duane bobick question?

[Yogi]

Can you get off that already.

You're right...I've already did this whole Ali/Bobick discussion to death in the past.

[K-DOGG]

Bobick was ranked as one of the leading contenders at the time the Ali/Bobick fight was signed (4th ranked contender according to The Ring), and though the fights with Norton, Tate, and Knoetzee showed Bobick's limitations and that the tremendous hype he recieved wasn't worthy, that is not how he was percieved in the late months of 1976 or going into the Norton fight (where the fight was considered a pick'em going into it...Ali thought Bobick would beat Norton even)...Hindsight is very much different, my friend.

Teddy Brenner extensively talks about his version of the Ali/Bobick situation in his book, "Only The Ring Was Square".

Agreed on hindsight being different; but it just is beyond me to even conceive of Ali saying "no" to anyone.....that just wasn't in his make-up; especially, pardon the connotation here, to a white fighter. A White fighter, like a Jerry Quarry for instance, usually meant more money.

Maybe I've just been an Ali fan for too long to get passed this bias; but I can't imagine him ducking anyone. His whole image was confidence, as he once told Cosell. And no offense to the late Teddy Brenner; but he was a promoter, which means...well. Let's just say any promoter who tells a story is selling someing, IMO.

I don't know. I'm gonna have to look into this 'cause that notion is honestly beyond me.

[THE REAL NINJA]

I see no reason Ali would duck Bobick at a time when we was fighting the likes of Foreman Norton and Frazier . Bobick had not beat the names needed to fight Ali at the time so I could see him "backing out" so that Bobick could beat a name like Norton first in order to make more money from a Ali Vs Bobick fight . But as said before He was ko'd and soon after was ko'd by lesser fighters in his comeback.= time was never right.