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.
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.
So, in my final, part six, I will take you back to Saturday afternoon, March 5, 2005. The location was the Stevens Steak House, Commerce, California. The event was the annual California Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee ceremonies.
This wasn’t even a live fight, but I will simply recognize it as one of the most memorable events that I have attended in my almost fifty years of involvement in boxing. Continue reading Muhammad Ali / Part Six→
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:
1 ) Ali is the only one to have won the linear heavyweight championship three times. The linear title is recognized by tracing an unbroken lineage of titleholders going back over 100 years, with every champion defeating the previous title holder in the ring.
2 ) Ali has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine 37 times, second only to Michael Jordan.
3 ) According to many boxing historians, they rate Ali as the greatest heavyweight of all time. In my personal rankings (which can be seen on this website in Categories – click on – Rankings or August 2007 Archives to see Rating The Heavies) I rate Ali #2, just ahead of Joe Louis, and just behind Jack Johnson.
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.
Something else happened in June 1961 that would be a significant part of a young Cassius Clay’s (“aka” Muhammad Ali) life in boxing. One man, a wrestler, named Gorgeous George Wagner, would singly install the name “The Greatest” to Clay’s fame, and what came with that was his charisma and showmanship.
A 19 year-old Clay was to have his seventh professional fight vs. Duke Sabedong in Las Vegas. That same week, also in Las Vegas, Gorgeous George was to have a wrestling match vs. Freddie Blassie, with both being promoted by Mel “Red” Greb.
When Greb brought boxer and wrestler to a local radio station studio to promote both events, Clay met George. Clay was first on the radio and quietly, in a low voice, predicted a knockout in his fight. Then the 46 year-old George came on air and erupted loudly by saying: “I am the Gorgeous One! Not only am I the best wrestler, but the most beautiful man who ever lived! If this bum I’m fighting messes up my pretty golden hair, I’ll tear his arm off! And if this punk beats me, I’ll take the next plane to Russia! But that will never happen, because I am the greatest! Continue reading Muhammad Ali / Part Four→
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.
1. Doug Jones (March 13, 1963)
In his 18th pro fight, an undefeated Cassius Clay took on an opponent who could not only punch, but could box as smart as Clay. Jones had just come off two impressive knockout wins over Bob Foster and Zora Folley and at fight time, was ranked the #2 heavyweight contender. Before the fight, Clay had predicted a 4th round KO of Jones. It was evident that after round 4 ended with no knockout, Clay was in for a long night. Jones had made this fight as closer than anyone had thought and after 8 rounds it was anybody’s fight. Clay finally prevailed by winning rounds 9 and 10 to eke out a controversial 10 round decision. This was the first time that Clay did not win by his exact round prediction and also the first time he was received boos from the crowd, when he failed to stop Jones in round 4. Two judges had Clay by one round and the referee had him winning comfortably. The was Ring Magazine’s 1963 Fight of the Year.
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?
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.
During those years he defeated, in order: defeated Floyd Patterson,
George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Brian London, Karl Mildenberger,
Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell and Zora Folley with the Williams fight
being his finest performance.
Boxing fans will never know just how great Ali could have been,
considering he spent three and a half years, while still in his prime, in
exile from the sport (April 1967-September 1970). I would be one to
speculate that those would have been his best years as a professional. Continue reading Muhammad Ali / Part Two→
By David Martinez / Boxing Historian
This is the first of a six part series on my personal accounts of Muhammad Ali. I will display each part for viewing about every ten days.
I will start this series #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 championship fight that I have ever been involved with in my 48 years in boxing … Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali.
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.
This was simply known as “The Fight of the Century” and still ranks as one of the most famous in heavyweight boxing history.
Both fighters entered the ring unbeaten with both having legitimate claims to the heavyweight title.
The fight lived up to all of it’s hype, with Frazier punctuating his victory by landing a tremendous left hook which dropped Ali in 15th and final round. Smokin’ Joe won a unanimous 15 round decision, giving Ali his first professional loss.
It was simply a night that will forever remain – as it will with me – as one of the best in boxing!
It was three years ago, July 15, 2007, that I brought you this website and dmboxing was born.
My purpose in starting this website is to bring boxing fans all around the world the best that I can offer, drawing from my 50 years of love and passion that I have for the sport. My primary focus is to maintain a format that has a personal touch coming from my wealth of knowledge, along with honest opinions to share with all of you.
The people that have stepped up and have joined me to help make this website the success that it has been over the past 36 months have been so incredible that I can only thank God for placing them in my life. Continue reading Happy “Three Year” Anniversary! →
June 23, 1969 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Joe Frazier met the popular Irish fighter, Jerry Quarry, for the New York State recognized heavyweight title. Back in the day, the New York State Boxing Commission wielded quite a bit of power. Commissioner Edwin Dooley wasted little time stripping Muhammad Ali of his heavyweight title when Ali refused induction into the Armed Forces. The World Boxing Association did the same and they set up a tournament to determine a new champion. Eight top contenders were selected, with unbeaten Joe Frazier being one of them. Frazier’s management declined the invitation, however. The eventual winner of the tourney was Jimmy Ellis, who defeated Jerry Quarry in the finals.
The N.Y.S.A.C. offered Frazier a chance to fight Buster Mathis, who like Frazier, was undefeated. Mathis had defeated Frazier twice in the amateur ranks. The winner would be the champion in New York and a few other states. Well, Frazier met Big Buster and took him out in the eleventh to gain revenge and also win a piece of the heavyweight title.
Friday, June 11, 2010 marks the beginning of a month-long sporting event that is viewed by more people around the globe than any other, including the Olympic Games. What is this event? The World Cup soccer tournament. Held every four years, this spectacle captivates audiences from Asia and Africa, to North and South America, and, of course, Europe. People from all walks of life will be watching on everything from fuzzy-imaged old TV’s to the fanciest LCD/HD big screens, as well as in person at stadiums throughout the host nation which is South Africa.
Why would an article about soccer (or “football” as it is known in most of the world) show up on a boxing website? The reason is that the two sports crossed paths over thirty-two years ago in a special way. On October 1, 1977, the great Pele, generally acknowledged as the most outstanding soccer player of all time, was wrapping up his career at Giants Stadium playing his final game with the New York Cosmos of the old North American Soccer League. A true ambassador of the sport, Pele, who had played his entire career for Santos F.C. of Brazil, and for the Brazilian National Team, came to the United States in 1975 to play for the Cosmos and to give the sport a “shot in the arm” in the USA. This match was his testimonial game, as the Cosmos faced his former club, Santos, with Pele playing one half for each team. Continue reading World Cup and Boxing Cross Paths →
