HBO's One Sided Thrilla

[Benny Leonard]

I remember watching another HBO documentary on Ali and Frazier a while back and it also showed how Ali mocked and taunted Smokin' Joe. Ever since then my opinion of Muhammad Ali has changed and now after seeing the Thrilla in Manilla documentary it's hard not to come away with a strong dislike for Ali. He constantly belittled Frazier by calling him ignorant and uneducated, but to me Ali was more ignorant than Frazier. He blindly followed the Nation of Islam and spread their message of hate due to his personal issues with the opposite race.
How could Ali call Joe an Uncle Tom because he was being backed by a company of predominately white men? Joe just didn't care what color his backers were as long as he was gettin' that paper. If anything, Black America should have gravitated to Joe Frazier because he was a true underdog who rose up from the depths of poverty in South Carolina and became heavyweight champion of the world, all the while maintaining a humble and gracious attitude. But unfortunately the rebellious attitude of the day had everybody drinkin' the Ali Kool-Aid, blinded by his flamboyance and wit. Muhammad Ali was a great champion and a hell of a warrior. He did a lot for boxing and for this I'll always love him, but he wasn't all he was cracked up to be.

Notes

WTF was up with Ferdie Pacheco? He's an old ass arrogant SOB.

Ali's ATG status was set in stone after he got up like nothing from that Frazier left hook in their first fight. DID YOU SEE THAT SHOT?!?! Unfortunately Ali's pride is one of the reasons he is the way he is today.

Morbid or not, I got a kick out of Frazier's cell phone message. Does anybody remember it word for word?

Good post.

[5punchcombo]

God forbid that Joe gets ONE opportunity to tell his story, after the countless Ali Industry narratives over the last 25 years...

P

Very true , Its obvious there is some depth to the racial slurrs Ali claimed Frazier was, to this day Frazier stills holds a grudge even after seeing Alis condition. I think it was about time they did something like this. Too bad Frazier couldnt have beat him in thier final fight

[Mersey]

I enjoyed the doc but it really should have had Ali's part of the story too.

[Mr. Philadel]

well if you guys are throwin' darts at Ali for what he sad to Joe now......cant wait to see what yall do to Lennox Lewis when someone does a documentary or something about Bruno vs Lewis 20 years from now........the same **** was said.......its called trash talkin and yes it can go under the belt at times but its just the psychological part of the game.....if you can get into your opponents mind and cause some sort of mental discomfort.......then the physical part won't be so difficult......Ali mastered that and he saw Joe as his biggest threat.......in the ring Joe made him reach down deeper than ANY opponent Ali ever faced.......Ali had to be harsh with the verbals because he FEARED Joe.......just look at the interview they had with Howard Cosell when Joe rose up and confronted Ali.....Ali remain seated and told Joe that the "BROTHERS" were there meaning his protection.......Ali had to say what he said in order to gain that edge......its part of the sport........a right or left can break ya nose but names should never hurt you......come on man, I cant beleive some of you!!

[marvdave]

its about time someone gets joes back for a change. Im so tired of the blind worship of Ali.

Dare I say it? He was a mean spirited racist and adulterer. If you feel the need..throw in traitor.

no vietcong never paid him a million to fight either

[Mr. Ryan]

its about time someone gets joes back for a change. Im so tired of the blind worship of Ali.

Dare I say it? He was a mean spirited racist and adulterer. If you feel the need..throw in traitor.

no vietcong never paid him a million to fight either

I like both Ali and Frazier, but it was nice to see someone give the story from Frazier's perspective for a change. Hauser put it best when he brought up the "incongruity" of Ali's moral stance and his practices.

Then again, many of the most celebrated men in history have been, say, hypocrites. Kennedy, Dr. King, so many have been adulterers that to single one man out would be unfair.

Were his views on race misguided? Of course, he was an angry, young man under the influence of what amounted to a hate group.

But Ali had a great quote, which went something along the line of "A man who views the world the same at 50 the way he did at 30 has wasted 20 years of his life." I think now he understands that he was wrong in his views and has since then moderated his religious practices.

But to say he was a traitor, nah. I think the country has some regrets about the war in Vietnam and the reasons why they went over there. Maybe it's just me but I don't believe in "My Country, Right or Wrong" but if you don't understand why you're in a country fighting, I don't think you should have to go.

Religious views are religious views and the one thing we can be assured of is that he wasn't hypocritical in that aspect. The ****** faith, when practiced in it's purest form, disallows it's members from engaging in acts of war. There are many religions like that and laws have changed over the years to accomodate them.

[xAUGUSTUSx]

I wanna know wat Larry Holmes is smoking saying Ali was overrated...he must think the Ali he fought was the prime one...

He's completely over rated.

[Benny Leonard]

well if you guys are throwin' darts at Ali for what he sad to Joe now......cant wait to see what yall do to Lennox Lewis when someone does a documentary or something about Bruno vs Lewis 20 years from now........the same **** was said.......its called trash talkin and yes it can go under the belt at times but its just the psychological part of the game.....if you can get into your opponents mind and cause some sort of mental discomfort.......then the physical part won't be so difficult......Ali mastered that and he saw Joe as his biggest threat.......in the ring Joe made him reach down deeper than ANY opponent Ali ever faced.......Ali had to be harsh with the verbals because he FEARED Joe.......just look at the interview they had with Howard Cosell when Joe rose up and confronted Ali.....Ali remain seated and told Joe that the "BROTHERS" were there meaning his protection.......Ali had to say what he said in order to gain that edge......its part of the sport........a right or left can break ya nose but names should never hurt you......come on man, I cant beleive some of you!!

Sure, keep telling yourself that "Words" don't hurt you. They hurt Ali, didn't they?
They hurt Joe's family, didn't they?

Words have led to Wars and in War, there is Murder, ****, and Theft.

Words have put people in jail that were wrongfully accused...

Mental abuse is very damaging. Words can be very damaging. It can destroy a reputation. Ali was trying to destroy Joe's.

[Benny Leonard]

I like both Ali and Frazier, but it was nice to see someone give the story from Frazier's perspective for a change. Hauser put it best when he brought up the "incongruity" of Ali's moral stance and his practices.

Then again, many of the most celebrated men in history have been, say, hypocrites. Kennedy, Dr. King, so many have been adulterers that to single one man out would be unfair.

Were his views on race misguided? Of course, he was an angry, young man under the influence of what amounted to a hate group.

But Ali had a great quote, which went something along the line of "A man who views the world the same at 50 the way he did at 30 has wasted 20 years of his life." I think now he understands that he was wrong in his views and has since then moderated his religious practices.

But to say he was a traitor, nah. I think the country has some regrets about the war in Vietnam and the reasons why they went over there. Maybe it's just me but I don't believe in "My Country, Right or Wrong" but if you don't understand why you're in a country fighting, I don't think you should have to go.
Religious views are religious views and the one thing we can be assured of is that he wasn't hypocritical in that aspect. The ****** faith, when practiced in it's purest form, disallows it's members from engaging in acts of war. There are many religions like that and laws have changed over the years to accomodate them.

Ignorance is a better word for certain things he did.

For the War: different story. He had a right to do what he did. Longer discussion.

[Jesse Pinkman]

I wanna know wat Larry Holmes is smoking saying Ali was overrated...he must think the Ali he fought was the prime one...

That was funny, all the sudden the doc shows a clip of Larry saying that. I thought it was funny.