steve689 wrote:I would agree on that, Roach will be going to DLH doubt Oscar will go to Roach.
Floyd Snr deliberatly asked for $2million off Oscar knowing Oscar wouldn't stump it up as Floyd has reservations about doing the corner despite what he said. If Oscar relented then a cool $2million.
Surely anyone with any knowledge though knows that deterioration of speech is usually the first sign of brain damage, comparing Toneys speech today with how he was in his middleweight/supermiddleweight days is quite shocking, he already seems to be almost as bad speechwise as Thomas Hearns is at 47.... (mind you the fact that Haerns was allowed to fight a while back says an awful lot!) Dodgey brain scans only show something when the damage has already become quite severe. Its things like this that makes boxing hard to defend sometimes....
With Ali I think the difference in his speech is pretty apparent before and after his lay off due to the whole draft controversy. Given that Ali took very little punishment in the first part of his career I think he might always have been destined to suffer from Parkinsons and the fact that he probably spent a few years boxing with the very early symptoms makes his career even more remarkable.
Toney's speech was always pretty drawly, as was Roy Jones' in that interview, but christ, he sounds really badly punchdrunk, he can barely pronounce his words properly and it sounds like he has real trouble controlling his mouth.
He still sounds mentally sharp, but there's something waiting for James in the locker when he retires and I don't mean a big fat T-bone steak.
Actually, if you turn off the picture, he starts sounding like James Brown.
With Ali I think the difference in his speech is pretty apparent before and after his lay off due to the whole draft controversy. Given that Ali took very little punishment in the first part of his career I think he might always have been destined to suffer from Parkinsons and the fact that he probably spent a few years boxing with the very early symptoms makes his career even more remarkable.
I do wonder whether Ali had the early stages of Parkinsons when he first came back in '70... its always puzzled me that he lost so much of his leg speed and coordination, while 3 years out were bound to take some toll the difference is so stark that I have wondered whether it was an early sign of his illness....
Seeing the fightfan interview, I don't know if he had a sparring session but he looks like (obviously he hasn't) that he has had a stroke - his right side (as you look at him) of his mouth doesn't move in the way as his left - maybe he had hurt his jaw.
I believe his speech post Peter II is even more alarming. I personally thought that his speech was similar to his days as a cruiserweight, but there is a difference to his begining of his career.
Mike Tyson is another fighter whose speech alarms me - no major slur and he always had a lisp, just very very much quieter (almost hussing) these days. Actually reminds of the difference between Ali in the 60's and Ali in the mid 70's.
