Since he burst onto the boxing scene in at the 1960 Olmypics, Muhammad Ali has been regarded as the best. In Rome, Ali won a gold medal and launched a career that saw him claim the heavyweight championship 4 years later over Sonny Liston. At the time, Ali was the youngest champion ever in boxing (broken by Mike Tyson).
In his final fight for the WBC championship belt in 1980 against Larry Holmes, Ali was obliterated by a much younger champion. Ali's loss was a tragedy to many of his supporters and fans.
In spite of that loss to Holmes and the subsequent loss in his final fight to unheralded Trevor Berbick, Ali's legacy is that of a champion. Even more than that, though, is the perception of Ali as a tremendou human being and humanitarian. With that said, we are going to take a closer look at the Greatest Boxing Champion of all time by answer the following questions.
DO NOT REPEAT AN ANSWER (This means you may have to read the posts of others).
QUESTIONS/RESPONSES:
1) What one word would you use to describe Ali? Defend the use of that word!!!! Give examples.
2) Look up information about Ali (http://www.ali.com/). What one thing did you NOT know about him?
3) What is the greatest measure of a champion, be it athlete or otherwise? Do you think Ali lived up to this? Explain.
4) Go to Larry Holmes' official site www.larryholmes.com. What three facts did you uncover about Larry Holmes?
1. Cocky- Ali was too cocky before he fought Holmes, Holmes was in much better shape then Ali and a lot younger. Ali didn't recognize that age really does change the way you perform.
ReplyDelete2. For Ali's first amateur fight he only won $4.
3. The greatest measure of a champion in my eyes would be, you fought for the title and then you hold onto the title until you retire, and after you retire you can live a normal life and be able to tell about your experiences. Ali came close to living up to this, he was a very successful boxer, but after boxing it had messed with his head so much, he was kinda wacky.
4.Holmes held the world heavy weight title for 7 years, out of 75 professional fights he had 69 wins and 6 losses with 44 knockouts, and started his amateur career when he was only 19.
1.Tough- Muhammad was tough because he would never give up even when he was up against a younger faster and stronger holmes.
ReplyDelete2.Ali won the 1960 olympich light heaveyweight gold metal
3.The greatest measure of a champion is getting or winning the best and biggest title or trophy in your category and ali was a champion because he won the heavyweight title three times.
4.During larrys career he never turned down a fight, he averaged 5 fights a year and one year he took on 9 fights, at one point larry had won 48 fights in a row.
1) Persistant. Ali never gave up. He fought until he could no longer physically or mentaly fight anymore. He should have stopped after his first retirement though.
ReplyDelete2) Ali never had a job as a teen all he did was fight and train.
3)The greatest measure of a champion for an athlete is how many championships he won. Ali fits this very well because he won 3 Heavyweight titles.
4) Holmes never turned down a fight, returned from retirement to fight Mike Tyson, inducted into the Hall of Fame on June 8, 2008.
1) Greatest. Ali was the greatest and he knew it. He wanted to show the world too.
ReplyDelete2) Malcolm X and Ali were friends and introduced him to the Islamic church.
3)The greatest measure of a champion is how many times you get back up to win the fight. How many times you get knocked down, and get back up, to win the fight.
4)World Heavyweight Champion (1978-1985) Inducted Into The International Boxing Hall of Fame: June 8, 2008 Professional Record: 75 Fights, 69 Wins 6 Loses & 44 Knockouts
1) Devoted/Committed- Ali was set on ending his career on his own terms. He felt that if he loved boxing and could win, he wouldn't retire. Also, he spent a great portion of his time in life on boxing, which shows his great committment to the sport and winning.
ReplyDelete2) Ali scheduled fights in far-flung locales, showing a shift from superpower dominance toward a growing awareness of the developing world.
3) The greatest measure of a champion is to reach the pinnacle of their sport. Ali reached this mark in boxing as he not only won multiple heavyweight title belts, but he also was a great humanitarian and leader. (He reached the pinnacle of boxing as the great athlete he was and for the great example he lead in the community -- He was the best in both).
4) 1- Holmes dropped out of school in 7th grade to support his family financially.
2- He Won the WBC Heavyweight title at the age of 29 in 1978.
3- Larry Holmes is a great role model as he proved hard work and discipline will guide you towards your life goals.
1) Champion- He won three heavy weight titles and a gold medal. Even at the end of his career he still talked and fought like a champion.
ReplyDelete2) His first fight he fought a sheriff of another town.
3) The greatest measure of a champion is how great someone career was and how many championships you've won doing it.
4) He fought Mike Tyson coming out of retirement. Won the title when he was twenty-nine. He owns a restaurant.
1) Confident - Even though he was much older the Holmes, he kept saying he would win and had no doubt that he would loose.
ReplyDelete2) He only lost 5 fights in his professional career. He was 56-5.
3)I believe the greatest measure of a champion is not thinking anyone can beat you and when you are down, you never quit. Ali lived to this because because he he thought he could beat anyone, and as the video showed, when Holmes was destroying Ali, he wouldn't go down.
4. He has his own statue in New Jersey, has a TV show, and has a street named after him
1)Fighter- he just wanted to fight even though he was facing the young champion and his health condition was bad and old.
ReplyDelete2) He got Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, the United States of America's highest civil award.
3)I think that the greatest measure of champion is being the best in your sports and being admired by other athlete.
4)1-He won 48 professional fight in a row
2-He held the title for 7and a half years with 20 consecutive title match.
3-when he was 22year old, he was a sparring partner of Muhammad Ali.
1. Over confident= Holmes was much younger, and much more prepared than Ali. And It cost Ali the match
ReplyDelete2. Ali's first amature fight he won 4$.
3. A champion is modest about his wins, and he knows when to call it quits. Ali didn't live up to my definition of a champion.
4. 1. he never turned down a fight
2. 69 wins out of 75 fights
3. Inducted into the Hall of Fame on June 8, 2008
1)Confident-even though he was old, out of shape, and not even a contest to Larry Holmes he still considered himself a favorite against him.
ReplyDelete2)He's scared of flying
3)The greatest measure of a champion is how many championshps they have and if they maintained a consistent winning way for a long time. Ali definately showed he was a champion because he won the championship and maintained it for a long time.
4)
a)Larry retired for some time and then camee back for a fight against Mike Tyson.
b)became an entrepreneur in real estate.
c)Larry never turned down a fight and always fought no matter what the cost was.
1- Arrogant. Sure, he was one of the greatest boxers ever but that doesn't mean he cant have some respect for others.
ReplyDelete2- He traveled across continents,hand-delivered food and medical supplies to children in Cote D'Ivoire, Indonesia, Mexico, and Morocco among other countries.
3- The greatest measure of a champion in boxing is how many fights you've won and how tough you are. No matter how crazy a fight seems, a champion will face the challenge and give it their very best thinking that they can win - which in most cases will make that athlete admired by others.
4- a)Fought on avg. 5 times a year
b) Never turned down a fight
c) There is going to be a 9-foot statue of Holmes built
Cocky- Ali was definately a cocky person, but he was a good kind of cocky, he believed in his ability and his prowess and just let people know it. He had the confidence that all good athletes have whether they admit it or not, all star athletes are cocky.
ReplyDeleteHe won 37 fights by knockout
I think the greatest measurement of Champion is ones ability to win and over come any obstacle in order to do so. Yes I think Ali was a champion no other boxer on the Planet was able to accomplish what he did. He just won that's all there really needs to be said, and the way he won and how he acted made him seem larger then life, he just presented himself as a champion.
He dropped out of school in 7th grade. He came out of retirement and fought on Tuesday night fights about 5 times a year. Lost his title to Spinks in 1985
1) swag- "The Champ," had unmeasured confidence. The way he carried himself and built up his reputation of the greatest speaks for itself.
ReplyDelete2) I didn't know he was Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Century"
3) The greatest measure of a champion is not only the success they have in their sport, but also the way they live their life. I believe Ali lived up to this standard because of his legendary boxing ability and the caring human being he was.
4) I didn't know Holmes was 6'3"
I didn't know he had 13" forearms
I didn't know he had a 35" waist
TYLER JOHNSON
ReplyDelete1- Passionate. Throughout his whole career Ali never once lost his confidence even when he was weak and all odds seemed to be against him.
2- Ali acted in a number of movies and motion pictures, including The Greatest, a film about the life and legend of Muhammad Ali himself.
3- A champion is someone who is legendary at what they do, yet at the same time, not overly arrogant, and still willing to quit when their era comes to an end.
4- Larry Holmes never once turned down a fight, held the heavyweight title for 7.5 years after 48 consecutive wins, Holmes briefly came out of retirement and back into the public eye for a fight against the legendary Mike Tyson.
1) One word that I would use to describe Ali is relentless. In the ring he would never back down to any boxer, and would always push himself to be the best. During training he would never quit getting bettter. Off the field he was relentless with his beliefs and the desire to help people.
ReplyDelete2) His real name was Cassius Clay. I didn't know that his waist was so big, because he was so quick and agile. I also didnt know his first fight was when he was 12.
3) I think that a champion is a person that is able to be successful in his sport, but also be able to handle his own off the field. I also think that someone is a champion if they respect their opponents and dont act too arrogant.
4) I didnt know that Larry Holmes never ever said no to a fight. I never knew that Larry Holmes that was a very good boxer, and was overshadowed by Ali's career. I also didnt know he dropped out of school to fight.