by David P. Greisman
Former cruiserweight contender Bash Ali was arrested last month after allegedly threatening to bomb a bank that had refused to give him money to put on a boxing match, according to Nigeria’s Premium Times.
Ali is claiming that he was arrested because he was going to reveal that the bank demanded cash as a bribe. He has a court date scheduled for Wednesday, March 4.
Ali has long sought to go into the Guinness Book of World Records by becoming the oldest person to be in a world title fight, though the belts he’d be contending for wouldn’t truly be considered world titles.
That might also explain why a fighter who BoxRec lists as just having turned 59 years old is referenced in the Premium Times article, likely erroneously, as being “in his seventies.”
“This ambition is not new,” wrote Ikeddy Isiguzo for Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper back in 2011. “When I first heard about it 15 years ago, there were suspicions that Bash had worked his age to reflect the world record status.”
Ali is listed having turned pro in 1978. He lost in three tries for cruiserweight world titles: dropping decisions to Carlos De Leon in 1984, Bobby Czyz in 1991 and Ralf Rocchigiani in 1996.
He last fought in 2004, scoring a technical knockout of longtime professional opponent Tony Booth, who at that point was 44-78-8. The win moved Ali’s listed record to 66-14 with 46 KOs.
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