Sparring stories..

[Two Fisted Piston]

paul spadafora beating up on floyd mayweather a few years back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhK1ZnnmN7A

[ben41193]

It might be Roy Williams that you are thinking of but it didn't go down like you said . I could type up some of what Larry Holmes says about it if you want .

Oh sorry if i got it wrong. Alot of the stories about ali have several different versions. Mostly because ali over exadurated alot of the time. But if you have a more accurate accounnt id like to hear it.

[THE REAL NINJA]

Oh sorry if i got it wrong. Alot of the stories about ali have several different versions. Mostly because ali over exadurated alot of the time. But if you have a more accurate accounnt id like to hear it.

Larry Holmes...Hanging out at Deer Lake for almost two years gave me a chance to see that lots of really talented fighters don't get any where. Most guys just pick up a few hundred bucks here and there . A degree of luck, I knew , I could make a big difference in a fighter's career.

To know you have talent,if only to get a chance, and to be denied the chance ...well that can sour a man. A fighter's time is brief. If he doesn't move up the ranks, he stagnates. mentaly and physically . A case of use it or lose it . Belive me , that can make qa man bitter. Very bitter. I saw it up close and personal with another of Ali's sparring partners, Roy Williams.

Big Roy Willams was six foot five, 240 pounds and couls punch holes in people. But he was a fighter who never gotten the breaks., a fighter who never had the sport's power brokers to maneuver him. The better fighters knew how tough he was and avoided him. Why take the chance ? Because he was a unknown , beating Roy Williams wouldn't advance your reputation. And there was a damn good chance that if the man landed on the button, you'd end up in orbit.

Talk about bitter .WOOO-BOY! Roy was nasty bitter. In camp , he hung by himself and had a permanent scowl on his face . One time when he'd finally gotten a match , Id gone to it and , from ringside ,was rooting him on. And ole Roy had turned to me in the midst of the fight and from the ring shouted "Shut the %$&^ up !" UNbelivable.

But that was Roy Williams . Never happy perpetually pissed off about something, usualy money. The breaking point in his relationship with Ali came in Zaire, where Muhammad shocked the world by knocking out George Foreman. The night of the fight , Williams was to have been on the undercard against Henry Clark, and arrangments had been made for him to go to the arena with Ali and his group.

But when Ali was late getting to the arena the Williams fight was scratched and with it went $5,000 big Roy was assured of. As he saw it , since Ali screwed things up, Ali was obliged to come up with the five grand .

"Give me the GD money,punk" He told him, Back at Deer Lake . Ali tried to ignore him, but Roy wouldn't let up, so Ali decided to exact revenge in the ring . He ordered a 10 round workout-The Bossman Vs The angry hired hand.

For Roy Williams ,no problem. " I'm gonna kick your ass,chump!" he told Ali.

They went at it ,hammer and tong. Ali was trying his best to knock the man out . But Williams was giving as good as he got . And after every round ,he's growl: "$%$^^$ ,punk %$##$ I'll kick your ass."

Ali tried the rope a dope with Williams coming off the ropes with a flurry of punches . But Roy met him and slammed him back . It was a hell of a session.

And afterward , there was Roy Williams graring and muttering " $!#$#, punk $$$$$ !" Ali wasn't satisfied. He called for another 10 rounds the next day . .

Roy ate good ,slept good. And the next day he stood toe to toe with the heavyweight champion of the world . Well,that was enough for Ali . He gave Big Roy his five grand and dismissed him-fired his ass . Roy Williams was a bitter , bitter man , and it wasn't hard to see why . I felt as tough I was in the same bag - a fighter who could easily get lost in the shuffle .

......from [Against The Odds] by Larry Holmes...........