Interview with Muhammad Ali before his last fight with Leon Spinks II 1978

[Bhhsboy1]

should've have retired way before this

[Quinty5555]

@Netertaat i'm sorry to tell you but "they" did destroy him, and the fact that he was allowed to continue fighting when he was SO OBVIOUSLY brain-damaged from fighting is a crime. he had to live the second half of his life as a shell of himself-- should be a serious wake-up call to boxers and fans of boxing.

[mikeiron]

do yall think that ali knew himself he had parkinson at this point ?

[putative3]

I saw Ali at his training camp in August 78. He put o a great show for the media with no sign of anything wrong. Also did three sets of three rounds with three different sparring partners as well as skipping and shadow boxing. A real gent told everyone if they needed anything to go to his house and to help themselves.I still treasure the color slides of this visit!

[crowley0312]

Does anyone know why Ali fought Berbick? It's a shame he did, that's a meaningless loss on his record.

[1LEXUS1LFA1]

ALI!!! BOOOMAYEE!!!

[Murphs56]

I think the first signs of the Parkinson's started coming after 1974...He was completely on point in the lead up to the Foreman fight, but after that fight it seemed he was a bit slower

[KleWdSide]

I wonder if people saw this at the time & wondered why he's so laid back here...

[yesterday150]

this was not alis last fight

[billy0135]

@ImKoolWithThis Do you have a time-machine?

[ImKoolWithThis]

If he retard after Thrilla in Manila would he still have parkinsons?

[pryroAsain]

@ImKoolWithThis no, very unlikely because if he retired then he wouldn't have been hit so many times and he would've received less damage to his brain. If only only he had retired 5 years earlier than he did.

[ImKoolWithThis]

@pryroAsain Sorry I said retard what I meant was retired. And I agree with you.

[smallpotatoes989]

@pryroAsain but he still did not look all that good here before this fight man? he had to have some damage before this fight?

[pryroAsain]

@smallpotatoes989 he had it before this fight but he was in an early stage.

[Blaze187Killa]

@smallpotatoes989 the final joe fraiser fight should have been his last but he carried on

[chris33y]

_he said "AFTER I WHOOP THIS MAN & GIVE HIM A TITTLE BACK" ill relax & sit back ! hahaha UP MOST RESPECT FROM ME TO YOU ALI !

[PacoZola]

Its really strange when he obviously suffers from brain damage but still was able to react and absurb punches from his opponents

[cozmic24]

i think he said i am not tired eventhough it seem that way because he want people to come the fight

[kamagong78]

Ali couldn't joke around like in other younger interviews.

[aitraining]

1:00 "you seem almost tired..." Howard Cosell who interviewed him 100 times could tell Ali wasn't right. Ali won the fight, but u can c the difference in his speaking here from just a few yrs before.

[mikeiron]

@aitraining i realy agree, these 2 was friends long before this interview. he knew som was wrong

[zerkrxagent]

i become sad when i watch all of ali vids over time i start to cry...what Parkinson does to a man...to a legend...

[eazyaz123]

damn this is 1978 and the parkinson interview was what '71? such a difference in just 7 years its hard to watch.

[Atomicflash500]

he has White blood in him.

[TAZZDAZZ69ER]

@Atomicflash500 why do u say that, that has nothin to fukn to with this video u sick fuck.

[HellsHighwayTrooper]

This wasn't his last fight.

[Handgun777]

@HellsHighwayTrooper He thought this one would be his last but he did 2 more (or 1 more if i recall correctly).

[HellsHighwayTrooper]

@Handgun777 Ok..

[PepperWhite62]

Sadly this wasn't his last fight. It should have been, but I believe his ex wives still had their hands out and kept him in the game longer than he should. His current wife is in my opinion a great woman who really loves him for him. May God Bless them both. LONG LIVE THE KING!

[ThirdWaySociety]

It shows how weak Ali's era was that even with Parkinsons he could actually win back a Heavyweight title. Of course with a complete zero and bum like Spinks, it probably wasnt that hard. The Ali here would been eaten alive by the Klitschkos.

Then again, any of their title challengers would eat him alive as well. Arreola, Sam Peter, Thompson, Chambers, Byrd, Ibragimov, Chagaev. Any of them.

[MrLukedanger]

@ThirdWaySociety weak era!?!! george chuvalo, oscar bonavena, floyd paterson, ken norton, frazier, foreman, jerry quarry, ellis, ron lyle, ernie terrel, archie moore, shavers, holmes, spinks, are you out of your fucking mind weak era its the greatest era of heavyweight boxing.

[westfielder]

@ThirdWaySociety ali would have been eaten alive by the klitschko's

i hope you mean when he had parkinsons and not in his prime. because if you do mean during his prime, your obviously a little bit retarded and i feel sorry for you

[MrRhodri80]

@ThirdWaySociety Hi mr troll.

[DrJReefer]

@ThirdWaySociety I often wondered if he dropped the title to spinks on purpose because he knew he had the rematch clause and could win it back as he pleased.

[Netertaat]

they can never destroy this man!

[danadana77]

we all know that Ali is a Saint who can do no wrong ??????

[expressivechild]

His speech is clearly distorted at this point. He should have retired after Thrilla in Manila. He would retire with an intact legacy after all. If not, he definitely should retire after the Spinks II.

[ItsJuuulBitches]

At that time, did they already know he had that disease or were there just speculations?

[beckware]

i love that guy

[HSVIRK]

bullshit that people claim they could see the effects of parkinsons at this time, that's called age we slow with age....

the real evidence of his degeneration came when he failed his medical before the Holmes fight and hence he should have never fought....

even if he hadn't fought holmes or berbick, there's no evidence to suggest that his condition wouldn't have deteriorated as such...

[pearcemark2]

@HSVIRK Dude, are you dense? 35 year olds don't sit there, staring into space, taking 40 seconds struggling to spit out a single sentence.

Look at Bernard Hopkins. Watch a Bernard Hopkins interview from 94, and watch one from today. He's the same fucking guy. Because he wasn't hit in the head 40,000 times by gigantic heavyweights. He actually used defense and smarts to win, and because of it he's able to think and react quickly like a normal person who isn't beaten half to death.

[HSVIRK]

@pearcemark2 hindsights a wonderful thing.... he wasn't slurring his speech to an extent that made it obvious... it's easy to map out the plot when you already know the ending....

[pearcemark2]

@HSVIRK Well no shit, fuckhead. What are we supposed to do, pretend we live in 1978 and not comment on the BLATANT degeneration he's gone through?

You really are retarded.

[HSVIRK]

@pearcemark2 lol.... never been called a retarded fuckhead before, the point is people view the footage with the intention of seeing the signs of his parkinsons, as if he was the only the person who didn't realise that he was slowing down... that's retarded.

[wiseguysdeniro]

when he had parkinson in witch year begins?

[danadana77]

THR FIRST FIGHT was fixed. i guess that makes him as bad as liston

[s1ghandnod]

@danadana77 no it wasnt

[Handgun777]

@danadana77 Ali is NOT a cheater! he hates cheating you fool!

[jrsanti]

@Handgun777 ali cheated. He introduced Veronica Porche as his wife while he was married to Belinda. He's not a prophet or God. He's just human.

[Handgun777]

@jrsanti you just an Uncle Tom! In Islam it's legal to have like 8 wives,man! BUT Ali didn't like to have more than 1 women, except when he became REALLY in love with Veronica Porsche, Uncle Tom!

[cornflakeclusters]

@Handgun777 You can have up to four wives in Islam, not eight.

[Handgun777]

@cornflakeclusters I said an approximate,sir.

[Handgun777]

@cornflakeclusters [forgive my english, it is not my main language]

[qasy456]

@cornflakeclusters bro you sould just stick to one forget four, a doubt many people can look after one wife.. dont take it to the heart just saying its better of sticking to one

[cornflakeclusters]

@qasy456 I'm not a Muslim.

[qasy456]

@cornflakeclusters You may not be Muslim but am just correcting you, you are allowed to have up to four wifes at once in islam as you have said but only if the husband can look after all, most people can't look after one never mind four. Just a friendly comment

[shiftslam]

@jrsanti ur a dik m8 ali has never said he is a prophet or god i hate people like u that twist shit i bet u are a jew or a trailer trash

[Firefightergtx1000]

The greatest of all time even though those times

[Wavecurve]

Planning a fight in that condition? How did no body notice that the man was slurring his words? The guy had to be tough, to fight 15 rounds with Parkinson's disease

[PUNISHERUltra]

Ali was given Parkinsons disease by the CIA.

[anwealde]

@PUNISHERUltra no, he was given Parkinsons by Joe Frazier

[vladiator100]

@anwealde Actually it was because he boxed a few too many years against too many boxers. Should have retired earlier than he did.

[nastylefthook1]

leon spinks should have kept his title,,,,ali should have been disqualified for excessive holding,,,two jabs and a grab and hold is not a championship effort,,ali did this for 15 rounds,,,,leon spinks was the champ not ali,,,no consideration should have been given to alis career or past,,,,,leon was the champ,,,

[fonzi0was0cool]

@nastylefthook1

nonsense...grabbing is a tactic of boxing.

[garethac81]

@fonzi0was0cool

Actually clinching is illegal, and persistent clinching is a DQ offense. Just because most referees are too lazy to admonish boxers for it doesn't mean that it's allowed.

[s1ghandnod]

@garethac81 in fact, that DOES mean its allowed

[garethac81]

@s1ghandnod

Clinching IS illegal, but most referees do not penalise it unless a boxer takes it to an extreme. Example: Tyson-Bruno II. Bruno held on for dear life for 3 rounds, and referee Mills Lane warned him he would be "disqualified for holding" moments before Tyson put him out of his misery. Also, see Lewis-Akinwande. Akinwande grabbed and grabbed and grabbed...then the ref DQ'd him.

Seriously, you didn't know clinching was a foul? How long have you been watching boxing???

[garethac81]

@s1ghandnod

It goes without saying that allowing fighters to clinch at all is poor refereeing. It is illegal, it is a stalling tactic, and it should have no place in a boxing ring. If every referee issued warnings IMMEDIATELY when a fighter starts clinching - and weren't afraid to follow those warnings with swift point deductions - the quality of boxing matches across the globe would drastically improve. No fighter wants to lose points or get DQ'd...and no audience wants to see them grabbing.

[irfanulhaq1]

hes got parkinsons here and he still whoopoed spinks ass

[SonOfSparda501]

@irfanulhaq1 I thought he was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome in 1984....

[bigdBrazilian]

Yes its upsetin how th edisease was kickin in .. but hey ALI SOUNDED SO CONFIDENT DETERMINED OF WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN THE MAN WAS A LION THE MAN WAS A WARRIOR PERIOD !!! ALI THE GREATEST O FALL TIME EVEN THO PACQUIAO IS ALSO IN THIS CATEGORY .

[thegoodemon]

Yeah. Parkinson's def started taking in.

[DDixon1000]

Well once again I am African American and the only white women I have seen with you young brothers are crack heads. Again your younger generation is pathetic. You were your pants below your ass not realizing it's a representation of being a jailhouse fag, sell crack, raise your kids on welfare because your too lazy to get a job or an education, and when you riot you burn down your own neighborhoods. Your generation has set back the African American race decades. You can't even spell!

[2010MujahidBoxing]

Shud have retired afta the foreman fight, i guess he wanted one last crack out his title

[Cosmictalk]

Parkinsons had to take him over or else he'd still be trying to fight today. Especially since foreman came back!!

[DDixon1000]

Abused him? The fool made millions on the idea that he was tough. In reality when the real fight came he hid like a bitch. Clay is nothing but a coward end of story!

[TheRealness180]

@DDixon1000 lol white boy jealous of the black/hispanic man once again.ur just upset because every sport is dominated by black/hispanics.

[DDixon1000]

@TheRealness180 Once again the younger dumber jailhouse fag generation thinks they know what they are talking about. The name is Dave Dixon and I have been an African American male my entire life. The problem is you, the younger generation, think that cowardess, wearing your pants around your ass like jailhouse fags, not taking care of your kids, and collecting welfare as a job is the proper way of life.

[TheRealness180]

@DDixon1000 aint nobody named dixon is a black man.n wat does wat ur saying have to do wit hispanic/black dominating every sport?

[DDixon1000]

@TheRealness180 If you consider being a pawn on a multimillion dollar white sports owners team dominating then you are the one playing into the hands of the man. Black athletes are nothing but Sunday afternoon entertainment for the white community. You might as well put on a hat and dance with a monkey for those folks!

[TheRealness180]

@DDixon1000 Yeah we all know ur race are the devil that the bible speaks of,that why ya exploit black/hispanics talent.But still the point is we are physically stronger and more talented to than ur people are.I sense the envy that u have.But hey dont get mad that we are more stronger,faster,more talented,smarter and have more charisma than u devils.Ur own women even want us.Ur done DIckON lmao

[DDixon1000]

Keep stuttering you draft dodging coward! Ali was a piece of shit draft dodger who got what he deserved! If I ran into him I'd tip his wheelchair over lol!

[Frequent2001]

@DDixon1000 if you lived in those days as a black man and you were victim of prejudice all the time, in kentucky or anywhere else in the south, you wouldnt want to fight for the same fuckers who abused you and your people in the first time. You're the piece of shit here, simple minded idiot.

[peachey1986]

@DDixon1000 fuckin loser, bet ur a white coward, pussy

[oasis4ever92]

I will never say "poor Muhammed Ali". It is not what he would have wanted. He doesn't want sympathy, he has always faced "the impossible" and this is another battle he will fight on forever. Each day he lives is another acomplishment and another tag to add to his amazing character. He isn't feelling sorry for himself in my opinion.

Ali is one of the greatest humans to have ever lived. He will be recognised forever. His name will be spoken when children ask "who is that man" ALI's THE GREATEST

[bigD2387]

@oasis4ever92 he isn't feel sorry for himself and he dosen't want others to. he says, "don't feel sorry for me, i'm great". and as Earnie Shavers said, "He don't feel bad but the guys that fought him do because we see what he's going through."

[oasis4ever92]

@bigD2387 exactly...no one needs to feel sorry for him, he doesnt want it. i feel nothing but pride and admiration for the man...one of the greatest human beings in history

[bigD2387]

@oasis4ever92 you are right. although it is too bad that such a horrible thing had to happen to such a great person. i hate how some people say that joe frazier says, "god is punishing ali for all the embarasment he caused to other fighters." that's a bunch a crap. joe frazier actually had to wipe tears from his eyes in an interview about ali because he was talking about how he feels about ali having parkinsons.

[oasis4ever92]

@bigD2387 yeah. i dont think Joe has any real hate for Ali anymore. I think he did for a while, but Joe is a decent man and I think he's probably forgiven Muhammed. The twinkle in his eye is still there and always will be until the end.

[bigD2387]

@oasis4ever92 i think it'll be there too. but as you and i both said, Ali dosen't want people to feel sorry for him. although it may be sad. he said he has no reason to feel sorry. he also said that everyday is another accomplishment for him and that shows what a great man he is.

[bigmace1000]

parkinsons was starting...you can see it... Ali was the greatest !!!!!

[fancythathat]

Incredibly sad, difficult to watch

[alanblufc]

ali said before his fight with foreman he only had 1 year left but yet after foreman he bet frazier and fought for 11 more fights i just wish he retired sooner so we didnt have to see the greatest man ever to live a lfe he is living

[johnnycage2010]

ali had pugilistic parkinsons, so yes it was because of boxing.

[mjlover787]

mohammad ali, i love u. u are the greatest of lifetime. the Best ever!!

[MovieTributeArtist]

@mjlover787 its Mu not Mo..............

[sliat1981]

this wasn't his last he fough holmes and berbick aftetr this

[kevindlinc]

Hagler quit stuck up his middle finger and said fuck you very much!!! ripped off by the Sugar Man.

[bigslynhs]

he should have retired after the 3rd fight with Frazier!!

[imax1971]

He was a loud mouth trash talking SOB who dodged the draft and signed up with the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X... I'm glad Larry Holmes beat his ass in 1980....

[HsaniGuyy]

i wanna cry

[515sbest]

Ali's brother should be killed for letting his brother. A legend keep fighting this late in the game.. Instead of snappin all them pictures.. Suppose to be...

His Brother's Keeper.

[oncall21]

He has no voice, he has no expression. His ringside Doctor should be charged!

[jestrogooool]

Omg his talking began already to slow down! Sad to see the best fighter ever in this stage!

[BRICKTHROWA]

to say he doesnt know when to quit, is to say hes a legend... because true fighters dont quit.

[franky510]

True man, Ali had parkinsons but still beat Spinks. LEGEND!

[dumichauch0o]

that wasn't his fight, just the last he won

[itsagiantbong]

@dumichauch0o Last fight with Spinks. He had more than one.

[atlmycity2]

He had parkinsons then, you can tell

[parracatau]

@atlmycity2 you are right, i was about to say the same.. his speech pattern was damage by the..

[254OOPS]

Champion fighter champion liars best in the world.

[JammyFitzer]

"I'm just relaxed...Im not tired..." This was hard to watch..

[kris8144]

do you think he knew? or was he really oblivious to the fact something was changing in him? its a honest question im not being an ass, whats your opinion on it?

[JammyFitzer]

@kris8144 ....Hmmmm.... good question... I would of thought he still just about belived he was in the final stages of his new fighting style... the young ali was known for his ability to dodge a punch...Probably from about post fraizer 1 he prided himself on his ability to absorb punches... He must have known he was slowing down but his pride was obviously still quite strong...

[murphyman12345]

this guy will always be a fighter inspiration just now hes biggest fight is parkinsons: (

[MrRobman2009]

G.O.A.T. is nonetheless Ali

[dat3rdsideboy386]

@chestermolester33 wow what th fuck is wrong with you show some respect

[dknights411]

You can tell that Parkinsons disease was starting to take over his body by this point. His last two fight should never have happened.

[polos505]

This is why I think he is in very bad shape right now. I think the last two fight did huge damage to his brain and body.

[bcibibcibcpCB]

@dknights411 It think it was starting even way earlier. He was already over the hill when he Fought Frazier in Manila. And in that fight he sufferd severe damage. He couldn't talk anymore after the fight and he fainted. He should have quit a few easy fights after Foreman. That's what I would have done. If your an unorthodox boxer, not a big puncher, you shouldn't be in the ring after 32-33.

[208stroker1]

@dknights411 yer after spinx the second time thats when the gloves should have been hung up.!

[Monthagny]

@dknights411 testimony to the man he could fight hard 10 rounds with berbick with parkinsons disease.

[musicmatty67]

@dknights411 His last 2 fights should have never happened..but this fight, was one of his Best fights ever in my opinion..he was in his best shape to dance for 15rds and stick it to a youn lion.

[Alexltavares]

Ali was never the same after the "Thrilla in Manilla". Nor was Frazier for that matter. Ali said it was the closest thing he felt to death.

[4JayeP]

@Alexltavares If the fight wasn't stopped, there would have been a death in the ring (Frazier)

[lumpagogo]

Ali, in Spinks II, did the usual clutch-and-grab which he did not do in Spinks I. So, there was no "destroy"--lots of clutch-grab-jab-grab.

[ClubberLogan]

I agree he should have quit after that the Thrilla in Manilla all his fight after that were horrible jab and clinch affairs. and many observers felt he lost Jimmy Young but got the nod anyway.

[Tubularm8]

cheers :)

[Gardash111]

you can just feel the parkinson from the screen..

[JamieCFurbo]

yes his eyes,his voice,his enthusiasm has left him almost completly in this

maybe if he had left earlier he might not be so ill now i mean he is only 67 or 68 or something isnt he?

[bcibibcibcpCB]

He would have to stop a long time earlier to avoide his Parkinson. He should have quit after he knocked out George Foreman. Problem is with Ali that he had a very dangerous way of evoiding punches. He went back instead of slipping the punces. With his youthfull reflexes this worked perfectly. But when he got older he got clipped more and more. He was so though that he didn't go down and still won the fight but his brain had to absorbe punishment no man can bare.

[TOMFLAN12]

all u have to do is look at an interview from ali for the rumble in the jungle or for the thriller in manila and then u know ali's body has givin up on him...

[Gardash111]

but not his mind!

[veilside9]

did he win on his last match ?

[Kurgrim8000]

It would have been great, but no, he didn't.

[Tubularm8]

He lost his last match to Trevor Berbick, he lost this fight against Leon Spinks but he had a rematch and won :)

[pricean]

Poor Ali. Look at his eyes- they have lost all expression at this point of his career.

Its sad how no boxer knows when to quit before suffering permanent damage.

[tatojunco]

agee....

[Gardash111]

i think they just didnt know what was going on then

[jimmychuang]

His smile and fast talking all gone! But I think it's parkinsons disease, not because of boxing.

[apestaartje321]

@jimmychuang Its Parkinsons' syndrome, not disease. Brain damage from boxing.

[jimmychuang]

@apestaartje321 Its a disease. Many people surfer from it but dont have any brain damage. I know a muscian in my country, he has it.

[apestaartje321]

@jimmychuang You dont get it. There's Parkinson's disease, and there's Parkinsons SYNDROME. Parkinsons syndrome is when brain damage causes the same symptoms that you see in Parkinsons disease. Its two different things.

[jimmychuang]

I know what you said. Do you have proof? Because even brain damage did possible to cause parkinson syndrome. But there are more than 20 posibilities to cause it happen to a man. You cant say yes he is a boxer so it must be brain damage. Its only first impression when anyone heard about this story.

[apestaartje321]

@jimmychuang You kept saying disease so I figured you didnt know the difference. Your right, there can be other causes besides brain damage. But boxers are more susceptible to Parkinsons, so I dont think its a coincidence that Ali gets it after getting hit for more than 20 years.

Its like when someone gets lung cancer after chain smoking for 40 years. There can be other causes, but it was probably the cigarettes.

[jimmychuang]

@apestaartje321 just consider about how many percentage of boxers actually suffer from parkinsons then u get my point. brain damage is not the main cause in most cases. and also u have no proof. Ali has 60? matchs? lots of boxers have more than that in 1930 or in thai boxing, how many actually have parkinsons?

[bburl]

@pricean Naw, lots of boxers quit at the right time and stay quit . Michael Spinks, Buster Douglas, etc.

[TommyGun7111]

This is just his personality when he's not with the press. he's not always flamboyant.

[bronxbarbiedolla]

@TommyGun7111

Not with his PAL Cosell?! NAAaaaah

He was burnt out...more than tired....pushed his body too much because of his pride and he "didn't know nothing else" from 12 on....

False sense of "security" and his punched up brain were playing tricks with him.....caught up with him tragically but he was warned. He must weep looking at all this footage, but thank goodness he still writes... I miss the voice and vigor

[TommyGun7111]

@bronxbarbiedolla

yeah, he was probasbly tired, but seriously, he doesn't always act like a cocky idiot lol

[WayneYonke]

@bronxbarbiedolla You would think, right? But he has such strong faith in his convictions. I think he has really convinced himself he is doing the work of Allah, ministering to us all as a man who had it all, and stripped of his gifts, is living proof that we should all be happy for what we have everyday.

[anwealde]

@pricean they get the sense knocked out of them first

[teebee1984]

@pricean You can see it in the eyes. You are right. They had lost their twinkle by then.

[Coptic78]

@pricean

Exactly, Maby Cosell noticed here that something was deeply wrong with Alis health. If his supporters knwe it, Ali would have never been japardised to fight Norton in 1976, Jimmy Young or Eranie Shavers and Spinks....sad, so sad