Muhammad Ali would have turned 81 this week. That’s a good excuse to watch my three favourite Ali fights.
- Ali vs. Ken Norton 2
Norton broke Ali’s jaw when he upset him in the first fight. Here Ali steps on the gas in the final round of a back-and-forth brawl to secure the split-decision victory on the cards. The less said about the third fight the better.
- Ali vs. Earnie Shavers
Anything Shavers hit, he destroyed. Ali goes toe-to-toe with Shavers in round 15 to save his title reign and pull out a decision victory.
- Ali vs Joe Frazier 3
The ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ is as close as two human beings can come to beating each other to death without actually succeeding.
The fight with George Foreman in Zaire has historical significance, but these bouts demonstrate how Ali reinvented himself as a cerebral brawler with an unbreakable will in the latter half of his career. As his speed and reflexes eroded, Ali managed to compete, and mostly win, against the best generation of heavyweights up to that point.
