one point and had the 2nd most consecutive defenses after Joe Louis. Overlooked but the serious boxing fans know how good he was. Its sad to see Ali in this fight though.
lol , those cheap russians need to be in a super heavyweight division
when do u see ?? heavyweights fight middile weights ? never
these tall clones need to fight someone there own size
heavyweight will always be the classic weight class becuz everyone is around that size , vitali needs to face the fact the boxing commision feel sbad for him
Personally, you have to give some respect to the Klitchkos for not abusing their size; most big dudes have a tendency to also figuratively look down on their opponents thinking "oh, that smaller guy can't hurt me." The Klitchkos don't do that; they're more careful.
I insist; the only reason hispanic fighters can hang with black dudes in the ring, but white guys can't, is rooted in the temperature. Italians, dominated in boxing way back when, because they were the only white people who came from a country with extreme heat. Heat exhaustion may have been what undid Jess Willard, by contrast Dempsey? He was small and thin (relative to willard), his body could take the heat.
sorry for over posting, but sports types are stupid; making ideas about "racial universality" dude, while we are all human beings, different ethnicities were built for different weather. In these kinds of ring conditions, blacks, hispanics, and in the past Italians, had an unfair edge in the ring.
How do we know heat exhaustion on the part of his white opponents for example, didn't help Marciano?
fuck man, fighting in those conditions, I think a white guy would collapse from heat exhaustion and get a heat stroke by round 5, the only reason Ali and Holmes didn't fall, is because they're black. Their bodies can take that kind of heat.
from my own experiences in high school, whenever I got into fights, white guys are deadly as hell in winter time, but in the summer? damned pushovers; the heat seriously slows them down.
maybe that's the reason Belisarius massacred so many germanic types; they were like fish out of water.
that is part of the reason why boxing's dominant champions, all tended to be black, hispanic, or Italian, all ethnicities that can handle extreme heat.
Rocky Marciano's Italian heritage may have in fact helped him a bit.
man, ali got his ass whipped tha whole damn fight! he was talkin all kind of shit, but still got his ass beat. he should've known better, cuz look at him now since that shit happened!
So sad to see. But hey, there's no room for sympathy in the man's game of boxing, and it happens to everyone. Holmes vs Tyson being the perfect illustration.
It's just amazing to watch the difference in Ali. Completely different style of boxing, for obvious reasons. I feel bad for Holmes: he was in a no win situation. Ali beats him, then "he never had it". He beats Ali, "he was beating up an old man." So what can you do? Larry had no choice but to go in there and take him out, just like he did. That's his job as HW champ. But yeah, Ali looks amazingly different here. I wish it had never happened.
It was a tough act to follow. Ali had a special charisma and was a legend.
Had Larry come along at another time he would have been more appreciated. His skills and title reign deserves to be among the best heavys to ever fight.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
ali 17 years or so after winning the title. I don't think he would have stood a chance against holmes at his peak and saying he was "shot" or whatever makes no difference. ali 17 years on after first winning the title was "shot" but tyson 17 years or so later losing to lewis was "exposed"...the hypocrisy of ali fans is amazing.
ali loses to holmes each time. this is based on scientifics children nothing more.
Holmes didn't even try. He could have easily have knocked him down or out. Poor Ali was just to old. Holmes was his sparring partner for Foreman and was literally beating him up in the sessions.
Ali knew how old he was when he took the fight, he got what he deserved, fighting a champ in his prime... Holmes took it easy on him, showed Ali far too much respect all fight. Should have been all over in three rounds
It's quite obvious Larry took it easy on Ali. Larry is stronger and faster than Ali in this fight. Larry had a lot of respect for Ali and didn't want to destroy him. He even went into Ali's dressing room later and said "I love you man" and Ali replied "Then why'd you beat me up like that?" And I disagree with your statement about 74 Ali beating Holmes. Foreman missed out on weeks of training cause of his eye. Had he been in better shape Ali's rope a dope may not have worked...
nah. Ali that fought frazier in manila would have beat holmes. There wasn't a fighter as tough and that wanted as bad as frazier because of the talk and what ali put him through., and look what he done to fraziers face.
Holmes isnt going to walk forward into Ali`s punches to get to the body.
Larry was a standup classic boxer like Ali. Except he had a stronger jab and a more potent rightcross. Technically he was more sound than Ali who distained fundlementals.
@ExplosiveThinMan Styles do make fights, but this is 39-year-old Ali in the beginning stages of Parkinson's. I'd argue that Ali in his prime would have beaten Holmes in his prime 7 or 8 out of 10 times, but you certainly can't tell anything from this fight because it was a crime that Ali was even allowed in the ring.
The thing that makes me like Holmes chances is that he could jab with and most likley outjab Ali. If Ali couldnt control the fight with his jab he becomes very beatable. Kenny Norton was able to do this in 3 fights.
@altohart Ali in his his prime could beat anyone and it wasn't the first stages of Parkinson's that kept Ali from dominating lol it's funny that I just said that like Ali was close to dominating in this fight but people don't know. Ali had kidney problems before this fight, he took Thyroid pills, well he overtook Thyroid pills which are bad for your heath. He had Kidney problems and he he had a brain disease I forgot the name of it though, but Ali was not in shape at all.
ali showed the heart of a fighter, its all he knew, all he wanted to do, give him a break. untill you know what its like to be in his shoes dont judge. he got what he deserved? no. he was just not the same any more and got beat.
i can't believe Ali fought Trevor Berbick AFTER this fight. the boxing comission should've taken his boxing license away. all about money, his name brought in millions for the sport. evil and they should be embarassed. as they should be embarassed for letting Holyfield still fight, not as bad as Ali, but definitely has issues with his speech.
Whatever the reason or more likely the reasons, Ali no longer had the speed nor the strength. That was probably a combination of age, drugs, illness, and who knows what else. The record of Holmes shows he was a good heavy, but I doubt in the class of Ali in his prime.
Holmes was in the best shape of his career in this fight. After the first round, Ali stated he couldn't beat Holmes. Now I was rooting for Holmes and I state this as a non-partial statement: Ali was on powerful drugs to treat a thyroid condition and it zapped his strength. This is a fact! As much as I wanted Ali to lose, I must acknowledge this. I had read that Ali's confidants wanting to cancel the fight because of the drugs affecting him in training camp.
He did. He said afterwards that between Rounds 1 and 2 he knew that by wasting all his time just losing weight, he'd drained his body of what little life remained. If only Ali, and a whole load of boxers, knew when to say when.
i remember howard said to ali.muhammad you are not the man you use to be 20 years ago .ali said howard go home and ask your wife if you are the man you use to be 20 years ago.
pissedoff7771 3 days ago
Ali didn't land a single clean punch in round 3
bigmoney749 1 month ago
'the fastest heavyweight who ever lived'...there it is from Howard Cosell..
Uprising771 1 month ago
Ali had a lot of determination though and simply would not go down. I guess he had a lot of experience with Holmes and knew what to expect. Tyson of course would have finished him off though - an Ali that is not mobile and does not return fire simply would not stand up to Tysonesque punishment. A prime Ali takes out Tyson by round 10 or so.
francisjtuk 1 month ago
Comment removed
bigmoney749 1 month ago
Just goes 2 show that to make a good fighter, physical fitness is no good without mental fitness. Ali was only 39, still very young and mega fit in comparison with others of his age, but he already had Parkinsons. You can have all the muscles in the world, but your mind must be in harmony with your body. The shoalin monks use mind over body 4 example. Some of the hardest men around don´t look like much physically...
flipinwotsit 1 month ago
@francisjtuk Well actualy it would have been better if the fight ended earlier if you look at the later rounds how much of a beating he was getting thats way worse. also why didnt he throw any punches in this fight 90% of the time he was just standing there doing nothing.
az4u100 3 months ago
@az4u100 Yes I think his determination did him no favours in this fight and his lethargy was almost certainly down to the thyrolat tablets that he was taking like vitamins .
francisjtuk 3 months ago
Even in their primes, Holmes is Ali + 1 in everything except for legs, and chin. For those he's Ali -2, and Ali -1.
TA152H01 3 months ago
@TA152H01 but his jab is Ali + 5
bigmoney749 1 month ago
@bigmoney749 Well, I'd give him more of an Ali + 2 on jab. Carl Williams was probably Ali +3.
Ali had a very good jab. Just that Holmes had an exceptional jab. Williams had the best jab of any heavyweight I've seen.
TA152H01 1 month ago
The Counter right hand ali landed in the first round basically showed me how Easily Ali would have beaten holmes if in his prime. Holmes Jabbed almost too much and Ali knew that a counter right hand was there, too bad that was the only energy he could must all night.
Lcowand1 5 months ago
wort fight ali ever fought. compared to this, he looks like a pro in the berbick fight
sliat1981 5 months ago
wort fight ali ever fought. compared to this, he looks like a pro in the berbick fight
sliat1981 5 months ago
I respect both of these fighters Ali should have retired he was way past his prime. Larry Holmes was a great fighter they both deserve respect and in my opinion they both need to be on the top 10 greatest heavyweights off all time
Ztnarf1985 6 months ago
@Ztnarf1985 Fuck Larry Holmes. The top 10 is voor Ali, Marciano, Foreman, Frazier, Tyson, Liston, Louis not a dumb, no class, paper champion like Holmes.
michaelyouth 5 months ago
@michaelyouth How far back does this list go? What about Dempsey or Tom Cribb?
LordGosai 3 months ago
@LordGosai I didn't mean that. I did mean: Fuck Larry Holmes. His attitude is bad and he is an idiot, but he was a great fighter. I'd say he's in the top 10 with Ali, Louis, Marciano, Foreman, Frazier, Tyson. I don't know about Jack Dempsey or Jack Johnson, I haven't watched them.
michaelyouth 3 months ago
@michaelyouth Fuck off. You have no idea what you're talking about. Marciano, aside from being the most overrated boxer of all time, is not top ten and Liston isn't even top 20. Holmes was a great champion who didn't want to fight Ali and even held back against him and never got the credit he deserved because of people like you.
bigmoney749 1 month ago
@bigmoney749 Fucking moron, I am saying that Holmes is a top 10 heavyweight. I didn't like his character, but he was a great champion, moron readddd, learn to read.
michaelyouth 1 month ago
@michaelyouth I never said you didn't say Holmes was in the top ten. I'm saying he was top 2. Also, how would you feel if you had to fight your entire prime in the shadow of a guy who you're better than but takes all your credit because he never shuts up?
bigmoney749 1 month ago
@Ztnarf1985 that is why Ali is brain damaged. That is what you get for being a "warrior" LOL. What a joke.
wuspopNmane 5 months ago
@wuspopNmane When you can no longer fight back effectively, when you can no longer defend yourself effectively, you have to stop. If you don't, you end up like Roach, Ali, etc. You got to know when to quit. I respect the warrior spirit, but the time comes when that's not enough. And when that time comes, you got to get out. Ali should have retired after the Foreman fight, or the last Frazier fight at the very latest. The Spinks fights were foolish, and the Holmes / Berbick fiasco... not good.
MADMAC572 3 months ago
Ali didnt even have his normal stance in this fight.
blamaco 6 months ago
Ali should have retired somewhere in 1976.
birdhovno 7 months ago
@dahaka13616 ignore the dumb fucks..no point . let him them think they know boxing, the ones who know boxing know ALI..some pple just wanna tlk bout the last two fights he lost because of old age and PARKINSON's disease. instead of focussing on the iconic career . Ali introduced the words speed and technique in boxing.
P.s he had beaten leon spinks in a rematch!
spydurr 7 months ago
@dahaka13616 lick my shit boy watch Ali fight holmes, berbick, and spinks. He was good but by no means the best ever
whitedeviltx 7 months ago
@whitedeviltx Ali was at the end of his career and was in the worst shape of his career. Watch Ali vs. Cleveland Williams, Sonny Liston, and Ernie Terell. You'd be ignorant to say he wasn't one of the top five greatest fighters of all time.
AndrewJHatcher 7 months ago in playlist Boxing
his parkinsons really showed in this fight, this was just not the muhammad ali he used to be before.
MrDbz4ever 7 months ago
Ali was acting like a clown. lol
hawkermustang 7 months ago
This is more like a spar then a fight. During round 2 there were so many times when Holmes could have stuck his left jabs on Ali's face and Ali wasn't even blocking him. It's like Holmes was saying "look, see, you missed this one, and this one, and this one."
I wish Ali would have quit after The Rumble in The Jungle, maybe he would have never gotten sick and he would have gone out with a beautiful huge BANG.
addadiktome 8 months ago
Holmes showed a lot of heart and empathy to not destroy Ali. He could have annhialated him if he wanted. He showed a lot of respect and people should show him respect for that
genericgeorge 8 months ago
Ali said after the holmes fight. holmes went into his dressing room and apologized and told him he loved him his mentor. Ali- responded if you love me so much why the hell did you beat me up like that? hahaha ali humor.
veeseee128 8 months ago
if this was the muhammad ali of 71-75 berbick wouldnt have a snow balls chance in hell of winning.
if this was the ali of 64-67 berbick would have a better chance of winning the lottery than beating a prime ali.
ali beat the whtieman at his own game, the first and only black man byhimself to stand up to the Us government for his rights.
veeseee128 8 months ago
@veeseee128 yeah he stood up to the government and they didnt let him fight for 4 yrs for what should have been his prime.not a good career move to screw with the feds.
btflash55 8 months ago
@btflash55 wht ever white boy what ever.
veeseee128 8 months ago
@veeseee128 hmmmm, can you say racist? lol
btflash55 8 months ago
@veeseee128 btw, what is spelled 'what" not wht!
btflash55 8 months ago
@veeseee128 Jack Johnson did some ballsier things than Ali did. White people went crazy because of Jack Johnson.
AndrewJHatcher 7 months ago
Ali didnt have it any more, he knew it , cossell knew we the fans knew it but we didnt want to believe the greatest had run his coarse and was finished. i was disapointed to see ali lose this fight and to berbick a year later. ali was boxing and boxing was ali. there will never be a heavy weight in my lifetime that is fast or as charismatic as muhammad. ali went on to do decon roach commercials and mde millions off that. he was my favorite boxer when i was a kid and still is.
veeseee128 8 months ago
Was Ali hoping for a rope-a-dope?
Jadervason 8 months ago
wrong fight for both boxers
BOXINGFANFAN 9 months ago
Ali looked so old. His balance is awful, which is why he never had to confidence to let his hands go. If I had been Holmes I would have been begging the ref and Ali's corner to stop the fight after the 3rd. It was clear Ali had no chance of even surviving.
FSMNoodlyAppendage 9 months ago
I wonder what made Cosell think that Ali's right hand could do anything at all to hurt Holmes. Ali didn't really have any power at all, in either hand. It was a pretty rare sight to witness Ali hurting anyone, let alone knocking them out.
FSMNoodlyAppendage 9 months ago
Nice to know even back then boxing commentators had a habbit of shitting all over new talent
Denver1928 10 months ago
Both great fighters
googleme19802000 10 months ago
Prime Ali would destroy prime Holmes. 60s Ali had a combination of incredible speed, incredible hand speed and very good power. Holmes fought a 40 year old Ali that had first signs of P. Syndrome, Ali must have thrown like 15 punches all fight. Holmes could still not knock out Ali how do you think he would fare against 60s Ali? Holmes would get destroyed in a lopsided 15 round decision.
vladiator100 10 months ago
verry said for Ali,i dont watch
wiseguysdeniro 11 months ago
wow what a fight it would of been. Holmes IN HIS PRIME, Ali IN HIS PRIME. Far more interesting and entertaining than anything an Ali - Tyson fight could of mustered.
CHEESYhairyGASH 11 months ago
larry had a killer jab
canadaguy2112ca 11 months ago
Holmes was a more complete fighter than Ali, If both were in their prime I believe the outcome would have been similar
whitedeviltx 1 year ago
@whitedeviltx are u serious? haha what a retard
tiopira5 11 months ago
@tiopira5 You sir are the retard Ali was waaaaaaay overrated he lost to pussies like Berbick and and Spinks and Norton and Frazier werent exactly world beaters they were one dimansional and overrated as well. Larry Holmes was the greatest hw ever
whitedeviltx 11 months ago
@whitedeviltx lol retards these days
tiopira5 11 months ago
@tiopira5 Its funny that a little pussy ass faggot lookin little bitch like you would talk shit, but I garuntee if this wasnt a fuckin trolling contest online your faggot ass would keep your bitch mouth shut. By the way I at least had an intelligent satement you on the other hand look like a complete moron who doesnt know a goddamn thing about boxing, you must have just watched the Ali movie and since you have such a crush on Will Smith you figure Ali must be the greatest, so fuck off pussy
whitedeviltx 11 months ago
@whitedeviltx psshhh you would sasy that to my face you jealous cunt ill kick your fuckin head in boy fuck you! you dont know me bitch
tiopira5 11 months ago
@tiopira5 I may not know you but I can look at you and tell your a pussy
whitedeviltx 11 months ago
@whitedeviltx you wouldnt say that to my face ill fuck you up bitch have you even been in a boxing ring before? hha think you know what your talking about aey bitch pleaze
tiopira5 11 months ago
@tiopira5 yeah lopez gym in baytown tx for thirteen years
whitedeviltx 11 months ago
ali should have already retired. its jus sad watching this.
bobbylloyd1210 1 year ago
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type PRIZE before youtube and hit enter
VitamanMe 1 year ago
Ali looked like complete garbage in this fight. Fighting at 38, he was as shell of his former phenomenal self. Sad part is, a young Holmes relished this victory.
TheSaienTV 1 year ago
@TheSaienTV he did relish this victory and it was very sad indeed. You just have to take in to consideration that Holmes acted as one of Ali's many sparring partners, providing Ali with priceless preparatory fighting practice. Holmes spent a long time looking up at ali from afar (behind hundreds of journalists) whilst the greatest era of heavy weight boxing was in full throttle, with Ali running the show. This fight provided the one brief moment where their positions were reversed - sort of.
CHEESYhairyGASH 11 months ago
I think Larry Holmes loved Ali and didn't want to hurt him nut he was like i'll be damned if I lose to this Old man and lose my respect for myself .
4real313 1 year ago
@4real313 Right
altohart 1 year ago
@altohart I mean't but
4real313 1 year ago
Commentators get on my nerves. They assume too much and take away from everything.
athathoth01 1 year ago
I remember watching as a ten year old and crying. Ali looked 49 years old, this fight should NEVER have happened. As much as these guys want to continue fighting, it's the leeches who want to bleed these guys for everything they can, who make these fights happen.
73dodge 1 year ago
@73dodge Ali had a medical at the Mayo Clinic before the Holmes fight. The doctors found that Ali had a hole in his brain, his speech was slurred and he had tingling in his hands. However Don King withheld the report so that the fight with Holmes would go ahead. A shameful thing for Don King to do, even if Ali said he wants to fight there's still a responsibility on the promoters. King made millions from the fight and will go to his grave a rich man from all the fighters he took advantage of.
rofldinho 1 year ago
Im not a big Ali guy and watching this cracks me up
whitedeviltx 1 year ago
Sad the way he went out should have retired wayyyyyy before this fight
HipHopHead5611 1 year ago
I think once Ali started taking punches from Holmes he figured he had no shot and went into a Defensive Mode
FRSFreeStateNow 1 year ago
he said get up on em lmfao man
hotblk100 1 year ago
ITS A 20 FOOT RING BIG RING COOOLIN 1980
hotblk100 1 year ago
WIN OR LOSE ALI IS FOREVER IS..''THE GreatesTest'' forever
ghettoshadow111 1 year ago
People keep talking about Ali being faded and not in his prime. Ali was BEYOND FADED in this fight. If a state athletic commision had tested him they would have banned him from boxing. He couldn't even go jogging his legs were so far gone. This is not a faded Ali, this is just not Ali. Holmes is hitting a punching bag, all he can do is roll his shoulders and parry shots and stop Holmes from landing flush. This isn't a fight.
bpatrice49 1 year ago
At 2:32 it's clear Alli has no chance whatsoever and he should not have been cleared to fight.
He's looking for his go-to move - the pull counter over LH's jab. And he can't get off even though the opening was there. From that moment on, the fight is over.
ph1484 1 year ago
Ali barely was able to balance. He landed his only good punch at 2:38 of the First Round.
timberwolves100 1 year ago
It's sad to say that this Ali and the Ali from the Spinks fight would give any heavyweight a hell of a fight these days.
sparkz2112 1 year ago
@sparkz2112 This Ali would lose to every top 10 heavyweight today. He can't throw punches. He is finished. This is a savage spectacle. Ali is a punching bag, still savvy enough to not be knocked out, nothing else.
bpatrice49 1 year ago
It's sad to watch this every time I look at it....Ali wouldve most likely lost anyway, but I wish he didn't those damn thyroid pills........Even the 78 version of Ali who beat Spinks would have made this a very competitive fight.......
dreman1970 1 year ago
Tears still come to my eyes when I see this, people say angelo dundee cared for ali thats why he stopped the fight, if angelo really cared for ali he would have never let the fight happen.
XavierMarciano 1 year ago
@XavierMarciano it wasnt his choice, ali was gonna fight no matter who said not to, unless it was Herbert, and Herbert always let Ali be put in danger and taken advantage of, he is to blame more than Dundee.
sparkz2112 1 year ago
if larry holmes name was klitchsko americans would be moaning about the fight being boring
siwooot 1 year ago
are you talking about this specific fight or Larry Holmes in general as a fighter? We americans complained plenty about both at the time. Over time, most did come to respect Holmes as a fighter. He did hold the title for about 6/7 years which is an accomplishment. This fight over time, however, still is what it is. A bad mismatch.
robbyled 1 year ago
R.I.P Richard Green who refereed the fight, Kim's death was just too much for you to bear after the Mancini fight.
NotAnAmericanIdiot2 1 year ago
Ali's strategy was to not throw punches?
roryslosh 1 year ago
dunno y ali fought again after this :|
meathookd 1 year ago
@meathookd
Money
JohnFromSpace 1 year ago
ali never looked good in a fight since the thrilla in minilla in 1975. i think holmes in his prime wud have a good chance of beating ali from 1976 to 1978. before manilla i reckon ali would have beaten holmes. the 60,s prime ali would have made holmes look silly like he did every other fighter he faced then!
scampbell777 1 year ago
It What not about the age, absolutely no, It was about the parkinson.
poiquilotermo 1 year ago
Holmes used to be Ali's sparring partner and it looks like a sparring session. Holmes said that after the first round he knew that Ali had nothing left and so he carried Ali, quite possibly out of respect and also to give everyone a good show!
anthonycrystal33 1 year ago
@anthonycrystal33
He beat Ali up pretty bad but I think he could of killed him in 1 round. This was nothing like Dela Hoya Vs Chavez
Respect to Holmes Ali should managed his money more wisely
JohnFromSpace 1 year ago
Ali certainly went too far with his criticisms of Frazier, and he later apologized to Joe and his family. As for the Holmes fight, Ali was like most fighters as they age... he stayed too long. A shell of his former self.
To those that say Holmes took it easy, I disagree. Larry TRIED to hurt Ali early in the fight BUT, the one thing that Ali still had going for him was his CHIN. NOONE could take a punch as good as Muhammad. He took punishment like no other.
eugenemcgirt 1 year ago
علي محمد هو أعظم ملاكم من أي وقت مضى ، وهو مسلم.
alterun 1 year ago
For all of the people with the ignorant comments towards Ali. He just discovered he had Alheizemers
LilHoward3000 1 year ago
1st time I've ever seen this fight and I'm amazed. This is the shadow of the man we used to call "The Greatest!" He's slow, no foot work, little to no headmovement...no sharp jabs etc. I can't believe how much he declined at this point. You can't beat age!
jasonc8824 1 year ago
Ali should have retired after the Thrilla in Manila, or maybe even after beating Foreman.
zenmachinefilms 1 year ago
It was Alis antics and his racist attacks on Joe Frazier calling him a monkey that made me feel no sadness at all for this ass kicking.
Good riddance!
shire2005 1 year ago 2
How did Ali pass his physical? He's obviously not right. Sure he has some of his old skills, but not enough...and his mental state is definitely in question. I would love to see a 1980 Holmes vs a 1970 Ali. Larry himself later fell victim the same way vs. Mike Tyson. Again, a great match in some alternate timeline.
iangoblin71 1 year ago
ALi looked like he was trying to rope a dope Holmes and Holmes wasn't getting sucked into it. LOL at the Sasson logo on Holmes's shorts!
thunderstruck665 1 year ago
I just don't understand why Ali didn't really even through a puch :( anyone explain why as boxer would do that?
LewisDre4m 1 year ago
@LewisDre4m The day after the fight, I think I remember Ali saying that he dehydrated himself too much before the fight. He said dehydration was also the reason he couldn't perspire.
SeisanStnc 1 year ago
jones vs hopkins dis weekend could be similar to dis fight i hope not cuz im a roy jones fan
catucker2 1 year ago
I would regard Holmes as one of the best heavyweights in the history of boxing. 'A bold statement, I know. But, I believe that he's far too underrated. And his handspeed coupled with agility is something to behold.
soulinthewall77 2 years ago
agreed, it was unfortunate for Holmes that his reign was between Ali and Tyson. He was 48-0 at one point and had the 2nd most consecutive defenses after Joe Louis. Overlooked but the serious boxing fans know how good he was. Its sad to see Ali in this fight though.
panthershock 1 year ago
I know I'm spamming but, people, this is an issue; sports are all about "fair game" and sportsmanship right? The ring temperature needs to be fixed.
Admitedly, a lot of Russian fighters are dominating the heavies these days, but fuck man that is only because American heavies are so unfit.
Need to beat a Russian guy? Just tire them out and let the heat do its work.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
lol , those cheap russians need to be in a super heavyweight division
when do u see ?? heavyweights fight middile weights ? never
these tall clones need to fight someone there own size
heavyweight will always be the classic weight class becuz everyone is around that size , vitali needs to face the fact the boxing commision feel sbad for him
blackoil911 2 years ago
Personally, you have to give some respect to the Klitchkos for not abusing their size; most big dudes have a tendency to also figuratively look down on their opponents thinking "oh, that smaller guy can't hurt me." The Klitchkos don't do that; they're more careful.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
I agree though they're boring as hell to watch; they fight like robots.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
@pillsburydoughboy47 yEAH THERES SO MANYEASTERN EUROPEANS DOMINATING NOWADAYS
MO7dt 2 years ago
I insist; the only reason hispanic fighters can hang with black dudes in the ring, but white guys can't, is rooted in the temperature. Italians, dominated in boxing way back when, because they were the only white people who came from a country with extreme heat. Heat exhaustion may have been what undid Jess Willard, by contrast Dempsey? He was small and thin (relative to willard), his body could take the heat.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
sorry for over posting, but sports types are stupid; making ideas about "racial universality" dude, while we are all human beings, different ethnicities were built for different weather. In these kinds of ring conditions, blacks, hispanics, and in the past Italians, had an unfair edge in the ring.
How do we know heat exhaustion on the part of his white opponents for example, didn't help Marciano?
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
fuck man, fighting in those conditions, I think a white guy would collapse from heat exhaustion and get a heat stroke by round 5, the only reason Ali and Holmes didn't fall, is because they're black. Their bodies can take that kind of heat.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
to give all ethnic groups a chance at the sport, boxing should probably also fix the heat requirement.
"heatless" lights or something, I don't know.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
never pick a fight with a black dude in the summer time man...
if you need to fight a black dude, do it when its cold out.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
from my own experiences in high school, whenever I got into fights, white guys are deadly as hell in winter time, but in the summer? damned pushovers; the heat seriously slows them down.
maybe that's the reason Belisarius massacred so many germanic types; they were like fish out of water.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
2:15 - 2:25
that is part of the reason why boxing's dominant champions, all tended to be black, hispanic, or Italian, all ethnicities that can handle extreme heat.
Rocky Marciano's Italian heritage may have in fact helped him a bit.
pillsburydoughboy47 2 years ago
Ali was old in this fight. Had signs of parkinsons disease. Larry aint that good, he didnt ko a guy who is old and suffering from parkinsons
stricep 2 years ago
I think Chuvalo had a better chin than Ali.
capablemachine 2 years ago
man, ali got his ass whipped tha whole damn fight! he was talkin all kind of shit, but still got his ass beat. he should've known better, cuz look at him now since that shit happened!
MrMisalanyus 2 years ago
So sad to see. But hey, there's no room for sympathy in the man's game of boxing, and it happens to everyone. Holmes vs Tyson being the perfect illustration.
MutteringUrchin 2 years ago
Comment removed
ImAnExelenteDriver1 2 years ago
It's just amazing to watch the difference in Ali. Completely different style of boxing, for obvious reasons. I feel bad for Holmes: he was in a no win situation. Ali beats him, then "he never had it". He beats Ali, "he was beating up an old man." So what can you do? Larry had no choice but to go in there and take him out, just like he did. That's his job as HW champ. But yeah, Ali looks amazingly different here. I wish it had never happened.
greenfruitface 2 years ago
It was a tough act to follow. Ali had a special charisma and was a legend.
Had Larry come along at another time he would have been more appreciated. His skills and title reign deserves to be among the best heavys to ever fight.
ExplosiveThinMan 2 years ago
After the 1st RD you knew Ali was in for a long night.
ErikS1975FreeState 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
ali 17 years or so after winning the title. I don't think he would have stood a chance against holmes at his peak and saying he was "shot" or whatever makes no difference. ali 17 years on after first winning the title was "shot" but tyson 17 years or so later losing to lewis was "exposed"...the hypocrisy of ali fans is amazing.
ali loses to holmes each time. this is based on scientifics children nothing more.
TheArif01 2 years ago
Could be that Ali is already with Parkinson?
gempf 2 years ago
The student dismantling his teacher....
onlyjoetee 2 years ago
Ironic that Cosell talked about Holmes being lazy with a jab. Now he's looked at as having the best jab in heavyweight history.
Antrizzle2009 2 years ago
lookin at this fight, holmes is lucky that ALI wasnt in his prime
nevawrong 2 years ago
Holmes didn't even try. He could have easily have knocked him down or out. Poor Ali was just to old. Holmes was his sparring partner for Foreman and was literally beating him up in the sessions.
longtalltexan63 2 years ago
Ali knew how old he was when he took the fight, he got what he deserved, fighting a champ in his prime... Holmes took it easy on him, showed Ali far too much respect all fight. Should have been all over in three rounds
18RandyAndy 2 years ago 2
i agree,
im just sayin that if HOLMES was fighting ALI in his prime, or even the ALI who fought FOREMAN in 1974, ALI wouldve beat him.
& i dont see where HOLMES took it easy on him, lol lol
HOLMES tried to kill him, & thats why the fight was stopped.
yet ALI still didnt get dropped.
nevawrong 2 years ago
Yea, it's funny. You don't hear many people talk about what a good jaw Ali had. He took tremendous shots that most could not have taken.
longtalltexan63 2 years ago
It's quite obvious Larry took it easy on Ali. Larry is stronger and faster than Ali in this fight. Larry had a lot of respect for Ali and didn't want to destroy him. He even went into Ali's dressing room later and said "I love you man" and Ali replied "Then why'd you beat me up like that?" And I disagree with your statement about 74 Ali beating Holmes. Foreman missed out on weeks of training cause of his eye. Had he been in better shape Ali's rope a dope may not have worked...
upthera5 2 years ago
I dont think Ali from the 70s could beat Holmes. It would be a good fight but Larry was sharper.
Ali from the 60s I would favor because of his footspeed and non stop movement.
ExplosiveThinMan 2 years ago
nah. Ali that fought frazier in manila would have beat holmes. There wasn't a fighter as tough and that wanted as bad as frazier because of the talk and what ali put him through., and look what he done to fraziers face.
SA2137 2 years ago
Styles make fights though.
Holmes isnt going to walk forward into Ali`s punches to get to the body.
Larry was a standup classic boxer like Ali. Except he had a stronger jab and a more potent rightcross. Technically he was more sound than Ali who distained fundlementals.
ExplosiveThinMan 2 years ago
@ExplosiveThinMan Styles do make fights, but this is 39-year-old Ali in the beginning stages of Parkinson's. I'd argue that Ali in his prime would have beaten Holmes in his prime 7 or 8 out of 10 times, but you certainly can't tell anything from this fight because it was a crime that Ali was even allowed in the ring.
altohart 2 years ago 27
I agree Ali was shot.
The thing that makes me like Holmes chances is that he could jab with and most likley outjab Ali. If Ali couldnt control the fight with his jab he becomes very beatable. Kenny Norton was able to do this in 3 fights.
ExplosiveThinMan 2 years ago 6
@altohart:
You said it all.
tw69hands2 1 year ago
@altohart fully agree !
leonCraft 1 year ago
@altohart Ali in his his prime could beat anyone and it wasn't the first stages of Parkinson's that kept Ali from dominating lol it's funny that I just said that like Ali was close to dominating in this fight but people don't know. Ali had kidney problems before this fight, he took Thyroid pills, well he overtook Thyroid pills which are bad for your heath. He had Kidney problems and he he had a brain disease I forgot the name of it though, but Ali was not in shape at all.
4real313 1 year ago
Holmes isnt going to stick his face out there like Frazier did. You have a totally differerent kind of fighter.
Holmes was 6-3 with an 80 inch reach and one of the best jabs in history.
Frazier was a 5-11 hooker who needed to get inside to be effective.
ExplosiveThinMan 2 years ago 2
did frazier charge by the hour?
natureboyinyourface 2 years ago 2
It's sad watching Ali be flat footed.....Same thing happened to Ray Leonard when he fought Camacho.
longtalltexan63 2 years ago
yep!
nevawrong 2 years ago
ali showed the heart of a fighter, its all he knew, all he wanted to do, give him a break. untill you know what its like to be in his shoes dont judge. he got what he deserved? no. he was just not the same any more and got beat.
nutsack666 2 years ago
Hard to believe this was only 6 years after Ali beat Foreman.
mmcneil777 2 years ago
But six years is an eternity in the boxing world. Let's say you go from 25 to 31...that's a huge difference in boxing.
longtalltexan63 2 years ago
its actually hard to watch this fight, why this fight was allowed to take place ill never know, ali could hardly walk
ArmyBargains88 2 years ago
You are sooooo right. Dundee should have said "Champ, we had a good run, but I will not let you do this."
longtalltexan63 2 years ago
but ROCKY BALBOA came back to fight at an old age
nevawrong 2 years ago
i can't believe Ali fought Trevor Berbick AFTER this fight. the boxing comission should've taken his boxing license away. all about money, his name brought in millions for the sport. evil and they should be embarassed. as they should be embarassed for letting Holyfield still fight, not as bad as Ali, but definitely has issues with his speech.
dregonomik 2 years ago
Whatever the reason or more likely the reasons, Ali no longer had the speed nor the strength. That was probably a combination of age, drugs, illness, and who knows what else. The record of Holmes shows he was a good heavy, but I doubt in the class of Ali in his prime.
brianoh99 2 years ago
Ali cannot walk in this fight let alone box the prime heavyweight champion of the world. Matchmaking at its ugliest.
bpatrice49 2 years ago 3
Ali and Holmes should have stopped fighting and kicked Don King's ass.
eazyegee 2 years ago 3
LMAO!!!!
boarding5401 2 years ago
Holmes did him a favour. Larry could have kod him in the first. Larry was greatest HW of all and still is.
davisreardon 2 years ago
ahhahahaah fucking ignorant motherfucker. ali 66 would rape holmes,his mother and your fucking mother in the same night.
fuck holmes !!! tyson destroyed his fucking ass lol!!!
consta4891 2 years ago
Ali looks like a middleweight here...
Matijaco 2 years ago
was ali under contract to take these last fights?
engnca 2 years ago
Holmes is being uber-cautious through the first 3, if he turned up the heat on Ali, it would'v ended much earlier-
Mp25DIII 2 years ago
muhammad ali would kill any heavyweight in his prime. especially this ugly fool larry holmes ali would have larry doing so many 360s he would quit
WEBB187 2 years ago 4
Holmes was in the best shape of his career in this fight. After the first round, Ali stated he couldn't beat Holmes. Now I was rooting for Holmes and I state this as a non-partial statement: Ali was on powerful drugs to treat a thyroid condition and it zapped his strength. This is a fact! As much as I wanted Ali to lose, I must acknowledge this. I had read that Ali's confidants wanting to cancel the fight because of the drugs affecting him in training camp.
Acronym77 2 years ago
this is horrible it looked like ali was going to fall over be4 the fight even started
Boxingkid15 2 years ago 3
He did. He said afterwards that between Rounds 1 and 2 he knew that by wasting all his time just losing weight, he'd drained his body of what little life remained. If only Ali, and a whole load of boxers, knew when to say when.
bluemonkjd 2 years ago
I can see what Ali is doing... trying to tire out Holmes but he is not really falling for it. Not really exerting energy into his jabs...
xTnT87 2 years ago
Mohamed Ali is champ for ever, no one will come like him. he is the only ONE. love love Ali
gmaaill 2 years ago 5