BoxRec

bump....another blast from the past......2001....good read though.

It appears that the best athletes are achieving higher performances over time based on records in various sports. One might expect that the best fighters of today would be better than the best fighters of 30 years ago based on improvements in other sports. However, the rate of improvement may be rather slow.

The OLN network is going to repeat it again tonight.
Watch the ninth round.
That was the round that Ali predict he would knock Bonavena out,but almost gets knocked out him self.
Its too bad OLN didnt do slow motion,because apparently the original broadcast of
The closed circuit or ABC wild world of sports with Howard Cossell
did not review the reported slip or when Bonavena lands the big left with just 25 seconds left in the round.That looks like the punch that Ali claimed made him feel numb from head to toes.

When I started following boxing in the late fifties, early sixties, the people of the earlier generation were always trying to convince me that the champions of my era could not be compared with theirs. Therefore, just sticking to the heavyweights, Louis was so much better than Marciano who was infinitely superior to Patterson. Once Liston defeated Floyd, they shut up for a while.....But of course, Johnson and Dempsey were much greater yet for the oldtimers.

Oh think it's just human nature to believe that the sporting idols of one's youth were the best, if for no other reason that we were so much younger and the champions of that era would reflect their glory on us.

Said that, I don't believe that the 70's gave such a great lot to boxing, and Bonavena was a typical fighter of that period: As tough as nails but not enough boxing skills for mine. He'd make life very hard for the champions, but, like Chuvalo and Quarry, would never quite win the bigones.

Do I believe Oscar would become champion today? Who knows, but he would have had the chance to defeat one of the many "champions".

One thing is certain: No active fighter is worthy of the belts that once were Ali's, Robinson, Louis', Moore's, Pep's, Ketchel's and so forth.

And here endeth the lesson.

Praise be to Aldo!

You know I took my alarm clock when they showed the 15th round again.
From the time Bonavena hit the canvas the first time through the third time he hit the canvas was 23 seconds(approx)
If the ref had made Ali go to a nutruel corner would Bonavena have made it to the final bell?
notice how Ali seems to push the refs arm away to get to Bonavena after the first knock down.

Guest wrote:Did anyone watch the Ali - Bonevena fight on ESPN Classics last night? I never realized how close Bonevena came to winning that fight. Cosell was announcing and Yancy Durham was keeping score, it was essentially an even fight going into the 15th round on Durham's scorecard. Bonevena had nothing except toughness, strength, and stamina. His footwork, balance, and boxing skills were nonexistent, but he caught Ali a lot of times and looked to have Ali in trouble in the 11th.

They must have been watching a different fight than the ref and judges:

Bonavena knocked down three times in the 15th, forcing an automatic stoppage. Scoring at the time of the stoppage: 12-2, 10-3-1, 8-5-1 all for Ali.


http://www.boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?hu ... &cat=boxer

bonavena versus godoy ?

Brutu wrote:You know I took my alarm clock when they showed the 15th round again.
From the time Bonavena hit the canvas the first time through the third time he hit the canvas was 23 seconds(approx)
If the ref had made Ali go to a nutruel corner would Bonavena have made it to the final bell?
notice how Ali seems to push the refs arm away to get to Bonavena after the first knock down.

Good observations.

It has been a while since I saw that fight, but I don't recall Ali ever going to a neutral corner during those knockdowns.

The referee definitely lost control and let Ali get away with murder in that fight. (but he wasn't the first nor the last )