Today is the 40th anniversary of the final battle of Muhammad Ali's career. He defeated Trevor Berbick in 10 rounds that are inconsistently referred to as "The Drama of the Bahamas." Although the event was shrouded in sadness and dullness, Ali's legacy was not affected, because his entry was not only the most accidental opportunity, but also laid the foundation for the glorious era that was already going on at that time. He entered the arena against Berbic: the era of the "four kings".
Evidence of Ali's continued relevance is that his grandson, middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, will play in Madison Square Garden on this special day. The following is an excerpt from "Muhammad Ali: According to the Numbers" co-authored by CompuBox founder and president Bob Canobbio and clock machine/historian Lee Groves.
Readers who are interested in ordering this book can click here to buy it from Amazon.
The heavy blow that Ali received from Holmes should have brought his career to an end, and when he handed over his boxing license to the Nevada State Athletic Commission in late December and promised not to reinstate it, it seemed to be the case. But in the fall of 1981, the rumors that Ali made another comeback began to ferment.
Ali's great pride is the asset that drives him to the greatest victory, but he can't bear the idea that sitting on a stool and losing TKO will be the final act of a dramatic boxing career.
The first issue-the issue that should have been disqualified from the competition-is Ali's health, which is clearly declining. Ali not only spoke vaguely and hoarsely, but his movement and overall coordination ability had declined, and in less than two months before the Holmes battle, if he had not helped him lose more than 30 pounds of Thyrolar, his physique had reached it. Expected thickness and softness. It is five weeks away from the age of 40. In order to allay these concerns, Ali underwent a series of tests at New York University in October 1981. Pathologist Dr. Harry Demopoulos led a team of 30 doctors participating in the study.
"There is absolutely no evidence that any of Muhammad's vital organs-the brain, liver, kidneys, heart, lungs-nervous system, muscle or skeletal system have been harmed in any way," said Dr. Demplos in William Nacker's Sports Illustrated. Said in the story. "His blood test showed that he has a young man's blood vessel."
He also said that Ali's ambiguity was accidental, not natural.
"If slurred speech is caused by permanent damage, it will always be there," he said, adding that fatigue and stress are the most common causes. In retrospect, all this was wishful thinking. But Ali is so attractive and financially powerful that some people are still willing to move for him. (1)
James Cornelius was described in the press release as an "Los Angeles entrepreneur" who was responsible for finding mountains that were willing to move. He tried to convince the U.S. committee that Ali was still fit to fight, but no one agreed. Cornelius persevered, and finally he found a place where he was willing to stage a battle with Ali. Now operating under the protection of Sports Internationale Ltd., Cornelius arranged the battle between Ali and former champion challenger Trevor Berbick in Paradise in the Bahamas on December 11, 1981 The island is staged. (2) Although the exotic places complement Ali’s other battle locations, everything else related to adventure is not paradise.
Burbick (left) stands up and jabs the Larry Holmes Rockets left for 15 rounds. Ring/Photo by Getty Images
First, there are opponents. Burbick is a 27-year-old Jamaican who played in Canada, was ranked fourth by the WBA, and achieved a 19-2-1 record, including 17 knockout rounds. The Canadian and Commonwealth heavyweight champion is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 218 pounds. With his broad shoulders, he digs inward, using clubbing to overwhelm inferior opponents and smooth out better opponents. In June 1980, with former WBA champion John Tate (John Tate) in Roberto Duran-Sugar Ray Leonard (Roberto Duran-Sugar) "Montreal Brawl" card The amazing ninth round of KO has jumped to world fame. Since then, he has led four times-a knockout round with a score of 4-1, the most recent being a two-round knockout match against Conroy Nelson in July. The only failure during that time was against WBC champion Larry Holmes, who hoped to break the historical record of eight consecutive knockout matches for Tommy Burns in the heavyweight championship battle. Not only did Burbick’s legs fend off Sherlock Holmes’s bomb in the 15th round, but before the “Easton Assassin” kicked off in the “Championship Round”, he made ridicules against Sherlock Holmes throughout the first few rounds. Myself. Although Ali has always done a good job against invaders, the big mouth style that Berbick insists on is not what Ali needs at this stage of his life.
Aware of his exhaustion, Ali set a modest goal for himself.
"I only need to win six rounds on the cards of the three officials; so I have to play six rounds," Ali told the Associated Press the day before the game. (3) This is just another example of how much Ali has fallen physically and his own expectations. Just three years ago in New Orleans, 36-year-old Ali fulfilled his promise. He danced in almost all 15 rounds and regained the title from Leon Spinks. Now, he just wants to get through.
The same goes for promotion, which is plagued by many financial and organizational issues.
The venue has a magnificent name-Queen Elizabeth Sports Center-but in fact, it is a baseball stadium still under construction. As the organizers could not find the key to open the front door of the stadium, the battle card started late. There are only two pairs of gloves in five games, forcing each corner to untie the gloves after each game so that the next pair of boxers can use them. Ali, Berbick, and Thomas Hearns (who played with Ernie Singer Tari) have their own locker room, while the other nine fighters squeeze in the remaining locker room. A borrowed cowbell is used to start and end each round. (4)
The main event hardly happened because Burbick received only $100,000 of his $350,000 deposit and stated that he would not participate in the game until he was paid in full. At 5:40 in the afternoon, just a few hours before entering the ring, Berbick got his money through SelecTV, a premium cable TV channel that played this card. (5)
"For a battle of this scale, this is the most important thing," Eddie Fitch, who guided Pete McIntyre to a 10-round victory over Mike Fisher, told George Wissey of the New York Times. "The promoters just don't know the details. They didn't anticipate the cost. Their money ran out before the details could be processed." (6)
Despite the chaos, the event still had a comfortable moonlight night, and the ticket price was reduced from 50 US dollars to 5 US dollars, and the number of participants reached 8,000 US dollars. (7)
Ali, with a gloomy face, stepped on the 236 1/4 short fat man and strode towards the ring. Once there, he and his corner were waiting for Berbick's arrival. The former "Ali Circus" was depressed because they knew that Ali showed a sad energy during the 11-week training cycle. According to Nack, Ali wore a rubber corset, walked more than ran while repairing roads, punched shadow boxing listlessly, then climbed into a waiting limousine and took him back to the hotel. (8) Ali and his entourage knew well that the strings that Ali had played in the past few years had worn out and almost collapsed. For someone who has mastered the distance of fifteen rounds, ten rounds now seem to be eternal.
Four minutes later, the more energetic Burbick jumped into the circle. When he was dancing in the ring, a hard-hearted Ali ignored him and started his usual pre-match antics. Referee Zac Clayton counted Foreman on the night Ali regained the title, and he gave the final instructions. Ali seemed bored sometimes, and said nothing while doing Tai Chi, but Burbick refused to look directly at Ali.
The opening second of the game was an encouraging sign for Ali fans, because when he walked out of the corner, made three light stabs and landed with his right hand, he had shown more energy than Holmes in most of the games. Yes, his fists are slow, not agile, and he walks with his legs dragging instead of dancing, but he starts most skirmishes and connects more frequently.
Even before the end of the first round, the commentator Don Dunfee declared that Ali's first round was "very good" and he was right. Even a series of physical shots from Burbick could not deny Ali's outstanding performance in the first three minutes. Ali threw 66 punches to Burbick's 41 points and defeated with a total score of 16-12 and a score of 7-2. he. If Ali can do it five more times, he will be enough to win this decision and provide a good reason for the fight he wants next-breaking Mike Weaver's WBA title. (9)
It shouldn't have been. The first time is the only instance of Ali overtaking Berbick, and the effort required to stop the rugged Jamaican has exceeded his fuel tank. If fighting an opponent who has largely abandoned the round for three minutes consumes his energy supply, what happens once the young bull speeds up his attack?
In the second round of the match, Burbick's steady pressure forced Ali to retreat faster than he wanted, and his right to the ribs while gripping caused damage to Ali's face. When the crowd chanted Ali’s name, Burbick made a gesture with his gloves, as if saying, "Why are you cheering for him? I come from your world." Then, to emphasize his point, he turned to Ali’s head. The Ministry fired a hook and hit more of the right in the ribs as Ali squeezed. Although he could not replicate the success of the first round, Ali still fought with faith, but it was clear that faith alone was not enough.
"Ali's reaction disappeared," Dunfee announced at the last minute of the second round. "He knows what to do, but he can't do it." Then, the once hopeful soul, Dunphy added, "At least he can't do it now." His right hand was once crisp and tingling, lacking speed, occasionally Will be chopped down awkwardly. Ali’s activity-and overwhelming emotions-may have won his second round as he threw 68 punches to Burbick's 51 punches, but a more objective look saw Burbick more frequently (22 to 15 ) And heavier connections.
Ali might even win third place because he punched more (56 to 48) and punched better than anyone hoped (11 out of 43, 26%). For his part, Burbick beat Ali 22-16 overall, and 19 of his 38 powerful shots (50%) fell in 5 of Ali's 13 shots (39%).
According to the expected game, Ali performed much better in the first 9 minutes against Burbick than at any time during the Sherlock Holmes game, and at least for a moment, the idea of a fight with Ali Weaver flashed through some people's minds.
"Of course, Ali will never be able to overthrow Holmes, but he may have a chance against Weaver. Weaver was eliminated by Tate almost the entire game, and then miraculously hooked up with 45 seconds left in the final round. Tate equalized," they might say to themselves. "Perhaps Ali was right to blame the weight loss and prescription drugs for concealing his true abilities in the fight against Holmes. Even at the age of 39, Ali's jaw is much better than Tate, and his footsteps are still faster than Weaver's concrete feet. One point. If Ali keeps himself in his best condition, if everything is in place in the fight, if he stays away from that big left uppercut, he may shock the world again."
Logan Hobson, who later developed CompuBox with his partner Bob Canobbio, is a reporter for United Press International and a big fan of Ali. When he sat next to the circus, he was optimistic that Ali still had enough reserves to win another victory.
In a phone interview in July 2017, he said: "The competition in this game is very fierce, and I hope he can do it." "His performance was much better than against Larry Holmes. But then he was tired. He just can’t (go on). He missed the fastball and he didn’t get there in time. Burbick said before the game that if Ali was injured, he would let him go. He said he would not be like Holmes That strengthens Ali."
Holmes severely fined Ali in October 1980. Photo courtesy of The Ring/Getty Images
Burbick might believe him, but when he had a chance to dominate the ring, he caught it with both hands. without any exaggeration.
Nearly a minute into the fourth round, Burbick showed what No. 27 could do, and Ali showed what No. 39 would not allow him to do. Burbick used a series of heavy body shots to push Ali towards the rope, and then kept the pressure as Ali desperately tried to resist him with tight grips and "ropes". The crowd tried to use the singing of "Ali, Bomaye" to inspire Ali's sparks, but even the ghost of Kinshasa could not regenerate the old Ali. Instead, they got an old Ali.
The fourth round was a disastrous defeat for Burbick, as he made 9 of 51 of his 68 shots and 38 of his strikes against Ali, and 33 of his 59 powerful shots against Ali's 21 of them. 5 times. Only Burbick’s fatigue in the last minute saved Ali from being forgotten, but another advantage is that all he needs to recover is a 60-second rest time. On the other hand, Ali needs more time than boxing can give.
The fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds delivered a thought-provoking and punitive message to Ali, while at the same time allowing Burbick to separate the scorecard and statistics. In those rounds, Burbick beat Ali with a total score of 95-36 and a total score of 82-10. The seventh game-especially the last minute-was the worst so far. In that round, Burbick defeated Ali with a total score of 89-28 (including a strength of 72-9), and defeated him with a total score of 41-8 and a strength of 39-1.
Burbick's dominance is so strong that he occasionally roars at the old champion.
"Once I heard Burbick say,'Come on old man, show me your speed.' My face was blue... my face was blue!" Hobson remembered. "Brooklyn showed it to me. Ali didn't punch and Burbick was laughing at him. I don't remember whether Ali started hitting him at the time, but Burbick is maintaining his dominance and playing with Ali's thoughts. How sad. : Someone is playing with Ali’s mind. I thought,'Cancel it and show some respect. I want to climb into the ring and fight back against him. How dare he play with Ali’s mind? Ali is the master of that game, this is Berbick Talk to Ali. This makes me even more insulted. What makes me more disturbed is that he has enough psychological qualities to do this."
Just as Berbick made a heavy blow, Ali opened his eyes wide, opened his mouth pretendingly, and dug out the bag of tricks. This strategy persuaded Frazier, Razor, Spinks and others to reduce their offense, but Burbick did what they should do: hit Ali more.
Berbick’s contempt is now replaced by sympathy. He yells to Clayton to stop the fight, but the former Harlem Globetrotter insists and allows the beating to continue.
Most other boxers, even those in peak condition, cannot survive those 9 minutes, but although Ali's physical ability has long since lost his competitiveness, his resourcefulness and tenacity remain at its best. . But in boxing, the landing punch is the ultimate currency.
When Ali sat on his stool between rounds, his heart was working hard. Just like him in "Manila Thrills", before the final rounds against Norton (twice) and Razor, Ali sought his emergency energy supply, broke the glass and waited for the adrenaline to surge. This saved all his four games, and he has every reason to believe that this will help him again.
Ali tried, but was defeated by Berbick in most battles. Photography: Focus on Sport/Getty Images
As the bell rang in the eighth round, Ali exploded with faxes of old butterfly floating and bee-like stings. When their hero tried to turn back time, the crowd who sat down in Ali's midfield crisis suddenly cheered up. Berbick tried his best to bully Ali, and when he was hit hard, Ali threw them off and re-ride the bike. But as the round progressed, Ali was also proceeding. Burbick's body explosion and hurtful hooks broke the spell that put many people in trouble. If Ali still had any doubts before being erased, it was that the fixture had risen and the "Ali's Mystery" no longer existed.
Berbick’s late rebound overcame Ali’s early surge. Although he was eliminated 59-56, he defeated the legend 22-17 and scored a huge 18-6 in landing powerful shots. Leading advantage. Burbick separated himself further in the ninth game as he increased his work efficiency to 70 times, while Ali made 41 punches and beat him by a total score of 23-11, including 20-0. Strong shots.
"Regardless of winning or losing or a tie, I hope he won't play again," Dunfee said between the 9th and 10th rounds.
"I pray that he will never fight again," added referee David Pearl, who served as Dunphy's color commentator along with Randy Shields.
The 548th round of Ali's 21-year career began in the first game against Tunney Hunsaker-he used toe, jab and right hand to shoot at the top. However, even though Hansack could not touch the fast-paced youth gold medalist, Berbick had tasted the rest of his old age. In the last 90 seconds, Berbick climbed over Ali and tried to let him go. Although Ali was trapped by age, overweight and physical deterioration, he still had enough wisdom and toughness to break into the final bell. If nothing else, Ali could be proud of winning the privilege of ending the battle with his feet instead of sitting on a stool.
Burbick's punishment was extraordinary. He made 100 punches and 45 shots, including 36 of the 86 powerful shots. In contrast, Ali's shadow with a total of 60 points and 9 points and 22 points and 3 points is pale and weak.
Burbick's explosion in the second half gave him a far lead on the scorecard. Alonzo Butler submitted the kindest card with a score of 97-94, while colleagues Jay Edson and Clyde Gray saw Burbick's 99-94 victory and delivered a harsher message .
The statistics support the judges, but also provide a cruel and honest assessment. Burbick led with a total score of 279-129, and led by 236-45 in powerful shots on the ground. Ali absorbed 43% of Burbick's total punches and 45% of his powerful shots, while landing rates were only 24% and 26%.
At 10:30 am the next day after the battle, the press conference was held in the temporary press room on the second floor of a holiday hotel in Paradise Island that was undergoing renovation. It was here that Ali, who was 30 minutes late, finally admitted an obvious fact-his boxing career has come to an end.
"Father's time caught up with me," Ali said. "I'm done. I have to face the facts. For the first time I feel like I'm 40 years old. I know this is the end. I'm not crazy. After Holmes I made an excuse: I was too light and I was breathing abnormally. This time No excuses, but at least I didn’t go down. No pictures of me on the floor, no pictures of me falling from a rope, no broken teeth, no bleeding. I’m glad I’m still beautiful. I came out for an old man. We Sometimes we lose. We all grow old." (10)
The game against Burbick was Ali's first defeat in 16 games outside of the United States. He won three times in London (KO 5, KO 6 against Henry Cooper, KO 3 Brian London) and four times elsewhere in Europe (KO 12 Karl Mildenberger, KO 7 Juergen Blin, KO 11 Al" Blue Lewis, KO 5 Richard Dunn ), four times in Asia (W 15 Mac Foster, W 12 Rudi Lubbers, W 15 Joe Bugner II, KO 14 Joe Frazier III), three times elsewhere in North America (W 15, W 12 George Chuvalo II, KO 5 Jean-Pierre Coopman) And once in Africa (KO 8 George Foreman), and then lost to Berbic in the Bahamas. If there is a fighter who represents the concept of "world champion", it is Muhammad Ali.
"Because of me," Ali said, "the whole world is watching boxing now." (11)
After many years of retirement, Ali is preparing to participate as a guest referee in the first wrestling frenzy held in Madison Square Garden in 1985. Image courtesy of The Ring Magazine/Getty Images
The gathered media either followed Ali from the beginning, or jumped on the bus at some point among the 61 stops on the bus. Because he gave them extraordinary access rights, they not only knew that Ali was a legendary athlete, but also a person who had experienced various emotions and shared most of them with them. This connection is deep, heartfelt, and indisputable. Now, the whirlwind known as "Ali Circus" is about to put away the tent and gallop in the afterglow of the setting sun, once and for all. This recognition has been hit hard, and the emotion surrounding the room is primitive and real. Even veterans Bob Waters, Dick Young, Dave Anderson, and Ed Skyler were moved by this occasion.
Steve Farhood, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017, was also in the room, which aroused a feeling of unworthiness.
"To be precise, I am 24 years old," Fahud said in a June 2017 phone interview. "Although I am very excited (to go there), I don’t think I belong here, because I look around and I see all these writers, such as Michael Katz, Eddie Skyler, Dick Young, all of them. Writers who have studied since childhood. They traveled around the world with Ali. I feel a little bit that I don't deserve what I got. Of course, this will be a lifetime memory.
"Everyone knows this is true," he continued. "I don’t know if this is how Holmes felt after the war — it may be so, he suffered such a big blow in that battle, and everyone thought there would be no more — but this time everyone knew that he wouldn’t. Again. If you can’t beat Trevor Burbick, it really doesn’t make sense to continue. The press conference is actually on the floor where I live. I have a friend who went there with me, which is similar to Waiting for the funeral to start. Everyone is really quiet. Berbick is here first. He is talking and no one wants to hear what he says. This is about Ali. It's embarrassing because this guy just won the game, and he might still It's a kid who fills a soda machine with water.
"Of course, Ali finally came in. It was a little late. The first thing I remember hearing was Ed Schuyler, a great old and stubborn reporter from the Associated Press. Unheard of places Before he went there, he just looked at Ali and said, "Thank you, champion, for making me a great ride. "This is an exciting time for the hardcore players. They don't often cry in beer. For me, this is the official end of everything. When we left there that day, you knew it would never be the same. , Because from the writer’s point of view, the battle he brings is unique and will never be matched. As a young child, its overriding theme is,'This is something I will never forget , This is something I may not deserve, this is the end of the world for the greatest athlete in history.'"
Hobson, who was also in the room, agreed with Farhoud's description of the experience.
"You have wake up, then funeral, but this battle is like tombstone dedication," he said. "It's like putting a period at the end of a sentence. Ali looks good, I don't remember feeling sorry for him. Berbick is amiable, and Skyler set the tone. Things are not as sad as you think. Looking back. After the Battle of Sherlock Holmes, all of us mourned for us. That battle was like watching a robbery. He was cruelly treated in that battle, and he would not give up. Here, he has no reason to give up, I don’t have time to shout "Stop the fight."
In the last few years of Ali's career, people worried that if he loses the championship and gradually fades out of the stage, he will take the sport of boxing. When giants such as John L. Sullivan, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano left the scene and each boxing produced a new focus, people expressed the same concerns. The same is true for Ali, and like everyone else, concerns about the imminent extinction of boxing proved to be unfounded. However, the post-Ali era is particularly lucky because the sport is not only promoted by one fighter, but also by several fighters.
"In the past few years, Ali has not appeared often, and it has been some time since the battle of Holmes," Farhud observed. "Don't forget: I came to the Bahamas from near Leonard-Hearns. The baton was passed to non-heavyweight players at that time. We have Hearns and we have Leonard. , And Duran and Hagler-the Four Kings-it was a wonderful time. I don't know we must know it at that time, because Ali is about to retire, this will be a great period as it is now, but the truth is In the past, this era is well mastered and there is no need for Ali at that point. In the 1970s, Ali almost single-handedly boxing in the United States, but the early 1980s was a good time. Boxing was broadcast on TV like crazy, We had a large closed-circuit match. For boxing fans, that period was not so sad — in a sense, it was sad because of the end of Ali — but just "will this sport flourish?" "As far as it is concerned, it is not that sad. It was at that time that the sport was booming."
One measure of the value of a boxer is whether he was in a better condition when he left the sport than when he first came. When Cassius Marcellus Clay broke into professional boxing after winning the 1960 Rome Olympics, the sport was sprinting into the abyss. Thanks to the scholarly skills of the gold medalist in self-marketing, he reinvigorated his movement in a way few others have, and the results speak for themselves. Now, when the nearly 40-year-old Ali announced his departure from "Sweet Science", it is obvious that he has laid the foundation for another golden age, and his star power is not limited to heavyweights. Inspired by Ali, a large number of stars were built on the basis of Ali assembly, weighing tens of pounds. They speak for themselves, they fight for themselves and the fans who pay to see them, they fight for a sport that gives them a chance to build a new life.
Due to the rise of pay-per-view cable TV outlets and pay-per-view platforms, the wallets produced by these fighters dwarf Ali's wallets, and they have become household names worldwide. Although he can no longer make contributions, A Li must have looked around the scene, concentrated all his attention, and exhaled in satisfaction.
The Ali era is over. Let a new era begin.
Internal numbers: In his last cheer, Ali, who was close to his 40th birthday, hit an average of 8.4 jabs per round, 3.1 times more than the heavyweight average. In addition, 65% of his punches with Berbick were jabs, while the CompuBox average was 28%. Ali only hit 51 punches in the loss to Berbick and Holmes. In the Manila game against Frazier, he made 68 powerful shots in the 13th and 14th rounds alone, which was his last outstanding performance. Ali experienced a hellish life in the last round of his career. Berbick was merciless and made 100 shots in the tenth round (86 of which were powerful shots). This is the number of shots that Ali opponents took in battle. The most once. But Ali showed his iconic courage when he survived that round and announced his permanent withdrawal from the sport as an in-ring participant.
(1) "Not a bang, but a whisper", by William Nacker, Sports Illustrated, December 21, 1981
(2) "Berbick defeats Ali in decision", George Wissey, New York Times, December 12, 1981
(3) "Ali Wants Weaver Title Bout", Associated Press, published in Wilmington Morningstar, December 9, 1981, p. 3. One-dimensional
(4) "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times", Thomas Hauser, Simon and Schuster Paperback, 1991, p. 429
(5) "Berbick defeated Ali in decision", George Wissie, New York Times, December 12, 1981
(7) "Berbick Pounds Out Decision Over Ali", by Michael Farber, Montreal Gazette, December 11, 1981, p. 15
(8) "Not a bang, but a whisper", by William Nacker, Sports Illustrated, December 21, 1981
(9) "Ali Wants Weaver Title Bout", Associated Press, published in Wilmington Morningstar, December 9, 1981, p. 3. One-dimensional
(10) "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times", Thomas Hauser, Simon and Schuster Paperback, 1991, p. 430
(11) "The Curtain Begins: Ali's Trauma in the Bahamas", by Dave Anderson, Ring, February 1982, p. 37
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