The 60's A Deep Heavyweight Decade

[Willie Pep 229]

- - - - Tu confuso as is the Lout way.

I've read Cus's story with quotes. We have the 67 ABC footage of Ali refusing to sign the contract on Cosell's sport segment. AS I mentioned, the other proposed fights matched the first proposed fights in that Ali didn't generate the $$$$ needed to pay the guarantee of Wilt who used the farce of Ali to leverage his Laker contract negotitions much like Babe used Gunboat Smith to leverage Red Sox contracts. Like Wilt, Babe was in training for Gunboat and ready to fight when the guarantees came through.

The tooopid echo chamber on this forum is growing incessant. Purt soon U and monkeyman gonna be the only ones left gibbering at each other..

I never heard the Gunboat Smith story. Interesting.

Story I heard --> when Boston sold Ruth to New York they wanted to match his salary. Ruth wanted double. When the Yankees balked Ruth started talking to a west coast baseball league based in California.

When both MLB and the Yankees got wind that California was going to meet Ruth's deman they panicked, realizing that Ruth alone could make the west coast league viable and real competition; they would lose their strangle hold over the players. The Yankees then meet Ruth's demand.

I believe that neither Ali or Wilt ever intended to fight and that Ali was just doing a brother a favor by giving him leverage in his contract dealings with basketball. Both times.

The extra network air time didn't hurt Ali either. Both got lots of ink (media attention).

I say it was a conspiracy. Wouldn't even be surprised if Cowsell was in on it.

But I have been lambasted before for thinking with my gut. But W and I both think there is body based intelligence.

[Anthony342]

Told you you wouldn't get an answer! LOL
ps When Wilt the Stilt appeared with Ali onTV Ali had been coached to not kill the prospect of an easy pay day,but he couldn't resist shouting TIMBER!
Wilt's pugilistic ambitions then vanished.

It would have been a total mismatch .and only one of the "Three Stooges " on here would pretend any different,which just emphasises how ****** he is.

Amended ,now 4 stooges! Dr Mendacity,Queensbury Fool,Ghost of Desperation, and Willie Won't He ShalI I Shan't I?

Yeah we can see how frightened Ali was of oll Wily right here on video.lol

God there are some muppets on here!

Muhammad Ali & Wilt Chamberlain (myvidster.com)


Bernard Fernadez.
That athlete is the late Wilt Chamberlain, and we are fast approaching the anniversary date of what might have been the most intriguing oddity bout ever staged. Had Chamberlain not reneged on a verbal agreement to fight Ali by extending his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for a significant pay hike, Ali-Wilt would have taken place on July 26, 1971 in the Houston Astrodome.

.NB HAD CHAMBERLAIN NOT RENEGED ON A VERBAL AGREEMENT!

“In 1971 before the (first Joe) Frazier fight, I heard that Wilt Chamberlain wanted to fight Ali,” Arum said. “So I went to Herbert (Muhammad, Ali’s manager), and we agreed that, whatever the merits of the fight, the gate would be tremendous. Then I went to see Wilt, and he told me his greatest dream was to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world. And we signed a contract. But then Ali lost to Frazier, and Herbert came to me and said, `There’s no championship to fight for. What do we do now?’

“Well, we thought about it. And you have to understand, people pay millions of dollars to publicists and advertising agencies to promote themselves the way that Ali was instinctively able to. Even after he lost to Frazier – and later, when he lost to (Ken) Norton and (Leon) Spinks – he still overshadowed them all. So I told Herbert, `Let’s do the fight anyway.’”

" And I always thought that if I had to fight somebody, it would be Ali for two reasons.

“No. 1, he was the greatest of his era. And two, he was a kind person, so if it turned out that I was in over my head, he wouldn’t take cruel advantage of it, where some other fighters might try to hurt me if I was vulnerable.

“I was offered more money than I’d ever gotten (as a basketball player). It would have been a scheduled 10-round fight and I honestly believe I had a chance. I thought a man as great at his job as Ali was might take me lightly. I could see that happening … Against Ali, I thought I could acquit myself reasonably well. Ali would be coming in blind; he’d have no idea what he was facing, whereas I’d know what to expect. And of course, I had God-given strength and athletic ability.

.NB I WAS OFFERED MORE MONEY THAN I'D EVER GOTTEN AS A BASKETBALL PLAYER

But what if “The Greatest” – Muhammad Ali – had found himself staring across the ring at a 7-foot-1, 275-pound giant who very well might be the most dominant athlete in the history of American team sports? A giant who demonstrated, time and again, that his abilities were so transcendent, so remarkable, that he could have been a nearly unstoppable force in almost any sweaty endeavor he would have taken up?

That athlete is the late Wilt Chamberlain, and we are fast approaching the anniversary date of what might have been the most intriguing oddity bout ever staged. Had Chamberlain not reneged on a verbal agreement to fight Ali by extending his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for a significant pay hike, Ali-Wilt would have taken place on July 26, 1971 in the Houston Astrodome.

Sonny Hill, who played on the same basketball team as Chamberlain at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia and is the founder of the Sonny Hill League in his hometown, is the foremost keeper of the flame for all things Wilt. But even Hill has his doubts as to the legitimacy of the supposed pairing of Ali and his good friend, who somehow packaged Nikolay Valuev’s immense size as well as the breathtaking versatility of an Olympic decathlete.

“Was it a publicity stunt?” Hill wonders, reflecting back on the fuss made over the rumored bout between a couple of loud and proud superstars. “I’m not sure that it wasn’t. It just seems to me that there wasn’t a real affinity on Ali’s part or Dippy’s part (Chamberlain always preferred his “Big Dipper” nickname to “Wilt the Stilt”) to have a real boxing match.

“I’m not so sure that even a great athlete like Wilt, with limited training as a boxer, could have gone into such a bout and been competitive with someone like Muhammad Ali, who undoubtedly is one of the greatest fighters of all time. Ali was at the height of his career then.

“But if Wilt had had a full year to get ready? I don’t know. It would have been interesting.”

. Bob Arum would have been the promoter.

In “Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times,” Arum told author Thomas Hauser of the far-fetched idea that didn’t seem so far-fetched to some of the principals.

“In 1971 before the (first Joe) Frazier fight, I heard that Wilt Chamberlain wanted to fight Ali,” Arum said. “So I went to Herbert (Muhammad, Ali’s manager), and we agreed that, whatever the merits of the fight, the gate would be tremendous. Then I went to see Wilt, and he told me his greatest dream was to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world. And we signed a contract. But then Ali lost to Frazier, and Herbert came to me and said, `There’s no championship to fight for. What do we do now?’

“Well, we thought about it. And you have to understand, people pay millions of dollars to publicists and advertising agencies to promote themselves the way that Ali was instinctively able to. Even after he lost to Frazier – and later, when he lost to (Ken) Norton and (Leon) Spinks – he still overshadowed them all. So I told Herbert, `Let’s do the fight anyway.’”

Chamberlain’s interest was piqued, to be sure. He was always about doing things on a large scale, and he might have been the only athlete on the planet with an ego as colossal as Ali’s. If he was to box, the process wasn’t going to be a gradual build-up starting against hand-picked opponents in four-rounders.

“From the time I entered sports, guys tried to get me to become a fighter,” he said. “Ask any boxing manager, if they had to pick an athlete from another sport to develop who they would choose, and they’ll say a basketball player. That’s because of some very basic things basketball players have – size, speed, quickness and hand-eye coordination. And I always thought that if I had to fight somebody, it would be Ali for two reasons.

“No. 1, he was the greatest of his era. And two, he was a kind person, so if it turned out that I was in over my head, he wouldn’t take cruel advantage of it, where some other fighters might try to hurt me if I was vulnerable.

“I was offered more money than I’d ever gotten (as a basketball player). It would have been a scheduled 10-round fight and I honestly believe I had a chance. I thought a man as great at his job as Ali was might take me lightly. I could see that happening … Against Ali, I thought I could acquit myself reasonably well. Ali would be coming in blind; he’d have no idea what he was facing, whereas I’d know what to expect. And of course, I had God-given strength and athletic ability.

“If I’d been an oddsmaker, I’d have made Muhammad a 10-to-1 favorite. But I truly believed there was a chance for me to throw one punch and take Ali out.”
So why didn’t it happen? Arum, now 82 and recovering from knee-replacement surgery, was not available for comment, but in Hauser’s book he said Chamberlain’s very large feet got cold at an Astrodome press conference to announce the bout.

“I said, `Ali, shut your mouth. Let’s get him signed to the contract before you start riding him.’ Ali told me not to worry. Then Chamberlain comes in, and Ali shouts `Timber!’ Chamberlain turns white, goes into the next room with his lawyer, comes out and says he’s not fighting.

“I think Ali intimidated him; that’s all it was. At the moment of truth, Wilt realized that fighting Ali was a totally ridiculous concept.”
Chamberlain pulled out of the fight.

“WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE BARE_FACED LYING STATEMENTS WHEN WE HAVE THE DOCUMENTED PROOF
THAT TOTALLY CONTRADICTS THEM?
Its baffling"

Because they're delusional, narcissistic, attention junkies. Possibly also pathological liars. Try not to be the one to give them their next fix.

[QueensburyRules]

I never heard the Gunboat Smith story. Interesting.

Story I heard --> when Boston sold Ruth to New York they wanted to match his salary. Ruth wanted double. When the Yankees balked Ruth started talking to a west coast baseball league based in California.

When both MLB and the Yankees got wind that California was going to meet Ruth's deman they panicked, realizing that Ruth alone could make the west coast league viable and real competition; they would lose their strangle hold over the players. The Yankees then meet Ruth's demand.

I believe that neither Ali or Wilt ever intended to fight and that Ali was just doing a brother a favor by giving him leverage in his contract dealings with basketball. Both times.

The extra network air time didn't hurt Ali either. Both got lots of ink (media attention).

I say it was a conspiracy. Wouldn't even be surprised if Cowsell was in on it.

But I have been lambasted before for thinking with my gut. But W and I both think there is body based intelligence.

- - Clear Ali duck, Pep. Cus had been training Wilt privately when it was first proposed. I'm talking about 67. You think lawyer Cosell on his ABC segment didn't know a legit contract had been drawn up?

Wilt would've retired from boxing for the same reason as Too Tall did after figuring he was losing hundreds of thousands of dollars for every low rent, low brow fight he made trying to climb the boxing ladder with no support from a credible manage. Ali would've been one and done for Wilt.

Wilt had Cus, the preeminent boxing mind in his time in Wilt's corner. The strategy quite simple. Ali could never train for Wilt because there has yet to be another athlete ever like him with such size, strength, reflexes, proven athletic ability and more importantly, one off intelligence. But they have massive footage of Ali fighting, and I'll never forget little, sick, old man Cus cutting up Ali while showing him how Frazier was gonna whoop him.

Little people like Ivich don't have the intellect to understand the complex whole of such a legend as Wilt, so they rally 'round Ali like an army of grannies jabbing their knitting needles.

Ali bricked big time in 67 and proof in the video. Anything proposed after was just Wilt leveraging the Lakers. Wilt couldn't bother with the low brow, exploitive nature of boxing with it's low financial compensation when he had bigger fish to fry.