Okay, Champ! I Think That You Went Too Far!

[elmersalsa]

Here I came up with some examples of fights that were famous for the behaviors of some combatants. When two champions or good fighters go at it before and after in the ring and decide who is the macho man or the best fighter between the two.

Even if it gave the other guy the edge or not by insulting the other fighter, we got to remember that there are two warriors in that square circle beating each other's brains out for pay or for glory or for their own satisfaction.

Here are some of the nasty and humiliating remarks of some fighters that were famous before and after the fight.

1. Emile Griffith WTKO12 Benny "Kid" Paret.....March 24, 1962 : at one point in their fistic lives, Griffith of the US Virgin Islands and Paret of Cuba, were friends in a block in a New York City neighborhood. Both had wins against each other. And the third fight was inevitable. At the weigh in before their famous rubber-match, Paret made a nasty remark about Griffith that Griffith was an homosexual. A gay man. After 11 rounds of brutality, in round 12, Griffith staggered Paret to a corner and Paret received 20 unanswered blows. The referee stopped the butchery too late and Paret collapsed. Ten days later, Paret dies in a hospital.

2. Muhammad Ali W15 Ernie Terrell..... February 6, 1967: the fight was for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. WBA World Heavyweight Champion, Terrell of Chicago, IL, fights WBC counterpart Ali of Louisville, KY. When they were younger in their amateur days, and even in the beginning of their professional careers, were friends. In a bizarre interview by American announcer Howard Cossell of ABC Sports, Terrell out of a antagonistic gesture, refused to call his opponent by his new name: Muhammad Ali. He referred Ali as Cassius Clay and Ali was furious. Very furious. Never before or after, the public had seen Ali so angry and mad. Ali in retaliation, told Terrell that he was an Uncle Tom. They almost came to blows in front of live TV in the Wide World of Sports audience. Ali whupped Terrell by almost a one-sided beatdown. In between rounds and during the fight, he humiliated Terrell by asking him, "What's my name?", "What's my name?" "What's my name?"

3. Joe Frazier W15 Muhammad Ali......March 8, 1971: It was the Fight of the Century. No fight has ever come close when it came down to anticipation, performance and expectations. This fight didn't need no introduction. Two undefeated champions fighting for the Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship to decide who the real champion is. But, before that magical night, in press conferences, Ali belittled Smokin' Joe by calling him an Uncle Tom. It was uncalled for. The fight ended by Frazier knocking down The Greatest in the 15th and final round of brutality. Ali got up, but the knockdown gave the balance to Frazier as the winner.

4. Muhammad Ali W12 Joe Frazier (II)..... January 28, 1974: Again in the Madison Square Garden, the sequel had to happen. I an analysis of their first fight at ABC Sports Studios with Howard Cossell, in the middle of the review, Ali somewhat and somehow called Frazier "ignorant". This infuriated Smokin' Joe and both champions were wrestling on the floor, without boxing gloves. It was bizarre. It was for real. Both fighters were fined the New York State Boxing Commission for that nasty behavior.

[elmersalsa]

5. Roberto Duran WTKO14 Ray Lampkin......March 2, 1975: Ray Lampkin, a good boxer, travelled all the way from his hometown of Portland, OR to Panama City, Panama to bring the World Lightweight Championship to America since 1962. The champion, the great Roberto Duran, had the local crowd behind him in a sweltering heat of that Sunday afternoon. After 13 brutal rounds, Lampkin went toe to toe with the feared champion. Duran, slightly ahead on the cards, came in round 14th and gave Lampkin a left hook to the body and chin and down went Lampkin. The referee counted until 1000. He was out! Duran retained his crown. Lampkin went to the nearby hospital. When a reporter told it to the Hands of Stone, Duran replied:" I knocked him out and I wasn't in great shape and he went to the hospital. Next time, I will put him in a morgue!"

[Muhammad Ali WTKO14 Joe Frazier (III)...... October 1, 1975[/b]: in one of the greatest fights in boxing history. The rubber match has to happen. Both out of their primes, wanted to come on top on the trilogy. They brought the best out of each other in their first two fights. And this one, was no different. It was brutal. It was dramatical. It was a fight that had a sensational finale of their grudge matches. Again, Ali, went too far in press conferences saying things like, "C'mon gorilla! This is Manila! C'mon gorilla! This is the Thrilla!" And other words like "It will be a chilla, a killa and a Thrilla, when I get the gorilla in Manila!" Yes, Ali called Frazier a gorilla. The fight ended, when both beat up and exhausted from the Philippines heat, with Frazier staying on his stool and Ali was awarded the TKO.

Roberto Duran W15 Sugar Ray Leonard......June 20, 1980: The Brawl in Montreal. Former great lightweight king, Roberto Duran challenges the Golden Boy, America's boxing darling and Olympic champion Sugar Ray Leonard. Leonard, an undefeated dazzling fighter with great movement, agility and speed, was lured by the feared Panamanian to fight toe to toe for 15 brutal rounds. Duran tried everything to challenge Leonard's manhood. Sometimes to fight him right there and then in press conferences. Sometimes by calling him bad names in Spanish that Leonard couldn't understand. Duran even went that far by telling Leonard's wife, "After I finished with your husband, I will fornicate you!" It was raw. It was nasty. It wasn't uncalled for. This fight didn't need no introduction. It was the first super fight under the heavyweight division that commanded attention. Some sources say that the Hands of Stone called Juanita Leonard, Leonard's wife, a whore. Was this a strategy of Duran for Leonard to abandon his boxing skills and go toe to toe with one of the greatest inside fighters of all time? Probably, yes. For Duran, this wasn't any fight. It wasn't about sportsmanship. It was personal. Duran humiliated Leonard, Leonard's wife and yes, American Boxing. Duran became the legend. Leonard a man. Duran wrestles the WBC World Welterweight Title from Leonard in one of boxing's great all time fights.

[elmersalsa]

8. Salvador Sanchez WTKO8 Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez...... August 21, 1981: the fight was called" The Battle of the Little Giants". Salvador Sanchez of Mexico defends for the 6th time his WBC World Featherweight Crown against WBC World Super Bantamweight Champion Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico.

It was the peak of the rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico. Gomez, the undefeated challenger, used every press conference available to belittle the champion Sanchez by calling him all kinds of names. He had a disdain for Sanchez. Sanchez kept it all in stride. He was got to show the whole world what is he made of. And boy! Did Gomez had a thrashing? It was one of boxing's history greatest performances. Sanchez later said after the fight "You talk with your mouth and fight with your fists!" Gomez received the greatest shellacking of his career.

9. Bernard Hopkins WTKO12 Felix "Tito" Trinidad... September 29, 2001: it was for all the marbles! The winner goes to boxing immortality and becomes the Undisputed World Middleweight Champion since 1986 when the great Marvelous Marvin Hagler held all crowns. But before the fight, in press conferences, Hopkins took it too far by throwing the Puerto Rican flag, a symbol of a nation, to the ground not once, but twice. One in Puerto Rico and the other one in New York City. He not only humiliated Tito by throwing his flag on the ground, but, an entire Island! After press conferences, Tito's supporters wanted a piece of Hopkins. Why didn't Tito crossed him right then with a right? Was he scared of the Executioner? Hopkins gave Tito a sound beating for 12 rounds ending on TKO. A one-sided beatdown.

10. Lennox Lewis WKO8 Mike Tyson.....June 7, 2002: Lennox Lewis, the linear and former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, defends his WBC World Heavyweight Championship against two-time heavyweight king Mike Tyson. The fight was made in Memphis, TN of all places!

In probably England's greatest sport weekend, Lewis stopped Tyson in 8 rounds. He dominated Tyson from the beginning. It was the fight that the English Lion needed in his legacy and to become an all time great heavyweight boxer.

But that happened after Tyson's crazy and antagonizing press conferences before the fight by saying "I'll eat his (Lewis) his children!" To our bemusement, Lewis at the time, didn't had any children.


What are other insults that you remember? Which one of these you believe was the one that it went too far?

Your comments.

[Crease]

Muhammad Ali definitely did in my estimation. He called Floyd Patterson and Ernie Terrell "Uncle Toms" - but he used that phrase most maliciously for Joe Frazier, which Ali never failed to criticise and slate on every occasion, especially after Frazier floored and beat him in the FOTC.

It was extremely unfair to call Frazier that considering that Joe zealously tried to join the army and fight for his country on four separate occasions, but it was denied due to his partial vision. Comparing that to Ali's refusal to enlist citing his religious beliefs then shortly thereafter adding to it by lecturing about racism in America the famed "you're my opposer when I want freedom, you won't even stand up for me right here at home" speech.

It was Ali who turned his back on his country's call, Frazier never did - yet Frazier is the one who is harangued and insulted. One other thing to consider is the precedent set in WW2, when Joe Louis was World Champ. Ali would never have been sent to the front lines, he would have been used as a morale-booster for the troops doing exhibitions about the place the way that Joe Louis did... So Ali still didn't accept it, even if he was getting a much easier ride than the average foot soldier.

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Dupe

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Elmo, I know you mean well, but Ali prefight Terrell nonsense was staged. They were former sparmates, good buds, with Terrell actually accompanied young Ali on a tour of Black Colleges where Ali was often shouted down for his nonsense.

You weren't there, but I was as a 15 yr old kid driving my mom's new Buick SkyWagon accompanied by my best buds Jack and Mike to watch a prefight training wrap a few days before the Saturday fight, just an exhibition for the press and fans. They were both excellent physical specimens that wowed me as a kid, so when Terrell finished his exhibition, he put on his robe to head to his temporary trainer cube adjacent to Ali's cube as Ali comes rushing out the door. Spectators, a couple dozen flooded the premise with we kids up close when Ali swung a roundhouse and Terrell responded as they wrestled their restraining teams, physically moving us kids around. I'm, "Wow, so this is what a Heavyweight Fight feels like!"

So the Teams got them separated as Ali climbed into the ring, ditched his robe to do some light shadowboxing to wow the new sedated crowd. Less than a minute later he jumped through the ropes to sprint to Terrell's cube, jerking it open and shut it where a huge brawl broke out. I was right on his tail, but the door was locked, so I grabbed my buds to take them to the side where they boosted me so I could pull myself up and look down on them. Terrell was sitting up naked with a towel over him on a stainless steel training table banging a street shoe and shouting. His trainer and Ali were opposite each other with metal folding chairs beating on the walls and screaming.

As I started to pull myself over to drop in for some fun a security guard grabbed my foot to yank me down as another unlocked the door to lead Ali out still screaming. Ali jumps back into the ring for a lazy spar of what would become his infamous ropa dopa that he claimed to invent in Zaire farce for Foreman. He let hisself get beat up to the body so bad he was never the same fighter and ducked the lucrative immediate rematch as detailed in the Nov, 1974 Playboy interview to fight Wepner in Podunk, Ohio where he got beat up some more. 3 fight novice George had destroyed Wepner inside 3 rounds for reference.

Anyway, what I witnessed was quite a bit different from the high feudal drama the press reported, ie Howie Cosell, giving me a healthy suspicion of the role of media in general that certainly resonates today with liberal press and conservative press sensationalizing most of their publications. While brilliantly complicit in their staged feud, their fight was very brutal with the bigger, more mature Terrell roughing up Ali on the ropes with some dirty fighting and clubbing right hands. Earnie certainly wanted both belts, but finally Ali managed to rub Ernie's face into the ropes that scratched up his eyes such that he was a defenseless punching bag. Hence Ali cruel "What's my name" act that was genuinely vicious.

BTW, Wepner detailed how Ali wanted him to call Ali a Nlgger during a prefight TV interview, but Chuck said No Way, so they made up some other schtick to sell to the rubes.

[elmersalsa]

- Elmo, I know you mean well, but Ali prefight Terrell nonsense was staged. They were former sparmates, good buds, with Terrell actually accompanied young Ali on a tour of Black Colleges where Ali was often shouted down for his nonsense.

You weren't there, but I was as a 15 yr old kid driving my mom's new Buick SkyWagon accompanied by my best buds Jack and Mike to watch a prefight training wrap a few days before the Saturday fight, just an exhibition for the press and fans. They were both excellent physical specimens that wowed me as a kid, so when Terrell finished his exhibition, he put on his robe to head to his temporary trainer cube adjacent to Ali's cube as Ali comes rushing out the door. Spectators, a couple dozen flooded the premise with we kids up close when Ali swung a roundhouse and Terrell responded as they wrestled their restraining teams, physically moving us kids around. I'm, "Wow, so this is what a Heavyweight Fight feels like!"

So the Teams got them separated as Ali climbed into the ring, ditched his robe to do some light shadowboxing to wow the new sedated crowd. Less than a minute later he jumped through the ropes to sprint to Terrell's cube, jerking it open and shut it where a huge brawl broke out. I was right on his tail, but the door was locked, so I grabbed my buds to take them to the side where they boosted me so I could pull myself up and look down on them. Terrell was sitting up naked with a towel over him on a stainless steel training table banging a street shoe and shouting. His trainer and Ali were opposite each other with metal folding chairs beating on the walls and screaming.

As I started to pull myself over to drop in for some fun a security guard grabbed my foot to yank me down as another unlocked the door to lead Ali out still screaming. Ali jumps back into the ring for a lazy spar of what would become his infamous ropa dopa that he claimed to invent in Zaire farce for Foreman. He let hisself get beat up to the body so bad he was never the same fighter and ducked the lucrative immediate rematch as detailed in the Nov, 1974 Playboy interview to fight Wepner in Podunk, Ohio where he got beat up some more. 3 fight novice George had destroyed Wepner inside 3 rounds for reference.

Anyway, what I witnessed was quite a bit different from the high feudal drama the press reported, ie Howie Cosell, giving me a healthy suspicion of the role of media in general that certainly resonates today with liberal press and conservative press sensationalizing most of their publications. While brilliantly complicit in their staged feud, their fight was very brutal with the bigger, more mature Terrell roughing up Ali on the ropes with some dirty fighting and clubbing right hands. Earnie certainly wanted both belts, but finally Ali managed to rub Ernie's face into the ropes that scratched up his eyes such that he was a defenseless punching bag. Hence Ali cruel "What's my name" act that was genuinely vicious.

BTW, Wepner detailed how Ali wanted him to call Ali a Nlgger during a prefight TV interview, but Chuck said No Way, so they made up some other schtick to sell to the rubes.

Hey, thanks for the info!

[NazNaci1]

- Elmo, I know you mean well, but Ali prefight Terrell nonsense was staged. They were former sparmates, good buds, with Terrell actually accompanied young Ali on a tour of Black Colleges where Ali was often shouted down for his nonsense.

You weren't there, but I was as a 15 yr old kid driving my mom's new Buick SkyWagon accompanied by my best buds Jack and Mike to watch a prefight training wrap a few days before the Saturday fight, just an exhibition for the press and fans. They were both excellent physical specimens that wowed me as a kid, so when Terrell finished his exhibition, he put on his robe to head to his temporary trainer cube adjacent to Ali's cube as Ali comes rushing out the door. Spectators, a couple dozen flooded the premise with we kids up close when Ali swung a roundhouse and Terrell responded as they wrestled their restraining teams, physically moving us kids around. I'm, "Wow, so this is what a Heavyweight Fight feels like!"

So the Teams got them separated as Ali climbed into the ring, ditched his robe to do some light shadowboxing to wow the new sedated crowd. Less than a minute later he jumped through the ropes to sprint to Terrell's cube, jerking it open and shut it where a huge brawl broke out. I was right on his tail, but the door was locked, so I grabbed my buds to take them to the side where they boosted me so I could pull myself up and look down on them. Terrell was sitting up naked with a towel over him on a stainless steel training table banging a street shoe and shouting. His trainer and Ali were opposite each other with metal folding chairs beating on the walls and screaming.

As I started to pull myself over to drop in for some fun a security guard grabbed my foot to yank me down as another unlocked the door to lead Ali out still screaming. Ali jumps back into the ring for a lazy spar of what would become his infamous ropa dopa that he claimed to invent in Zaire farce for Foreman. He let hisself get beat up to the body so bad he was never the same fighter and ducked the lucrative immediate rematch as detailed in the Nov, 1974 Playboy interview to fight Wepner in Podunk, Ohio where he got beat up some more. 3 fight novice George had destroyed Wepner inside 3 rounds for reference.

Anyway, what I witnessed was quite a bit different from the high feudal drama the press reported, ie Howie Cosell, giving me a healthy suspicion of the role of media in general that certainly resonates today with liberal press and conservative press sensationalizing most of their publications. While brilliantly complicit in their staged feud, their fight was very brutal with the bigger, more mature Terrell roughing up Ali on the ropes with some dirty fighting and clubbing right hands. Earnie certainly wanted both belts, but finally Ali managed to rub Ernie's face into the ropes that scratched up his eyes such that he was a defenseless punching bag. Hence Ali cruel "What's my name" act that was genuinely vicious.

BTW, Wepner detailed how Ali wanted him to call Ali a Nlgger during a prefight TV interview, but Chuck said No Way, so they made up some other schtick to sell to the rubes.

Wow, interesting read, BRR. Can only imagine what is was like being around all that 'hullabaloo'. Still, regardless, fantastic memories. Thank you.