We used to see Ali,s boxing in our childhood. We would enjoy it. We were really proud of him. May his soul rest in peace. Ghulam Muhammad From Pakistan
At the time this bout took place, I was a teenager. We had no TV to watch. But I used to read the reports of these great matches in newspapers and I have remembered this Zora Folley, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Joe Louis and others since. It's only recently that we have been able to see them through the net. However, after 1971 we were able to see Ali-Frazier live, as well as all other bouts with Henry Cooper, Jimmy Ellis,..., Georges Foreman etc...The skills and art of these giants made us dream...(Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Tyson, Ray Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Monzon, Duran etc...). It remains that boxing is a violent sport and I wonder whether people would continue to support it.
I love Ali but Tyson fury has too much weight on him Is 50 pounds heavier. Even though Ali has twice as much speed as he does. It's like a heavyweight finding a lightweight. I mean I bet Ali could gain weight maybe be 230 pounds
Questo era il primo, Ali': era velocissimo e potente quanto bastava (potenza derivante dalla sua stessa velocita'). Il successivo Ali' perse queste qualita' (non del tutto ma abbondantemente): tuttavia, Ali' sconfisse quasi tutti i pugili piu' forti con l' astuzia. Per questo Ali' rimane un fuoriclasse: forse non il piu' forte pugile della storia? Puo' essere ma sicuramente e' stato un fuoriclasse unico nella Boxe (come un fuoriclasse unico lo e' stato Tyson con uno stile completamente differente parlando del primo Tyson). Quindi Ali' credo che possa esser inserito tra i piu' forti pugili della storia (io, inserirei anche il primo Tyson, Foreman e Lennox Lewis). Oltre a tutti gli altri precedenti come Linston, Rocky Marciano, ecc .
I don't mind watching the first three "slow" rounds, just to marvel out how light Ali is on his feet, and how smoothly he circles to his right, almost as pretty as when he circles leftward. And then those two right hands to precisely the same spot (Folley's cheekbone) in the 7th round. There's never been a heavyweight before or since as quick-handed as Ali, or as light-footed as Ali. He was a gift.
Agree. Also because Folley was a very experience, skilled fighter. His style didn't match up well for Ali, which challenged Ali, who of course delivered. Masterful boxing.
I liked how Ali lifted the ropes for Joe Louis. This was sadly Ali's last match before his wrongful suspension. I remember watching this bout as a child. Ali was my favorite of course.
Considering that Folley is in there against Ali at the peak of his skills, this is an admirable job. Lands some big right hands. I counted close to a dozen. Good job of reading, timing, and judging distance early on. But Ali adjusted in round 3, and dominated from there. You could argue it was 29-28 Folley after 3. Ali praised Folley for this performance. Because he knows how sharp he was at the time. Called it his toughest fight before the suspension.
I agree, he was definitely landing better than Ali's previous opponents up to that point. None of these guys moved their heads, though, and I think that's why Ali had so much success with wearing them down with jabs. Terrell before this tried to cover his face the whole time to deal with the jabs, but then he couldn't see, which is no good when you have to hit a target that moves as much as Ali. This fight with Folley might've gone much further if he had trained to move more, I think.
Foley was the best scientific fighter of all of Ali's 9 title defenses in this reign. Patterson cold be in the discussion but he was undersized and plagued by a bad back. Foley was perhaps a couple years past his prime against Ali but still had tremendous skill. One could argue that he was the best overall fighter in the 9 defenses as well. I won't talk about Liston 2. I already mentioned Patterson. Chuvalo was a durable but slow easy to hit fighter customed made fot Ali. Williams was past prime but was always too slow to be in the ring with Ali. It was target practice for Ali. Brian London was an easy payday. Mildenberger's southpaw stance and durability gave Ali some problems but Ali figured it out pretty quickly and made easy work of the southpaw. Terrell fought a very defensive fight to survive but probably lost 14 or even all 15 rounds in a one sided beating. Again he was too slow. Oh and Cooper was always dangerous but cut too easily. Ali stayed away from the hook in the rematch. But Foley had good speed and boxing skills and really gave Ali some legitimate competition for a few rounds. Once Ali decided to sit down on his punches it was only a matter of time though.
@@bobbywise2313 Excellent assessment. I agree completely. To me the damn shame for both Folley and Williams is that they were avoided by Patterson, as well as Johansson. It's unfortunate for both that they didn't get a title shot until too old. Folley was still quite good at this point, his last really good performance, but Williams was a shell of his former self. I agree that I don't think he ever would have beat Ali, his style didn't match up well against Ali at all, but Williams had a real chance and perhaps could have knocked out both Patterson and Johansson. Folley may have been able to outbox both of them as well.
@@PhilAndersonOutside The two fights Williams had with Liston were great. Williams was almost killed in a mistaken identity shooting by a cop somewhere between his Liston fights and the Ali fight. Some said it was a miracle he could still fight after the shooting. He was a very hard puncher but generally lacked speed or ring cutting ability. He very well may have knocked out Patterson though. A prime Foley vs prime Patterson would have been a great matchup skill wise. It would be hard for me to pick a winner.
The most skilled heavyweight in the history of boxing, and the greatest of them all. Joe Fraizer, the great boxer that he was would have been totally destroyed if he faced Ali in his prime, as would every other heavyweight of that era.
The Greatest being the Greatest. Toying with Folley all fight long. The challenger got in some good blows. But Ali had more power than perceived. Dropping Folley twice. The Greatest. Floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee. Game over.
@@We-Do-NOT-Consent-303 Such is the essence of superior boxing. By moving around, using the ring, throwing jabs to keep the opponent at bay. Muhammed Ali was ahead of his time. By showing time and time again. That intelligence, athletic ability, and skill will win most of the time. Before Ali, the Heavyweights were mostly toe-toe brawlers. They didn't last long. Ali brought a style that does last.
@@jstube36 Looks cowardly to me. I am not interested in sitting here watching him hop around like a bunny for 4 rounds. Making it last with no action is useless. Many modern fighters would have knocked Ali out in the first round. And the knock out in this match looks suspicious. There was no power in it yet the guy was knocked out??? I call bullshit on this one. Rigged fights are a common accurance even today.
@@We-Do-NOT-Consent-303 I used to think that at first. Of course I learned that it is a brilliant tactic. What Ali is doing is daring his opponent to come after him. Then catch his opponent off-balance and counter with jabs and combinations. it is very much like a bull fight. With Ali playing the master matador. The opponent playing the ignorant bull. This not only a standard strategy in Boxing. You'll see this in Martial Arts. Forcing the opponent to make a move. Then move or block and counter. Which Ali displayed in his brilliant career. In his prime. Ali fought many hard punchers. But he was so fast and elusive, they would not lay a glove on him for complete rounds. But Muhammed also showed he had one of the toughest chins ever. Meaning he was not easy to take down. Just watch his famous fight with George Foreman. Ali took everything Foreman had. Then knocked George out later. He was The Greatest of all time for many reasons. But in the ring he did it all.
@@We-Do-NOT-Consent-303 A man that knows what he's watching. They're few and far between. This fight was indeed fixed, as was both Ali/Liston fights. Liston was the best heavyweight ever. He crushed everyone, Ali had no chance against Liston. His management would never have put him in against Liston at that time to begin with. Liston would have ruined Ali's career, set him back a couple years or more.
This is Ali at his peak at 212 lbs, but only going half speed. Can you imagine if he was allowed to continue, and fought Joe Frazier, say, 6 months later? With his elusiveness and speed, this Ali would have crushed Smokin' Joe, maybe even pitching a 15-0 shutout.
@@madpriest7822 because six months later would have been September 1967 after Frazier just TKOd Chuvalo in four rounds . Ali had already fought Chuvalo in March of that year and it went to decision. Ali fought Frazier 3 times and it was always close. I don’t want to hear about prime this or that…Ali is only very slightly less than two years older than Joe. I’m not saying Ali wouldn’t have beaten him in 1967 but “crushed” or “15-0 shut out” is just stupid. So yes Ali is great but so was Smokin’ Joe…so f’n stop it.
@@mrjamesgrimes Yes, looking back at my comment, somewhat of an exaggeration (15-0). But I've always been of the opinion the judges in the 1971 fight were biased against Ali (one judge ridiculously scoring it 11-4). I felt Joe won Rounds 11 and 15 (the knockdown round), maybe one or two more. Ali peppered Joe most of the night, Frazier's face at the end, being the best evidence. In 1967, I don't think there would have been a Round 11 or 15 (meaning 2 point rounds for Frazier). The Ali of 67 didn't fatigue the way the later Ali did. In his 1966 fight with Cleveland Williams, Ali claimed he was "shook bad," but he managed to avoid any more damage with his speed and agility. And Williams, a much bigger man, probably tagged Ali harder than Frazier. 15-0? No, but I don't think it would have been very close. On the flip side, I've always felt that Ken Norton was Ali's true poison. What would have happened in a 1967-68 fight between those two?
Ali was ahead of his time. His white boxing boots, his boxing style, his speed and movement, his skill set and deceptive punching power. Ali was a monster with a pretty face.
@@DGill48 Oh please-he would make them look like amateurs. No matter how big they are when you get a man 220lbs throwing a scientific punch at speed or with combinations they are going down. I doubt those ponderous punchers would even land a clean punch on his elusive head
They looked the same, no power at all. Not because Ali had magical power, because both Liston fights and this fight with Foley were all fixed. Those baby tap punches couldn't bust a grape.
@@4EyedAnimationAli had Foley knocked out sleeping flat faced, Foley got up like he didn't know where the he was,"which way did he go, which way did he go George?"
@@aarondigby5054 Aaron I've thought long and hard about what you said. You're right, I should've considered what you thought, and I apologize. We are lucky to have you on Earth, please don't ever leave.
I argue this was Ali at his absolute prime, not the Williams fight. Even Ali said Williams was a shell of the fighter he once was. Foley however was a skilled fighter, just past his prime, but savvy. His defensive, counterpunching style also was one that gave Ali problems. He also made Ali adjust more than any fighter up to this point. But Ali responded, and well. From about the 4th round on, he started to get out of his comfort zone, stood flat footed more, came forward, and put Zora away, without ever really getting hit. A somewhat dull, but very impressive performance.
It wasn't dull if you were watching it at the time it occurred and not just on RU-vid 55 years later. The drama that surrounded Muhammad Ali in those days is impossible to explain to someone who wasn't around to experience it. Young people today have never experienced anything to compare it to. Great fighter and an even greater person!
Folley said he never fought anyone like Ali. He said that Ali could launch punches from almost any angle, and he could put them together from one improbably angle to another with incredible speed. He said you really did not know where it was coming from next.
Did you just watch this fight? Ali landed 2 punches the whole fight. Zola was on a schedule to get out of here in the 7th. He went down like he was dead then jumped up and flopped around. It was all theater.
@@EarthSurferUSAIRS took all of Joe Louis' money even after Joe gave all his purses to military relief charities for families of fallen soldiers, USA propagandist imperialist capitalist dawgs
I am the biggest of Ali fans, loved the man. But even I have to accept the ko looked like Folley took a dive. However, for the Ali doubters out there, there are things we should remember. One or two dodgy incidents do not make the man. Remember Maradona's handball against England in 86? Yet it dont change the fact that he was one of the top 3 footballers ever (and I'm English). Despite Ali's 2nd fight with Liston and this one with Folley, his 1st with Liston and his fight with Terell, 2 superb wins, were ligit. Add to that, his 4 fights with Frazier and Foreman are legendary. Ali showed his quality beyond doubt in those. And the reason I reserve judgement on the Folley ko, is Ali could punch. The greatest example being Oscar Bonavena. What a punch! He also scored genuine ko's with punches that didn't look like much because of his speed. Examples: He put Patterson down with a jab. He put Foster down at will with lazy punches, and look at his right against Lyle. So it was something Ali could do. After all, he was the greatest.
Zora was a superb stand-up boxer with a good right and plenty of good old ring savvy. Zora was past his prime by several years when this fight with Ali took place and Ali was at his peak. Zora was given this chance by the Champ, if Zora had been 10-years younger, who knows what could have happened. Zora fought all the big name fighters during his career. He met the likes of a young Sonny Liston, Eddie Machen, Ernie Terrell. Oscar Bonavena, Muhammad Ali, and Mac Foster. Zora's first fight with Bonavena is a classic, as he gave the young brawler a boxing lesson. They met a second time when Zora was past his prime and Oscar was at his tip-top. From watching the fight on RU-vid, I do believe that Zora won that fight by a close margin. Fighting in Argentina, Bonavena's home country and judges. Good fight nonetheless! Zora was a stand-up good guy and excellent boxer.
Good post. Foley wasn't washed up, but this was his last good fight, even though he lost. Like Williams, Foley was a fighter who should have gotten a shot years before.
@@fireballxl-5748 I've read them and I tried not to laugh! People can't except facts he was a journeyman like a lot of others that only got saying because of Ali's name!! Goodbye 👋👋👋👋
He didn't even beat Terrell. Would have lost if he didn't damage Terrell's eye rubbing it along the top rope. Ali threw a lot of punches that hit Terrell's gloves. He landed very few punches overall.
Ali's last fight before he resisted the draft, was stripped of the title, and went through the courts before he could fight again. No fights from 1967 to 1970.
yeah super sad he was in his prime era aswell and once he came back 3 and a half years later he wasnt the same he was slower and older such a shame i wish it never happened technically we havent seen prime Muhammid Ali cause he wasnt even allowed to box at the time
Ali's last fight for 1,314 days, when his stupid country robbed him of his physical and professional prime. The fights he missed; the fights we fans were deprived of. Shameful. Unforgivable.
He was his own worst enemy. Breaking the law is usually not a great idea. They never would have sent him to Vietnam anyway; he would have served his two year enlistment handing out basketballs at the post gym.
Muhammad Ali proved to us that insects could be the most dangerous of living creatures. By floating like a butterfly and not like a shark,and stinging like a bee,and not like a cobra,he became the monument of boxing of which everyone referred to. Tyson was a raging bulldozer, having no time to waste ; business is business ! Ali gave his opponents time to bring out the best in them,Tyson didn't want your best because he knew only victory is the best !
Ali didnt knock Foley out early because he liked Foley. Foley was the first opponent who called him by his muslim name muhammed ali. Foley said thats the name he wants to be known as then thats what i am going to call him. Ali liked Foley for that.
There was a lot of money to be made in boxing if you were willing to fix fights and your people go out and bet low odds bets like ko in the 7th. That's how you turn ok money into a lot of money.
@@goinbananas1054 none of ali fights were fixed simply because back in the 1960s 70% of white people hated ali they would have rather paid someone to sleep with their wife than pay someone to let that uppity N.......R win. if you cant see that then you know nothing about the times of the 1950s to 1960s.
@dale stuart match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, you're not supposed to know If a
Zora Foley would have been champion 10 years earlier but was ducked by Floyd Patterson who was champion then. Zora was number one contender in 1958! Ali was the greatest fighter in the world on this fight! He could beat anyone and he did. Before the u.s government stole his title with a pen and paper!!!
Exactly. Like Cleveland Williams, neither Floyd Patterson, or Ingmar Johansson for that matter, wanted to fight Foley. Floyd was a great person, an honorable man, especially in retirement, but in many ways he was a hallow champion. Ducked Williams, ducked Foley, and ducked Liston until he simply no longer could.
It's almost like Ali was just playing for the first 6 rounds to give the crowd their moneys worth. When he stood there & just swapped blows he easily won.
Sir Bobby I think you're right and I think in addition to that he spent the entire last round just waiting for the right angle to end it with one punch. you can see he had his right cocked several times and held back until he had just the right spot. it's almost as if he'd bet Angelo Dundee he could end it with one punch
zora was a great man and fighter...but went out to a friends house and was found dead in a pool with suspicious head injuries..and that was the end of the wonderful man named zora folley.
they proved his death wasnt suspicious. foley was drunk and dived into a pool with no water in it and broke his neck. the only suspicious thing about his death was he was at the pool with his mistress not his wife thats why the tongues started to wag.
I think Ali would have Made a great president, he would have been great to keep world piece, other countries leaders respected him and knew he was a man that kept his word.
This was vintage Ali,at his best-the young,lean,quick Ali,and he wasnt even in his prime yet...That was robbed from him shortly after this fight,those precious years,from 1967-70 S1a1
I can't remember his name but..... one of Zora Foley's nephews or something came to Hartford, CT. to train for little while. Of course.. they write him up. And the Boxer came to F. Mac Buckley's Nelson-Anderson Memorial Gym at the former Projects location. Marlon Starling part of Mac Stable. Troy and Dale Wortham attended.. Tyrone Booze, Luigi Camputaro, Marcus Starks, Bob Roy fit in. Classic Felix Nance. I see Muhammad Shabazz there at times. Big HVYwt. Harold Rice. (Lost a Decision to James Broad April 2, 1982 & Mitch Green stopped him in 1980)."Will Kill" Williams attended. And me and Alan Hunt. I am 156 Al 165. Hunt a former Marine Boxer. Remember one day myself, Foley and Marl. Starling shared dressing quarters. Of course.. it was Starling who went on to be 'star'. Booze too wins world (190lb). Troy lost Decison 10 r. Vs Mark Breland pre Starling-Breland. And Troy later rose to No-8 world contender at 154lbs. The nephew of Zora didn't do a lot with his career must of stopped pressing it. But being even related to Zora Foley with his "whole career" it brought the man into the spotlight.
We did not detemine if this fight lasted for how many round but, folley missed the canvas for round 4 unbelievable still young to have that a free shot.
Ali,the greatest fought everyone around back then.Folley,Patterson,Cleveland Williams were way past prime.Liston of 58,59,in prime years would have gave Ali much tougher fight.
Yeah I thought the same thing, no one tried anything and Zora went down too easily, acted like he was out cold then jumps up lol, but Ali certainly didn't do anything and barely had to do anything to end it
Zora Folley was waaaaaaay past his best when he got his title shot. This is 4 years AFTER Doug Jones knocked him out. Folley was tailor-made for Ali: Stationary, shorter, shorter reach, 35 years old. He’d also been KO’d 5 times previously. Ali was the Jim Brown of boxing: A physical freak ahead of his time.
Io ero presente all’incontro ed ho filmato tre bobine super 8 mm sono sicuro che l’incontro è terminato alla 6-sesta ripresa non alla settimana come nel servizio,poi sono salito sul ring,ed ho filmato ALI mentre era intervistato dalla TV Svizzera del Canton Ticino.Conservo ancora le immagini trasferite dalla pellicola Super 8 mm su CD anche se un po’ deteriorate dal processo di trasferimento.Ripresa effettuata da Pier Luigi Catani tecnico del condizionamento della T/N MICHELANGELO in sosta quel giorno al PIER 90 sul fiume Hudson nel porto di NEW YORK distante circa due Km dal vecchio Madison .Cordialmente P.L.Catani
This looks like a fixed fight, no one really tried anything then Zora just goes down without protecting himself at all. This is what a fixed fight would look like if 2 guys said let's have a 7th round ko ending. Really a bizarre fight,
it might look like a fixed fight but it couldnt be fixed as the money foley got for that fight was peanuts. foley got 80 grand while Ali pockets 250 grand. no way thats a fixed fight.i would want a lot more than that to fix a world title fight. now go and do your home work.
@dale stuart where is your logic? FOLEY making "peanuts" would be an incentive for him to agree to a fix, he could turn that 80k into 800k. And how much money they were making is irrelevant because humans always want more.
take a dive for only 80,000 dollars ? you got to be kidding me. all folley got was 80 grand while Ali picked up 250,000 dollars. that was no fixed fight.
@@charlesbright8061 no chance. them white boys would rather you have sex with their wife than pay anyone to take a dive so as to make Ali look good. in 1960s USA 80% of white people hated Ali he was seen as a traitor and a coward for not going to viet nam plus they thought he was too boastful and arrogant for a N.......R. it was more the other way around they wanted to pay Ali to take a dive so as not to let a draft dodger be heavyweight champion of the world.
@Truth Hitman Alis accomplishments speak for themselves. The fight game is dirty. A dive means the guy goes down when he is supposed to. It had nothing to do with Alis performance or ability. If you can't see or understand this then that's your problem or not.
Foley was a courageous & powerful puncher; very stable. Ali's footwork was most impressive. Those punches that downed Foley twice were the first real evidence for me that Ali packs power behind what appears as fancy punches🎉😂
Ali knows wer the sweet spot is.Thats how he got foreman..He fought a very intelligent fight in this fight.the other guy had a dangerous rt hand put after he got tired he became a setting duck
@@donaldbartholomew209 I will thanks. I am still reeling from Hrgovic v that old Chinese fellow a few months back. I shudder to think what Mr. Ali would have done to these two.
The seventies were the Golden Era of Heavyweight boxing. This here is 1967; if Ali hadn't lost almost four years, the seventies wouldn't have been so great as Ali would have just beat Frazier and Foreman easily. Today's big, plodding heavyweights are a bore to watch.
@@captain007x As silly a statement as I've ever heard. If the mob intervened and fixed a fight, Ali would have nothing to say about it. The mob doesn't care if Ali was a good fighter, they want guaranteed money. Ali would have been knocked out by Liston early if the fight was real. He was still a green kid, he had no chance against Liston. Ali's managers wouldn't put him in with Eddie Machen at that time in his career, if you notice he never fought Machen. They feared that Machen was too strong and too experienced, yet they had no fear of putting Ali in with Liston? They only put him in the same ring with Liston because it was fixed. It would have been irresponsible to put 22 year old Ali in the Liston, it could have, and would have messed up his career. Shed your man-crush on Ali and see things for what they are.
@@MrMarco855 This comment is just as ignorant as your last. You're blind if you can't see that Muhammad Ali is the greatest fighter that ever lived. I bet you voted for Trump twice! I won't comment anymore; good riddance.
a lot of 'fans' say this version of Ali would have mopped the floor with Frazier......Frazier would have walked right through this version. Even Ali said that he wasn't strong enough here to deal with Joe.
He would stick and move better than he did. The reason he lost the first fight is because he tried to do alot of things he couldn't do because of the exile.
@@arnoldmagqaza7860 Nahhhh, LIKE ALI SAID, Joe would have walked through him. Joe wasn't the same fighter in their 2nd fight, he had been thrashed by Foreman and a very tough fight with Bugner. If you can't see the difference between both fighters after their 1st fight....both were never the same. Joe, in their 1st fight, would have probably beaten every HW in history, except for George. Ali was interviewed the next day and he was asked if he would have beaten Joe when he was younger....Ali said no, he said he didn't have the strength back then to handle Joe....so....dream on.
LOL So many do not appreciate the power Ali could put into his fast short punches. It was the diminishment of that speed that three years in prison cost Ali, which put him in range of other fighters in his later career.
the STING of DEATH!!! this man has god on his side! or else he would not be the greatest of all times! Muhammad Ali in arabic means "praiseworthy of the highest".
It's a deceptive fight in that Ali knew that Folley was past his peak and that he would beat him. Zora should have had his title shot about 8 years earlier but Floyd ducked him. Getting back to Ali, how many title defences would he have had, had he not been banned for 3 and a half years ?
