Ali's Perfect Performance Explained - Muhammad Ali vs Cleveland Williams Breakdown 

New DISCORD: discord.gg/ZaYPaKfB I'll be in for a bit after this video airs and in voice chat for Spence vs Crawford!

The fact a fight from 1966 is still held up as a perfect example of elite Boxing just shows the level that Ali was at.

He created so much distance so fast. Ali has the best foot work I’ve seen in any division. He weaved so eloquently and graciously.

Ali is the definition of timeless. No matter what era of boxing, he is always relevant

Can never grow tired of Ali analysis

There will be none like Muhammad Ali ❤

He was savage, and he was literally untouchable. This is prime Muhammad Ali at his absolute peak. This is boxing perfection.

Now that’s being evasive, tactical, and being brutal in attacking. It’s not just running away to not get hit; it’s a beautiful masterpiece of a style.

It can also be explained by the fact that Cleveland Williams was literally shot by the time they fought. He suffered a wound from a magnum .357 after an altercation with a pushy police officer who mercilessly fired it at him. Williams had 10ft of small intestine removed and lost his kidney. He was never the same after the incident and was an easy pick for a prime Muhammad Ali. The nerve damage in his right hip was catastrophic and caused atrophy in the muscles and tendons of his right leg. Once an explosive fighter known for his aggression and devastating left hook, Williams was reduced to an easy target that Ali and many others took down without much effort. He was a tough man and fought the legendary Sonny Liston twice. Physically, he was much bigger in those matches but fell short to a greater fighter. May these great men rest in peace. They took boxing to another level.

As good as it gets just a shame he was banned at his peak we missed 4 years of prime Ali 😢

i'm glad you're back creating videos on muhammad ali. its always my go to content !

10:50 I really had to choke back a tear at this. Well said, there’s something about the Golden Era that really does echo throughout time. Great video David

He was just starting to hit his prime in this fight. What a shame we never got to see him in full flight.

Just rewatched this fight yesterday. Absolute masterclass from Ali. Yes, Williams was recovering from wounds, but Ali’s speed and technique was at peak here. Only Ali’s fight against Ernie Terrell can rival this as his best fight.

Muhammad Ali, in his prime, displayed the greatest, and most unparalleled boxing: skills, manouvering, and dexterity ever seen.

As always -- a fine analysis of a master class by Ali. "Great vengeance and furious anger..." Love the Pulp Fiction reference.

Its like his hands,feet and head had a mind of their own...He moved so eloquently while landing most of the shots so effortlessly...its definitely a treat to eyes to watch him box...Nobody can come close to his boxing style of floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee...Rest in peace GOAT...no doubt the greatest of all times inside and outside the ring..

Jaw dropping ! Prime Ali was a thing of destructive beauty. There will never be another to approach this brother. GOAT ! Great analysis !

Bro, I love your work so please take this with the respect that’s intended: On November 28, 1964, Williams, picked up on suspicion of DUI, brawled with a state highway patrolman named Dale Witten. The result: Witten drew his gun and, in the ensuing struggle, shot Williams at point blank range. “Then,” Williams would recall years later, “I went to hell.” Randy Gordon summed up the damage in World Boxing: “A .357 magnum slug had ripped into his body, traveled through his colon and bowel, penetrated his ureter, damaged some of the nerves controlling his legs, destroyed one of his kidneys, and came to rest in his right hip joint.” Over the next year or so, Williams underwent multiple surgical procedures and withered away into a skeletal version of himself. He lost one of his kidneys, had loops of his intestines removed, suffered partial paralysis in his left leg, and limped away with a bleak souvenir of his bloody tribulation: The bullet that nearly killed him remained lodged in his hip for the rest of his life. For Williams, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel left him slightly unhinged. In a desperate fugue, he crept over to the notorious Fifth Ward, where he slept in a car and wandered the streets at night. Finally, like a forlorn stray, Williams was picked up from the Houston gutters and returned to his manager, Hugh Benbow, who put him to work on his ranch in Yoakum. Williams built himself back into a fair replica of his pre-ICU days, and he returned to the ring to wallop a few bindlestiffs at the Sam Houston Coliseum down on Bagby Street. He was half the fighter he used to be. Even so, he maneuvered his way into a title shot with the help of publicity-hungry Benbow. (Oilman, rancher, wiseacre-Hugh Benbow might qualify as Runyonesque for some, but he was closer to the flesh-peddlers depicted by Robert Wise in The Set-Up or Budd Schulberg in The Harder They Fall. “Get up and fight, you yellow son of a bitch!” he squalled from ringside after Williams had been poleaxed by Ali.)

I think one other thing that has to also be said is Ali's accuracy almost every punch he throws he lands and he lands them exactly were he wanted it to land. It's beautiful he landed 62% of his punches, keep in mind modern title holding heavyweights land between 20 - 30% of their shots. And even back in Ali's day when it was 40% plus, this is amazing accuracy 25 - 50% more accurate compared to his peers.

Ali was untouchable around 64 to 66 shame we missed out on 4 years of his prime but beating the outside your prime is even more impressive

“You just can’t catch him” Cleveland Williams

You're analysis is so detailed and nuanced. I've watched this fight at least a dozen of times but never understood the fine points of Ali's techniques. Bravo!

"DANCE OF DEATH"...Bro, your narrations are epic. Your knowledge of the combative arts and the information you unleash are why I love being a subscriber...You bring a smile to my face every time I watch your videos...and as I said before, I rather watch your breakdowns than the actual fights, in fact; right after I watch your breakdowns I go and watch the actual fight...something missing though, your narrations...but I have a better understanding of what is happening; the little things that sometimes too fast I missed before. Excellent Work! BRAVO! 👏

I love watching Ali, you breaking it down just enhances it.

EXCELLENT work Sir..Beautiful and so professionally delivered...YOU do your homework!..BRAVO..

I was literally thinking yesterday I wish The Modern Martial Artist would cover more of Prime Ali and then boom you upload this haha, amazing video as always of the greatest performance in boxing from the greatest of all time.

I watched this fight for the first time last night before I slept, then shortly after I woke up this was uploaded. awesome!

Awesome upload with Spot On analysis n strategy of the fight. Kudos. Provide more uploads of boxers like Marvin Hagler; Iron Mike etc. Peace

Your videos are always great.. Thank you

Great analysis as usual! More fights to consider a breakdown of which to include: Rocky Marciano vs Jersey Joe Walcott Norton vs Ali III Holyfield vs Bowe II & III Lennox Lewis vs Ray Mercer Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno - The Battle of Britain - Joe Calzaghe vs Chris Eubank Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitchsko Nigel Benn vs Chris Eubank I & II Nigel Benn vs Gerald McClellan Joe Calzaghe vs Jeff Lacey Joe Calzaghe vs Mikkell Kessler Joe Calzaghe vs Bernard Hopkins Joe Calzaghe vs Roy Jones Jr

This is one of the reason why he is loved by many because he was ahead of his time.

Great commentary!

Interesting analysis. A pre-exile Ali was simply amazing to watch.

“…a beautiful symphony of violence…” David, you are masterful in your work!

Incredible breakdown !!

Would have been very interesting to see this Ali against Frazier. In their second fight in '74 Ali looked a little bit like this but he held a lot, in the 60's he probably wouldn't have needed to clinch

He never hit a falling opponent… that is greatness

My favorite Ali fight on my birthday. Wilson Kaydens old breakdown of this fight is one of the reasons I watch boxing today. Great video as always.

Great analysis of my favourite boxing fight

Great video as usual

I haven't watched the fight but i heard it was the best performance of ali and now we're getting a breakdown of the whole thing, thanks TMMA!

Ali was light years ahead of other boxers from his era when it came too strategy, he really was in another league! Moving backwards and knock a guy down early on in the fight. Not many have ever been able to do that. Hands by his sides, moving slipping punches and my favorite those throw away punches he would all to often throw followed by shots that he made count. One of my favorite boxers to watch, never scared to fight anyone not even after he was out for 3 years.

Muhammad Ali was the best rarest Professinal Boxer in his Generation

I love Ali and this is a masterclass but legs, torso and hips is everything in boxing, and Cleveland came in not the same. Cleveland was shot in the stomach and the bullet lodged in his right hip. Williams underwent four operations over the subsequent seven months to address injuries to his colon and right kidney. The right kidney ultimately had to be removed in June 1965. Just a brief history lesson from Google, though I think Ali would’ve beaten a healthy Cleveland Williams in spectacular fashion either way.

This is the best exhibition of a boxing match I've seen in any weight class. It also served to show that Ali was just approaching his prime years (25 - 28) for a boxer; the nexus between ability, skill and experience. "Because of the forced lay off, the world never really got to see the best of Ali, but what they saw was plenty." said Angelo Dundee.

Bravo 👏🏽 good piece

Sweet mother of God! Didnt even dream about you breaking that down! Awesomeeeee

We will never see a Muhammad Ali again

Amazing video. Obrigado

Another superb video that was a pleasure to watch. This version of the Greatest beats any Heavyweight in history, by stoppage.

Great video

Even your use of language. I absolutely love your commentaries!

The GOAT at work!!!!! Masterpiece!!!!

This video was on JRE. Good job 👍🏽

1:29 "The bell rang and the butterfly floated around the ring" Bars 💯😂

I almost forgot to watch this fight today. Thanks for a reminder.

without all the crappy fight hype of other channels, you do these shows with the same finesse and class as some of the fighters you feature... rare these days... :)

@ TMMA, WHAT’S YOUR ANALYSIS OF THE TERENCE CRAWFORD AND ERROL SPENCE FIGHT?? WE NEED THAT VID 💥🥊

Like Ken Norton, Cleveland Williams kept his eyes down in the pre match instructions.

This, along with the struggles and challenges he faced outside the ring is what makes him the greatest of all time. People nowadays dont know what great means

9:34 that pulp fiction Bible verse quote thingy was freaking awesome

The Big Cat at this time was a shadow of his former self. People seem to forget that 2 years before he fought Ali he was shot in the abdomen with a .357. His injuries were grievous. He had a kidney removed, 10 feet of his small intestine removed, his right hip socket was broken with extensive nerve damage to both legs causing atrophy and partial paralysis. It is debatable if he could have ever won against Ali in his prime, but the '66 version probably shouldn't have even been fighting. He never stood a chance

There will never be someone like him again

one of my favorite performances from the GOAT this one and the Terrell fight

I honestly think his most impressive performance was his first match against Liston

Your vids never miss bro. Quick request, not a whole lot of tape on him, but you should check out my team mate Kevin Vannostrand. He had a kickboxing match against Giga Chikadze and won. Super nice guy and amazing fighter

Gotta hand to hand it to Williams Fought with all his heart 👊🏾

Simply Amazing!

His footwork and head movements were sick

my favourite ali fight ali displayed his full armoury in this fight …. against a shot big cat though must be mentioned

Brilliant video , can you do one on willy pep

Ali in his Prime had God Like Stamina, Vision, Speed and Skills. The Greatest Of All Times. During this time they had to slow down Ali career with the B.S or he would've made them look so inferior it wouldn't have been funny.

gotta be fair to Williams and emphasise how shot he was...for that reason I don't think it is Ali's best performance at all

My favourite fight, this is poetry. Absolutely peerless.

Ali was beautiful. As far as i can tell he doesn't hold grudges. He box for something bigger than himself. He is the one motivating his team when it's supposed to be the other way around Mike Tyson: "Ali's a giant" Couldn't have said it better myself.

I find Cleveland's journey back into the ring to be far more inspiring than Ali's performance in this fight. It is a miracle that Cleveland made it back. It was a victory for him to be standing in the ring again.

There will never be another Ali who talked, fought & dance. RIP Muhammad Ali❤

Might this be the only fight on record where Ali utilises the body jab consistently?

Dropping a comment to support the channel. I think I've asked before but if you could do Nigel benn Vs eubanks fights (I'm UK) and bring back the MMA if you can although I know copyright strikes happen more for that, still its what got me into the channel... Oh and Japanese kickboxing masato could be nice. I like boxing and it's what I train recreationally, but I liked the variety and how disciplines differ from one another etc

I doubt ANY heavyweight of ANY era could have beaten Ali this night. Absolute prime of his career.

This is poetry No doubt excellent to watch

Gatti vs Ward???

A thing of beauty.

Amazing

Ali described Williams as a “built guy”.

Amazing for a heavyweight to move like that round after round. The Master of his craft.

As stated in several comments already Williams was at a disadvantage. He had been gut shot by a cop and had sections of his intestines removed and had to endure a grueling recovery process. If Ali had fought the same Cleveland Williams that had fought Sonny Liston it would have been a more competitive fight. Ali probably still would have won as he was much faster than Williams. Ali’s speed and quick reactions were superior to almost all fighters of any era.

Ik Ima needs a Marco Antonio Barrera or Juan Francisco Estrada fighting style explained great vid by the Way

Do the Patterson fights !!

That foot work hit different bru a whole heavy weight moving like a 140 pounder sheeeddd

I don't think any boxer known to humanity could have beat Ali at the top of his game, which this fight was. He was truly in a class of his own. With his chin and mobility unmatched for a heavyweight, he could have even survived and outpointed Marciano.

4:33... should be noted that Ali and Cuss were play-sparring when Ali said this. Cuss then surprised Ali with a body shot.

Ali and iron Mike are my 2 most favorite boxers of all time. I would give anything to meet Tyson..man. legends Ali was just out of this world with movement and skills. And inspired other great fighters , like Tyson. All the time I watch Tyson and Ali fights and introduce my son to them.

Masterpiece

Were you find that ringside camera view? Oh my god, please tell me.

Crazy to think that this isn’t even Ali in his true prime. We never got to see the very best of Ali.

“With great vengeance and furious anger” one of the best pulp fiction quotes lmao

Ali had a way of throwing sneaky right hands that often made his opponents hit the floor

That look Ali gives at Williams corner at 11:42 is sinister