IrishRufusMurphy wrote:I don't believe there is any film of the body shot that dropped Ali. From the eye witness accounts of Murray Woroner, Ferdie Pacheco and Angello Dundee, this is how the body shot happened:
Ali was dancing around, Marciano was crouching trying to get inside, Ali threw a high jab, knocking Marciano's wig off his head. They stopped filming and readjusted the wig. Marciano was embarassed and said "He did that on purprose, he has no respect for me at all." They reassured him that it was an accident, and filming continued.
Ali again threw a jab and again the wig went flying. Marciano yelled out "Don't you do that again!" as they stopped filming and refitted his wig. Filming continued, and whether it was just an accident or Ali was just clowning nobody knows, but again there was a jab and again the wig went flying---Marciano didn't hesitate and hit Ali with a viscous body shot, doubling him over and dropping him. Filming was stopped.
Marciano had to be calmed down, as he was literally pissed off, and even so much as called Ali out right then and there to turn it into a real fight if Ali was game. Only until after Ali apologised did Marciano calm down, and filming again proceeded.
Now what is true, at least by Ali's own admission, is that Marciano beat him to the body so badly that he was bruised and had welts all over his rib cage and his elbow was even injured---as Marciano beat on Ali's arms---and even asked for a few extra dollars and a few days off.
Ali in his own autobiography was quoted that "My whole body ached, and ours wasn't even a real fight," and he was surprised that even at 46 years old, how hard it was to land a solid punch on Marciano, and that he couldn't imagine how a prime Marciano must have been, because Marciano was so strong and powerful a hitter, even at 46 years old.
The 'real' body shot must have ended up on the cutting room floor; you must remember that all the reels of the film and copies, except for one, was destroyed after the SUPERFIGHT was shown in theatres and on WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS in 1970, so if there ever was film of it, it's been long gone.
This is mostly BS.
First of all, he is twisting Ferdie Pacheco's version. Pacheco talked about the Marciano-Ali movie in his book "A View From the Corner", p. 90, Carol Publishing Group, Copyright 1992.
He said that Ali took the whole thing as a joke, while Marciano was serious. Once in awhile, while filming, Marciano would in the heat of the moment get excited and go all out. "At one point, Ali went down to one knee after a body shot and we had to call time". Ali hadn't been expecting the blow; Marciano had unwittingly sucker-punched him,and felt bad about it".
There was no mention whatsoever of Ali knocking Marciano's toupee off or Marciano being mad at Ali about anything.
Also IrishrufusMurphy statement that Ali in own autobiography was quoted that "My whole body ached and ours wasn't even a real fight" simply isn't true.
In Ali's autobiography he doesn't say anything like that at all. He barely mentions the Marciano film in passing and doesn't say anything specific about it except to say that it was phony.
The Ali-Marciano film was made for entertainment. (There were various endings. Sometimes Ali wins, sometimes Marciano) This wasn't a real fight, or even sparring. It's obvious that punches are pulled, and that they are overreating to what the other guy is doing. It's almost universally recognized as something not to be taken seriously.
