Muhammad Ali

Tyson Fury compares his coming back to Ali’s epic return to the crown versus Foreman

Tyson Fury compares his coming back to Ali's epic return to the crown versus Foreman

It’s just talk and will remain as such until he gets his license back, but former and unbeaten heavyweight ruler Tyson Fury is busy calling out not only his rival Brit Anthony Joshua, but also Deontay Wilder.

As convinced as ever that he has the beating of both the reigning WBA/IBF champ along with the current WBC king, Fury has declared, once again, how he will be back. And this time, via his twitter page, Fury has said his return to glory by “taking down” Joshua will be just like the great Muhammad Ali’s return to the crown against George Foreman back in 1974.

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Warren: Comparing Joshua to Ali? It is beyond stupid

Warren: Comparing Joshua to Ali? It is beyond stupid

Top British boxing promoter Frank Warren says that anyone who compares reigning WBA and IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua to the great, the, well, incomparable Muhammad Ali is saying something that is “beyond stupid.”

Most fans, in fact virtually all of them, will agree perfectly with Warren; although, shockingly and sadly there are those people who are trying to tell us that AJ, at just 20-0, is already a great fighter – even deserving of being compared with “The Greatest.” Warren spoke on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show this morning and the promoter explained his feelings on Joshua.

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Happy Birthday, Lennox Lewis – The greatest heavyweight champ after Ali?

Happy Birthday, Lennox Lewis – The greatest heavyweight champ after Ali?

“Not in this lifetime,” heavyweight legend George Foreman on the subject of him fighting Lennox Lewis.

Retired heavyweight legend Lennox Lewis turns 52 today. The last undisputed world heavyweight king holds another fine distinction: that of being a fighter who defeated every opponent he ever faced. Yes, Lewis suffered defeat – by stoppage, at the hands of Oliver McCall in 1994 and to Hasim Rahman in 2001 – but he did what the greats fighters do: come back and get revenge.

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Boxing’s finest trash-talkers!

Boxing's finest trash-talkers!

Finally they are silent – for now. We’ve been “treated” to plenty of hype, nastiness, fun and games and, most notably, trash-talking these past four days; courtesy of Floyd Mayweather Junior and Conor McGregor. And, perhaps surprisingly, it is McGregor who gets most votes when it comes to who had the fastest, smartest mouth during the four-day press tour; with the MMA star getting off better, more amusing lines than his upcoming August ring rival.

Trash-talking has of course been around the sport of boxing for decades, with it today being as big a part of the game as stare-downs, catch-weight fights and rematch clauses. Trash-talking can be fun; if it’s done right. Mayweather, for once, found himself out-talked by McGregor (rest assured Floyd will make him pay in the fight next month) but “Money” is usually on the money when it comes to hurling both amusing and effective (effective at rattling his opponent) insults.

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Six Rounds With Alfredo Evangelista: The former European heavyweight champ speaks on Ali, Holmes, Snipes, Spinks

Six Rounds With Alfredo Evangelista: The former European heavyweight champ speaks on Ali, Holmes, Snipes, Spinks

Spain’s Alfredo Evagelista is, along with Earnie Shavers, Larry Holmes and Leon Spinks, one of the last surviving former fighters to have gone toe-to-toe with an ageing, yet still hugely influential Muhammad Ali.

As with Shavers and Spinks, Evangelista is best known for his fight with Ali. It was back in May of 1977, some forty years ago, when a 22 year old Evangelista entered the ring against the 35 year old Ali. A huge underdog, the challenger who was born in Uruguay surprised quite a few people by pushing Ali all the way to the final bell, losing a 15-round unanimous decision in Landover, Maryland.

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Ali at his peak: Unbeatable?

Ali at his peak: Unbeatable?

A half century ago, the world was being dazzled, baffled and entertained by a heavyweight champion who fought like no heavyweight before him. Muhammad Ali, aged 24 and approaching his absolute peak, had won the crown a couple of years earlier and he had made the title retentions he registered since shocking the greatly feared Sonny Liston look almost easy.

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New book counts the number of punches “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali took

New book counts the number of punches “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali took

Today, June 3rd, marks the first anniversary of the death of the one and only Muhammad Ali; without a single doubt the most famous boxer of all time. The tributes continue to come in thick and fast for the three time world heavyweight champion who would have been 75 today had he not lost his long and extremely brave battle with Parkinson’s.

The books continue to roll in, too – even though, as has been pointed out by more than a few boxing aficionados, there surely cannot be anything to write about Ali that hasn’t already been written. We’ve had “The Real Story,” with Ali’s autobiography, released way back in 1975, we’ve had another endorsed account of Ali’s life, with the 1991 effort by Thomas Hauser, and we’ve had hundreds, if not thousands of Ali books since.

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50 years ago: Ali stripped and refused license to fight – but think what might have happened if he’d been able to box on

50 years ago: Ali stripped and refused license to fight – but think what might have happened if he'd been able to box on

A half century ago (March 22, 1967) the greatest heavyweight champion boxer in the sport’s long history was, quite disgracefully, stripped of his world title. Even worse, Muhammad Ali – who was still unashamedly being called Cassius Clay by certain people who basically knew no better – was refused the right to box, to earn a living.

It was the height of America’s most unpopular (some would say needless) war, and Ali, having been ordered to fight in Vietnam, refused and was almost universally vilified as a result. Called a traitor and other things, Ali had been transformed from a jovial, entertaining star fighter to a cowardly non-fighter. It would be years, almost four, before Ali would be exonerated and referred to by his real name by all.

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Muhammad Ali: The Greatest would have turned 75 today – why we will never forget him

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest would have turned 75 today – why we will never forget him

As surely any boxing fan knows, the great, the incomparable, the immortal Muhammad Ali would have celebrated his 75th birthday today, January 17, 2017. Sadly, as everyone does know, The Greatest left us in June of last year. What Ali left behind is far, far more than a legacy as the finest heavyweight boxer of all time.

Ali meant so much to so many people; from a political standpoint, to a sporting standpoint, to a racial standpoint and more. George Foreman perhaps said it best years ago, when he said that everybody, from any walk of life, was “lifted up a notch” when they met Ali. But speaking from a boxing standpoint only, Ali thrilled fans and gave a piece of himself in a manner that will never be repeated.

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