Boxing

How Time Flies! It’s 60 Years Since The Famous Mohammad Ali- Sonny Liston Fight That Shaped Boxing –

Published

2 months ago

February 26, 2024

How Time Flies! It’s 60 Years Since The Famous Mohammad Ali- Sonny Liston Fight That Shaped Boxing -

Sunday, 25 February, marked 60 years since a 22-year-old named Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) defeated the favourite Sonny Liston, whom he had humiliated and beaten for the title of heavyweight champion.

On that day, “The Greatest” became a social icon, paving the way for a career that would make him one of the greatest boxers of all time.

It was no ordinary fight. It wasn’t just a boxing match. Young Cassius Clay upset the favourite Sonny Liston on 25 February 1964.

Within hours, he changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He declared war on one of the most powerful countries in the world, as AFP recalls.

He humiliated his opponent, took the heavyweight title and changed history from that day on. Last Sunday marked 60 years since that event.

Sports Illustrated named it one of the four most influential sporting events of the 20th century.

The American boxer, always arrogant and outspoken, was no longer just an image. He became a symbol of the fight against racism, especially in a powerful country whose society had always been racist towards blacks.

His strategy was always to attract attention and be the centre of attention; he achieved this with his eccentric personality, combined with immense talent, making him one of the greatest boxers in history.

Ali rose to stardom after other black boxers had succeeded: Floyd Patterson, always respected, and Sonny Liston himself, a boxer with a fearsome appearance and controlled by the dark side. They were world champions, like Ali himself. But they were not representative of what was to come.

Today marks 60 years since Ali defeated the ‘Ugly Bear’, as he nicknamed Liston. He won thanks to unparalleled talent and an eccentric, chaotic but intelligent strategy. His victory is still hard to comprehend, because he didn’t stand a chance. Nobody bet on him.

Then came his association with the Black Muslims, his relationship with Malcolm X and his connection with Africa. What he said, gestured and did. All to prove in the ring that he was the best.

He had 61 fights. He won 56 of them, 39 by knockout, and lost only five. But his figure transcended all that. His influence extended beyond boxing.

However, the fight with Liston can be seen as the beginning of it all. The contract for the fight between Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay was signed on 5 November 1963.

The fight was to take place at the Convention Center in Miami Beach. The year before, Liston had beaten Patterson. He had become world champion.

Liston was someone who didn’t like to laugh. He didn’t make many public appearances or joke around.

On the other side was a 22-year-old arrogant young man. He danced in the ring and never stopped talking. Always joking and always saying eccentric things.

On the day of the fight, Clay was nervous about weighing in. His heart was racing and some doctors even said he was unbalanced.

The odds were a clear 7-1 in favour of Liston. Clay had converted to Islam before the fight, but didn’t announce it until afterwards.

The boxing world looked at the fight with its eyes wide open, but with a very clear point of view: Liston was the favourite.

The Convention Centre was packed. Miami Beach was the epicentre of world boxing.

From the start, it was Ali (then Clay) who danced. He kept Liston at bay with his famous fast and continuous jabs.

As the rounds went on, Ali continued to rack up points. In the third and fourth rounds everything changed.

It was Clay who was winning the rounds, and he was even giving Liston trouble.

The sixth round was decisive. Once again, the Lousville native began to dominate and began to control the fight.

At the end of the round, “The Big Bear” told his trainer that he couldn’t continue. He didn’t come out for the seventh.

A shoulder injury had stopped the champion and Clay took the belt and title.

The rematch took place a year later. This time Liston only lasted one round against Ali, who was already a legend and had his whole career ahead of him.

Ali won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. As a professional, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1964 at the age of 22.

He became the only boxer to have won the linear championship three times (1964, 1974 and 1978) and the undisputed heavyweight championship (1964, 1967 and 1974).

He was also the first to win the World Boxing Association heavyweight title four times (1964, 1967, 1974 and 1978). Muhammad Ali is regarded as a social figure who transcended the world of sport.

Since the 1960s, his decision not to be drafted into his country’s armed forces for the Vietnam War has been a symbol. He declared himself a conscientious objector. He was also a member of the Nation of Islam.

That fight changed everything. Even the figure of the heavyweight champion, who until then had always been a serious person, introverted, more inclined to action in the ring than to speeches.

He was better known for what he did outside the ring. Other champions before him included Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano.

They will all be remembered for their no-holds-barred fights. But Ali added to his talent an inimitable ability to be different, to be loved and hated.

For a heavyweight contender, it was this unusual and very special way of behaving that made him so popular.

His speeches on racism and black/white equality attracted the curiosity of the likes of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Elijah Muhammad, and from there his persona took off.

He retired in 1981. Although he had not yet been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his physical decline was already evident.

–insidethegames

Boxing

Muhammad Ali’s ‘Thrilla in Manila’ trunks poised to sell for $6 million at auction –

Published

3 weeks ago

April 5, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Muhammad Ali’s ‘Thrilla in Manila’ trunks poised to sell for $6 million at auction -

Muhammad Ali’s white satin boxing trunks from his epic ‘Thrilla in Manila’ bout with rival Joe Frazier went up for auction on Thursday and are expected to sell for upwards of $6 million.

Auction house Sotheby’s said the trunks from the October 1975 bout in the Philippines, which was won by Ali and marked a brutal finish to perhaps the greatest trilogy in boxing history, will be up for auction until April 12.

The trunks, which feature a black trim at the waistband and black piping running down the side of each leg, are inscribed by Ali’s assistant trainer and corner man, Drew “Bundini” Brown and signed by Ali in black Sharpie.

According to Sotheby’s, the trunks were auctioned in 1988 from Bundini’s storage locker after his death for around $1,000 and have since made their way through the auction market. They were last auctioned in 2012 for just over $150,000.

In the sweltering heat of a Philippine afternoon, the world of boxing witnessed a brutal spectacle as Ali and Frazier fought each other for the third and final time in a clash of wills that etched itself into the annals of sporting history.

In what proved to be a frightfully punishing encounter, Ali retained the heavyweight crown when Frazier’s trainer would not allow his fighter to answer the bell for the 15th round.

After the most trying fight of his storied career, Ali said it was the closest thing to death that he had ever felt.

In the first of three bouts between the two boxers, Frazier broke Ali’s unbeaten record when he knocked him down with a left hook in the 15th round en route to winning by unanimous decision in March 1971.

Ali got revenge when he outpunched Frazier for a unanimous 12-round decision in January 1974, setting the stage for the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ nearly two years later.

Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, unprecedented flair for showmanship and controversial stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died in June 2016 aged 74 of septic shock due to unspecified natural causes.

-Reuters

Boxing

Anthony Joshua’s Smile To The Bank Ruins Canadian Rapper! –

Published

2 months ago

March 10, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Anthony Joshua’s Smile To The Bank Ruins Canadian Rapper! -

Anthony Joshua’s dramatic defeat of Francis Ngannou may have fetched the former two-time world heavyweight boxing champion a purse of over $50 million by the time the pay-per-view revenue is added to his take home, but it has caused a loss of fortune to a famous Canadian rapper, Aubrey Drake Graham who lost a staggering $615,000 in bet.

Known for his love of placing enormous bets on sporting events, Drake had earlier posted on Instagram that he was betting $615,000 on Ngannou to beat Joshua outright.

“Betting on a scary man,quipped the superstar artist.

Before then, won at least $1.8m betting on Nigerian UFC fighter Israel Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira in a middleweight title clash last year.

Drake placed a $400K bet on Adesanya to knock out the Brazilian. That was exactly what happened as the Lagos-born fighter shook off the pressure of losing thrice in a row to the same opponent to knock him out.

But in October 2022, Drake lost $800K betting on Barcelona to beat Real Madrid. The bet was a loser as Real Madrid won that game 3-1.

Drake was not alone among combat sports fans who believed that Ngannou could get the job done against Joshua; if his bet had clicked, he would have won an impressive $1.9 million.

However, it wasn’t meant to be this time around, as fortune did not favor him.

Despite recording some significant wins and losses over the years from betting activities, Drake has gained notoriety for what is now known as “the Drake Curse.”

Fans have accused him of cursing athletes and teams after being pictured with them before games or matches.

The curse reportedly affected numerous victims, such as quarterback Johny Manziel, UFC fighter Kamaru Usman, tennis star Serena Williams, and even the entire Kentucky Wildcats basketball team in America.

Boxing

How Joshua Floored Ngannou Thrice In Two Rounds And Secured Knockout –

Published

2 months ago

March 9, 2024

Kunle Solaja

How Joshua Floored Ngannou Thrice In Two Rounds And Secured Knockout -

Former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua floored Francis Ngannou three times in two rounds at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Saturday in a knockout win that put him right back in the reckoning for another title shot.

The big Briton sent the 37-year-old Cameroon-born former UFC heavyweight champion, a two-fight professional boxing novice, to the canvas in the opening round with a straight right to the chin.

Boxing – Anthony Joshua v Francis Ngannou – Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – March 9, 2024 Anthony Joshua poses after winning his fight against Francis Ngannou REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge Purchase Licensing Rights

The “Knockout Chaos” fight then lived up to its billing in spectacular fashion as Joshua sent him crashing again in the second, first with a right-left combination and then an explosive right after he had beaten the count.

The referee stepped in and stopped the fight, with Joshua declared the winner by knockout victory and Ngannou out cold and receiving treatment before getting back, stunned, to his feet.

Far more had been expected from Ngannou after he knocked down WBC champion Tyson Fury in his first bout in Riyadh in October and went on to lose on a split decision, but Joshua was merciless.

“It is what it is,” he told the crowd, teasing out the words.

Fury, who fights Ukraine’s WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in a rescheduled unification bout in Riyadh on May 18, was watching from ringside.

“I’m just here to fight. I’m going to go back to my cage, lock myself away, and then I’m going to be let out when it’s time to fight again,” said Joshua, hungry for a chance against the winner of the Usyk v Fury fight.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn sent out his own call: “There’s a brilliant fighter down there in Tyson Fury. Please beat Oleksandr Usyk, because you will get the biggest fight of all time,” he said.

“That is one of the most destructive knockouts I’ve ever seen.”

Joshua said he had told Ngannou he was an inspiration and he could come again.

“I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing, he can do well,” he said. “Remember, he’s two fights in and he’s fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated.”

Fighting earlier on the undercard, New Zealand’s Joseph Parker beat Chinese heavyweight Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang to take the WBO interim title on a majority points decision despite suffering two knockdowns.

Parker, who beat American former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in Riyadh in December, picked himself up after a straight left in round three and came back from a left-right combination in the eighth.

The ringside judges scored the fight to Parker 113-113, 114-112 and 115-111.

“We are contracted to have a rematch, so we will do it again,” said Parker.

Britain’s Nick Ball and Mexico’s WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas earlier fought a split-decision draw despite the challenger twice flooring the belt-holder.

-Reuters