Category Archives: Ali

Muhammad Ali / Part 6 of 6

July 31, 2016Ali, David Martinez, FLASHBACK, HeavyweightsDavid Martinez

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*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on November 23, 2010

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This is the sixth of a six part series of my personal accounts of Muhammad Ali. In Memory of Ali, I have displayed six articles and also included photos of my collectables for viewing.

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By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

This is the last of a six part series on Muhammad Ali. It has truly been my pleasure to share with you my personal accounts of THE GREATEST heavyweight champion in my era of boxing.

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For those of you who have missed any of this special series, you can simply go to the menu on this website and click on the category, Ali , to view each part.

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Muhammad Ali / Part 5 of 6

July 26, 2016Ali, David Martinez, FLASHBACK, HeavyweightsDavid Martinez

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*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on October 23, 2010

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This is the fifth of a six part series of my personal accounts of Muhammad Ali. In Memory of Ali, I will display these six articles and will also include photos of my collectables now through this month of July for viewing.

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By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

In part five of my six part series on Muhammad Ali, I would like to give you my personal view of ten incredible highlight facts during his boxing career:

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Muhammad Ali / Part 4 of 6

July 19, 2016Ali, David Martinez, FLASHBACK, HeavyweightsDavid Martinez

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*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on October 10, 2010

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This is the fourth of a six part series of my personal accounts of Muhammad Ali. In Memory of Ali, I will display these six articles and will also include photos of my collectables now through this month of July for viewing.

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By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

In part four of my six part series on Muhammad Ali, I will go back to almost the exact time when I started to follow boxing – 1961. It was June of that year and I just celebrated my thirteenth birthday and as a young boy, I eagerly anticipated every boxing match and its results, as I still do today.

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Muhammad Ali / Part 3 of 6

July 9, 2016Ali, David Martinez, FLASHBACK, HeavyweightsDavid Martinez

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*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on September 26, 2010

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This is the third of a six part series of my personal accounts of Muhammad Ali. In Memory of Ali, I will display these six articles and will also include photos of my collectables now through this month of July for viewing.

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By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

In part three of my six part series on Muhammad Ali, I will give my personal views of three fights during his career that he emerged victorious – but by close margins and conceivably could of lost as well.

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Muhammad Ali / Part 2 of 6

July 4, 2016Ali, FLASHBACK, HeavyweightsDavid Martinez

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*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on September

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This is the second of a six part series of my personal accounts of Muhammad Ali. In Memory of Ali, I will display these articles and will also include photos of my collectibles now through this month of July for viewing.

By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

In the second installment of my six in a series, I will answer a question that is most often asked of me, with regards to Muhammad Ali. That question is which – when was Ali at the height of his career?

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First of all, I must say that it has been a blessing to witness the greatest heavyweight champion of this era fight throughout his career (1960- 1981). In my opinion, Ali was at his pinnacle from a stretch after the 1st Floyd Patterson ( November 1965) to his final defense against Zora Folley (March 1967) before he was stripped of the heavyweight title.

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Ali – Frazier: Ghosts of Manila

June 20, 2016Ali, Boxing Books, Recap, Tom Donelsonadmin

By Tom Donelson (BWAA)

Author, Member of Boxing Writers Association of America

Contributor to dmboxing.com since 2008

(Excerpts from my book on black fighters, Boxing in the Shadow)

“Fighters know how to suffer. They demagnify pain and seldom talk about it. Though some fighters have been called “bow-wows” within the sport, thresholds of pain are hard to detect in fighters….Eyes, nose, ears, larynx, kidneys, they all take horrific beatings. But their faces tell where fighters have been, the potholes over which they had to rattle, from the small arenas with the single light bulb and a backed-up toilet in the dressing rooms to the flooding light of the big time”

Boxing heroes are usually defined less by the ease of their victories, than by their defeats and their various comebacks in the course of a career. Fighters are made through the brutal confines of their sport, in which they nearly see death approach, in which their blood is splattered; and yet they somehow persevere. Brutality sells tickets, but more importantly, it seals one’s fame. For Ali, Joe Frazier was his ticket to fame.

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Muhammad Ali / Part 1 of 6

June 18, 2016Ali, FLASHBACK, HeavyweightsDavid Martinez

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*** FLASHBACK – this article originally appeared on dmboxing.com on September 5, 2010

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This is the first of a six part series of my personal accounts of Muhammad Ali. In Memory of Ali, I will display these six articles and will also include photos of my collectibles now through the month of July for viewing.

By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com

I will start this part #1, by saying that the best closed circuit fight that I ever attended was with my late father, Daniel J. Martinez and two of my best friends, Al Garcia and Hector Ybarra, at the Santa Barbara, California “historic” Granada Theater. On March 8, 1971, we saw the most eagerly anticipated fight that I have ever been involved with in my 48 years in boxing … Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali.

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I was so excited come fight time that I left my work early on that Monday afternoon just to be sure I was the first one in line to get tickets and the best seats: front row center balcony. I got both to view the fight.

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Muhammad Ali – David Martinez Collection

June 15, 2016Ali, DMBoxing News, Heavyweights, VideoDavid Martinez

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I was recently interviewed by NEWSCHANNEL 3 (ABC-TV) Santa Barbara, California regarding my Muhammad Ali collection and deep interest in boxing.

I am sharing that video link that aired on June 10. 2016. I would like to thank KEYT Channel 3 Sports Director Mike Klan and News Anchor John Palminteri for their outstanding input on the newscast.

(click onto link below to view video)

Local Man has Incredible Muhammad Ali Collection

Sonny Liston: Ali’s First Big Foil

June 11, 2016Ali, Boxing Books, Recap, Tom Donelsonadmin

By Tom Donelson (BWAA)

Author, Member of Boxing Writers Association of America

Contributor to dmboxing.com since 2008

(Excerpts from my book on black fighters, Boxing in the Shadow)

Ali jumped all over Liston after Ali sent Liston down in their second fight, yelling for him to get up. Jersey Joe Walcott, the referee, totally lost control as he tried to get Ali to a neutral corner. Liston stayed on the canvas as Walcott tried to restrain Ali. Liston eventually got up as Walcott went to the corner to talk with Ring Magazine editor Nat Fleischer. Ali started nailing Liston with more shots. Meanwhile Fleischer told Walcott that Liston should be counted out, so Walcott called the fight and gave the bout to Ali. Years later, Liston told Sports Illustrated Mark Kram that he stayed down because, “Ali was a crazy man.” The great intimidator was intimidated.

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