BoxRec

Larry Holmes defeated Muhammad Ali. I remember being stunned. Did anyone else here bet on Ali that night ?

I didn't bet on it but there were many who fancied Ali to pull off another miracle, including the trade newspaper Boxing News. Sadly, Ali was deluding himself and it proved another horrendous night in a succession of horrendous nights around that time, with the Hagler- Minter riot, the baffling surrender of Roberto Duran and the Johnny Owen tragedy.

The year 1980 changed my life very sadly. I was very sad when Muhammad Ali lost to Larry Holmes. Very sad .
Then, Roberto Duran quits against Sugar Ray Leonard in New Orleans and I cried, cried, cried.

Then, John Lennon got shot? It was too much for me to bear.

And other personal stuff that happened to me that year that I would not mention, but, those events left a scar in my heart. I was only 12.

That was on closed-circuit satellite, where you had to go down to the movie house or an arena to watch it.
(450 across)
Didnt think Ali was going to pull it off, he was on the down-slide, and Holmes was around his peak in 1980.

elmersalsa wrote: ↑03 Oct 2024, 11:41 The year 1980 changed my life very sadly. I was very sad when Muhammad Ali lost to Larry Holmes. Very sad .
Then, Roberto Duran quits against Sugar Ray Leonard in New Orleans and I cried, cried, cried.

Then, John Lennon got shot? It was too much for me to bear.

And other personal stuff that happened to me that year that I would not mention, but, those events left a scar in my heart. I was only 12.

I was ten, elmersalsa. Ali was my dad's idol and, like a lot of grown men, he cried a lot. He was shouting at the tv for the ref to stop the fight and I was upset because he was upset. My own love of boxing started not long after that and Larry Holmes was my idol. The same happened to me the night I watched Tyson beat Larry and it was my turn to cry. If Larry had landed the uppercut (where his arm got caught in the rope) just before the final knockdown, the fight might have gone a few more rounds.

goose 5 wrote: ↑02 Oct 2024, 19:29 Larry Holmes defeated Muhammad Ali. I remember being stunned. Did anyone else here bet on Ali that night ?

I wanted to Ali to win, but I was a young kid who didn't know anything back then. But 80 was an interesting year. Remember also Michael Jackson's brother Randy having that bad car accident.

I was 8. I remember not knowing much other than everyone wanted Ali to win.

I liked to go against the crowd even then, so I quietly wanted Holmes. All I remembered of Ali was the beefburger advert he did in UK. He always seemed rude and a braggart.

Alfred Hitchcock died the same year. There was a real cultural shift. And not for the better.

he was 'shouting at the TV" for them to stop the fight ?
He must have been watching the de-layed taped later the weekend
on ABC's wide world of Sports.
I knew it wasn't going to go well for Ali (Holmes was a really vicious fighter)
I do remember listening to the radio that evening,
and in-between songs (or 2 ) they give an updated on the rounds
here is one of the songs I do remember hearing while listining

I was at the fight (sixth row) and desperately wanted Ali to win, but when The Greatest doffed his robe and everyone could see there wasn't a drop of sweat on his body, I got a very bad feeling. Holmes was surgical from the opening bell and executed his fight plan with ruthless precision. My enduring memory of what turned out to be the last round was the melancholy look on Larry's face as he went about his business ...

elmersalsa wrote: ↑03 Oct 2024, 11:41 The year 1980 changed my life very sadly. I was very sad when Muhammad Ali lost to Larry Holmes. Very sad .
Then, Roberto Duran quits against Sugar Ray Leonard in New Orleans and I cried, cried, cried.

Then, John Lennon got shot? It was too much for me to bear.

And other personal stuff that happened to me that year that I would not mention, but, those events left a scar in my heart. I was only 12.

I have similar experiences looking back to that time. I have a much greater appreciation of the 1970s today than I did back then. After Watergate and Vietnam there was a resurgence of liberalism in the US. Then runaway inflation (OPEC)and the Iranian Hostage Crisis changed the direction and brought on Ronald Reagan.

After Lennon was shot and Reagan became president, things would never be the same.

Not to mention, a lot of changes in my family structure.

I think everything in the USA really started going down hill when they took over the Embassy in Iran.

Did the year 1980 was a year that a lot of people had been hurt?

It gave me a different perspective in life. I don't know. But, this is the year that I think of the most in my lifetime. The year 1980.

Was it the year that everything changed?