FortKnox's Journal: Float like a butterfly...

ESPN Classic has been running a bunch of old Muhammad Ali matches. I really have to say, I have been thoroughly impressed with how the guy fights. His stance was usually with his arms to his sides. He had reflexes and dodging speed that were inhuman. Even in his later years, you can only truely appreciate his fighting in slow motion. Watching him dodge a strong blow and follow it up with an even stronger left hook, or watching an opponent stick him with a quick left only to find Ali is a faster puncher and throws and makes contact before even his stick hits.

The guy was a freaking machine!

the wire season 3

[red5]

One character "Cutty" has a boxing gym for iner-city kids. Their watching a tape of the Ali/Paterson fight when one of the kids calls Paterson "soft". Cutty replies "Look any man still standing at the end of a round, you can't call him soft. That's a rule."

Yup

[gmhowell]

Yup, a machine that was beat around so much, the main CPU got knocked loose. Shame it happened. Can't believe his daughter followed him into the ring seeing what can happen even to a successful fighter.

On the radio the other day...

[John Harrison]

Somebody on NPR was talking about having interviewed a lot of old fighters and they mentioned that while the public perception is that Ali was unlucky, the fact of the matter is that George Foreman is the abberration in that he is still there mentally. Everybody else is living with the consequences of having their bell rung too many times.