Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell | Ring Talk with Lou Eisen

In this episode, Lou discusses Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell, a professional boxing match contested on February 6, 1967, for the WBA, WBC, NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight championships. The fight went 15 rounds, with Ali winning through a unanimous decision.

Discussing the greatest boxing controversies throughout history, Lou Eisen offers his opinions and insights in this fantastic live-streamed series of episodes. Watch live on TalkinFight.com every Sunday at 2pm ET.

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Transcribed:

[ Music ] good afternoon.

My name is lou eisen, and this is ring talk on this sunday july 31st uh today we’re going to discuss the fight from february 6, 1967 at the houston astrodome between the greatest fighter and, in my opinion, the greatest person ever to have lived muhammad ali and The upstart challenger ernie terrell terrell, was three years younger than ali born in 1939.

In mississippi you know, terrell held the wbc title.

The wba title excuse me, which was stripped from ali, because ali had a rematch with sonny liston and the wba said we don’t allow rematches, of course, that was a complete farce.

Both organizations then, and now are run by mobsters uh criminals and their title belts are really worthless because the people have always known who the best fighter in the world is in each weight: division, um ali in order to get maneuvers clay, a fight with sunny liston.

This was commonplace for a hundred years.

You had to agree that, although the champion and his team thought there’s no way that young cassie’s clay would win, you have to agree to give a rematch.

If you do win, and so he agreed wba said they weren’t.

Aware of that, that’s a lie: ed lassman was there.

When the contract was signed, he always had special dispensations for rematches, and then they passed a law saying you can’t, although they still allow for some fighters, but for ali they didn’t.

Wba was a really racist, bigoted organization, uh.

If you read my book when it comes out about about boxing’s greatest controversies, one of the fights i cover is the second list in ali fight, and i have transcripts of the meetings of the wba and in the meetings they’re saying.

Where does that n-word alley, and where does that n-word list and get off having a rematch and listen? It’S just a stupid, dirty, n-word and so is alien.

He doesn’t have right to change his religion and they should both end up in the gutter or become criminals.

Like all n words, i mean that that’s these are actual lines from meeting from a tape of the wba meeting and all these commissioners from the wba that were taken from various state, uh uh, wba commissions and provincial in canada.

So just a group and these weren’t boxing people – these are people that own hardware stores delicatessens grocery stores.

They knew nothing about boxing old smog, well-fed white people who were bigots and were upset that black people were getting ahead and that black people were champions in the sport they loved, so you had, they they withdraw.

The recognition of ali makes no difference.

Ali was the best fighter in the world.

Everyone knew it so they have a um, a fight between the top challengers, the wba eddie machin and um ernie tyrell terrell wins uh, eddie manchin was a very good fighter, but he never had any confidence in himself and when angela dundee worked his corner in the 50S angela would say to him: okay go out this round and get rid of him, and he said: okay angelo i’ll, try not to lose i’ll.

Do my best and angela said what: how can you be a pro fighter if that kind of you know that kind of attitude, so machine uh when he fought uh terrell lost trial, was controlled by the chicago mob.

He moved to chicago when he was very young with his siblings and his family, and he got into boxing and his pro career started in 1957, which was really at the height of of mob control, so being in chicago.

You know he’s under control of the outfit.

The chicago mob and tony ricardo, and also bernie bernie bernie card, will play for the boston red sox.

Excuse me frankie, carvo and blinky palermo and they they matched him on the way up and he beat some really good fighters in the whale uh doug jones.

He beat eddie machin, um uh, cleveland williams, who who stopped them the first time they fought and he also beat when he held the wba title.

George chavallo, although that’s a controversial fight, especially in toronto, because chivalro was said to be ahead by many people watching the fight and when the fight ended, uh terrell hand was raised, trell had bernie glickman in his quarter, who was a convicted killer for the chicago outfit And after the fight uh, many of the american writers wrote perhaps a better question than who really won the fight is how did a convicted murderer for the chicago mafia? How did he get a visa to enter canada and work in ernie terrell’s corner and they said it’s not a secret.

That ernie trail is a mob fighter uh.

Maybe the canadian government doesn’t recognize the mafia, or maybe they don’t care.

So when ali was supposed to fight trail, originally in toronto march 29, 1966 terrell said he wouldn’t come up here, because he wouldn’t didn’t want to come back to a communist country, canada’s not economy this country.

Unfortunately, we still need americans who believe that, but not true, so it’s just a silly notion anyways.

He didn’t want to come back up because bernie glickman wasn’t allowed back into the country and before the chavalla fight glickman had said to the referee samuel spring, the judges enter irvangerman.

Georgia, battle’s manager, that, if my guy, if your guy wins uh you end up in lake ontario and that wasn’t an idle threat, this is the history of the mob throughout boxing going back 120 years, if they say they’re going to do something to you 99 times Out of 100, they will kill you so the judges, you know they knew george won, but they wanted to go home and see their families that night and that’s how a lot of terrell’s fights turned out.

It didn’t work.

That tactic didn’t work with ali, because ali was the first unaligned, meaning non-mob controlled fighter heavyweight champion in over 30 years, and you know the nation of islam had 80 000 members.

The mob didn’t have 80 000 members.

So when it came to pure muscle it just wasn’t going to go down that way.

The mob was going to or the the nation of islam is going to prevail, so ali, as we know, was, was uh.

It’S an emotional thing for me.

He’S a controversial figure.

People don’t realize today i was alive, then how hated he was because he stood up against the war in vietnam, but he did more than stand up against the war.

He said 99 of the shock troops, the cannon fodder, the front troops are black 99 or more of the draft boards are overwhelmingly southern, so they’re drafting, blacks, way out of proportion to their numbers in actual society and ali all ali ali never said.

I won’t go to vietnam, he said if you can show me one black person, male or female, who voted in my home state of kentucky in the 1964 election federal election and is still alive.

I will gladly go to vietnam and the government couldn’t do it.

The state government couldn’t do it and the federal government couldn’t do it, because no one had done it.

They wouldn’t be allowed to vote.

They would have been shot and killed right there on the doorsteps, and so ali at that point became a marked man, and that was one of the reasons why the wba took away his title in 65, although that was just before this whole mess with vietnam came About and so tyrell’s fighting but he’s making no money, no one’s showing up tyrell is a boring fighter.

It’S hard to find a fighter today.

That would remind you of terrell, i guess maybe uh.

If you watched the fights last night, ransom’s barthelemy uh, who who really his main physical gift, is he’s able to hold and that’s tyrell is known as the octopus.

All he did was get hit, a guy hold him kept holding and if he watched a fight with ali, he hit him hundreds of times in the back of the head.

Trell accused ali of fouling him putting him in the headlock and rubbing his eyes against the ropes didn’t happen.

Terrell was the preeminent dirty fighter of the 1960s when he fought chavalo he’s trying to thumb him in the eye.

You can see this.

You can count a couple hundred fouls that he committed against your valor and against ali hitting him in the back of the head.

He’D been warned for it, but he’s hitting him all the time when the referee breaks him up and ali turns his back to him to walk away.

He punches him in the back of the head.

He’S hitting ali low he’s elbowing him he’s stepping on his feet and ali doesn’t retaliate.

All he does is just beat the hell out of him.

This fight is known as as uh.

What’S my name? That’S the name of the fight.

What’S my name, ali had changed his name to muhammad ali from cassius clay.

He incorrectly said that cassius clay uh was a was a slave owner.

The original cassius clay, the white man in kentucky that he’s referring to was an abolitionist.

He wasn’t a slave owner, he had hundreds of blacks working on his plantation, he paid them and then, when the southern army would come to his plantation to get slave labor, he actually literally fought them with guns and cannons and that so he was not a slave Holder, he was not, he didn’t believe in slavery.

He was a fervent abolitionist, but this was ali’s narrative and ali was right in the sense that you know he’s fighting for civil rights.

Ali was came at an interesting point in history because this fight, which took place february 6, 1967, the next year, uh there’s a great book by mark kurlansky, called uh the most important year in 1968.

It’S called and they say it’s the most turbulent year in the history of the planet, and this is just right on the precipice of that.

So you know ally’s, saying i’ve got no coral than vm kong they’ve, never called me the n-word, i’m not going to travel.

Thousands of miles to kill these dark asiatic people never called me.

The n-word never prevented my grandmother from drinking from a white water.

Fountain.

Never stopped me from trying to vote, never threatened me, never called me an n-word when i was walking on the street.

So ali was the head of not only the anti-war movement.

He was the head of the youth movement and the head of the civil rights movement.

In a sense, he had all these three movements coalescing within him and he was you know, a very good speaker, so the fight with terrell they wanted to hold it originally toronto.

Then they tried chicago and, and actually this toronto came after.

So this is bob aaron’s, first fight with the alley uh chevalier fight.

That was actually the second fight that he ever promoted, but the first international fight, so ali is trying to get tyrell to fight him in chicago they’re.

Trying to do it there and ali has to appear before the chicago boxing commission.

All white brush cut men who are very right-wing, very pro-republican, very anti-black, and although, although the mayor of the city wasn’t mayor richard daley, but he was very pro kennedy, but at this time 1967 they dressed him as cassie’s clad.

You can go on youtube and see the film he said.

My name’s muhammad ali, mr clays, mr ali, mr clay and ali, said listen.

My trainer angelo dundee is italian dundee’s, a scottish name.

His real name is moreno.

He took the name dundee because his brother, chris did so his mother, wouldn’t know that the family was into boxing and you call him and refer to him as angela dundee, although that’s not really his name.

I my name is muhammad ali, just a name.

You don’t have the decency to call me by my name.

So there was a point: riley just got up and said: that’s enough, you’re sitting here, you’re being bigoted and racist towards me and and they wanted ali to apologize for his statements in vietnam and he wanted to apologize for his religion.

He said i’ve got and he agreed to initially to do it, but when he got there he said no, i’m a free american citizen.

The constitution says there’s a separation of church and state.

I have the right.

This is the prize fighter talking.

I have the right to practice any religion i want and to hold any political view i want, and that shouldn’t at all in any way affect my ability to fight anyone i want.

Would you believe that what you’re doing is american? Yes – and he said how do you know, how can you prove your your patriotism? He said i pay taxes, i vote, i don’t break the law, i don’t curse, i don’t drink, i don’t smoke, i don’t carry weapons and but they didn’t matter it didn’t matter to the chicago commission.

They didn’t allow abby’s fight.

So this fight went everywhere.

You know it originally.

It also went to montreal and mayor jean drapeau said no um drappo montreal.

The problem to quebec have always been more interested in uh, getting american dollars up there, uh than they have in in um getting along with the rest of canada.

So eventually terrell drops out and it’s shivala who fights and then after that fight and chavalo just lost the trails as india before uh ali signs to fight in the eighth wonder of the world, the houston astrodome against the six foot, six inch ernie tyrell, who was The largest heavyweight of his time was terrell a gifted fighter.

No, he had a good jab and he had an alright right hand, but he wasn’t ali.

He wasn’t special and you’ve probably seen this on youtube, but before the fight they’re, both being interviewed by our coasel and they’re, dressed up have their suits and ties, and this was another thing ali had done.

He said this to me too, once i i said to him: i went to the hall of fame and i had a suit and tie on boxing hall of fame.

He said: well, you should, and it was brutally hot there, but he said after you know you have to present yourself professionally.

He said i don’t like when i see athletes you know eating on camera or chewing gum.

You got that from angela dundee or dressed like bombs.

If you look like a bomb and act like a bomb, you’re going to be treated like a bomb and ali acted like the king of the world, which he was so they they’re being defeated by howard corsell.

Before the fight – and it gets acrimonious ali is starting to get genuinely angry because uh irving trail says i i’m gon na beat clay and clay and ali says.

Why do you keep calling me cassius clay? Because that’s the name uh, your mother gave you so what your real name is ernest, i don’t call you ernest.

I call you ernie.

So what i’ve changed my name legally to muhammad ali – and you will address me as that right now or in the ring – and he said well cassius my name’s not cassius.

He said what’s wrong with you, you know everyone calls me muhammad ali.

Now even white people call me muhammad ali and you don’t have the decency to do it, and he just said you know he kept calling.

Well, that’s the name.

You introduced yourself to me as yes, seven years ago, but since then i changed my name and i’ve.

Seen you and i told you that, and he wouldn’t do it so he said you know what i’m gon na punish you i’m gon na punish you the way i punish floyd patterson you’re, nothing but an uncle tom n word.

Why would you call me an uncle tom and terrell was getting very upset because you’re an uncle tom you’re controlled by white people, and he said you’re controlled by the mafia.

Everyone knows you’re controlled by the mob.

Now ali was the only one who could get away with that and live because he had the muscle behind him with the fort the fruit of islam.

He said you’re an uncle tom n word.

You can’t fight.

You came to me begging for the fight, because no one’s paying to see you, you don’t have any money.

You’Re broke the mob’s, stealing your money and you’re begging to fight me because i’m the biggest draw and i’m the world champion, and you know it and he kept calling him claim.

Finally, muhammad slapped him in the face and they tried to get at each other.

But it was broken up and now he said, i’m going to punish you in the ring and he did he did punish him.

Angela dundee told me he was upset he kept saying with this in the patterson fight he kept saying to him just get rid of him.

So when you see the fight ali won every round the rounds, weren’t close ali won all 15 rounds by a wide margin, and when you look at it you know terrell claimed he grabbed my head.

As i said earlier and rubbed it against.

The ropes didn’t happen from the first seconds of the first round ali comes out and he lands five six seven shots on terrell’s face he’s too quick, ally’s, six, three and three quarters terrell six six, but an angel then b was fond of saying: it’s not the Size of the dog in the fight it’s the size of the fight and the dog and ali was motivated.

He was angry because this man was personally disrespecting him in his religion now not to make this a religious debate, but ali looked at himself as a muslim.

Not a black muslim, a muslim, a muslim as a muslim, they come in all colors like every religion and ali.

You know not long after that wanted to leave the nation of islam, but knew it wasn’t safe to do so.

Eventually he did after elijah muhammad passed away.

Now he lived the rest of his life as a sufi.

Muslim sufi is a very peaceful and moderate, and and that’s the other ones aren’t.

But that’s the way ali looked at himself, but the insult that that ernie tyrell was heaping upon these insults, which the white press was heaping upon.

Him ali felt ganged up upon and supremely disrespected, and he said i would expect that from the old white press and from older white people.

I wouldn’t expect it from a fellow black man who grew up in the south like i did and knew what it was like, except ali grew up in the black middle class.

Ali was different than most other black fighters and black people growing up himself in that he had a roof over his head.

He had indoor plumbing, you know he shared a room with his brother.

He had two loving parents at home, so you know: allie came from a different background, whereas terrell was one of ten siblings to a poor sharecropper who grew up, who you know poor and moved to chicago and and to seek a better life trial, did his best During the fight tyrell came at ali and and you know, people are booing ali and they’re cheering tyrell, but it was no contest.

There wasn’t a moment of any round that you can say that ernie terrell won ali closed.

His left eye early ali kept pounding him out landing him 10-1 on many occasions.

He was too quick.

Tyrell would try to bear hug him or headlock him, and ali would just spin off the ropes.

Terrell was physically bigger, but not stronger and ali just had too much skill and you can’t beat a guy who’s that much more skilled than you, regardless of how strong you are and that’s what happened and trell took a ferocious beating for all 15 rounds tyrell in His corner, they kept putting the ice pack on his left eye and ali started to close the right eye, but ali’s landing straight right hands from the first round to the 15th round, and it’s not even close.

It’S not a remotely close fight.

Trell did land some shots in that league, but they had no effect a couple of times their legs got tangled and their gold still said.

I believe ali is hurt, terrell heard him, he didn’t hurt him once he.

He landed very few punches.

Most of the punches trail landed, i would say 80 or up or rabbit punches, low blows.

Elbows and that’s the kind of finer earning trail was um.

12 complained after the fight, but terrell that’s what he always did when he lost ali never made excuses when he lost and he he, except maybe after the first fragile fight, but tyrell had no chance going in.

He was an underdog.

The fans knew who the real champion was.

This fight was for the wba which terrell held, which was worthless and still is the wbc title which ali held and is worthless and still is uh.

The ring magazine title and the new york state athletic commission boxing title, which is now, i guess, defunct or meaningless, and if you watched your fight last night and watch what let’s get rolling and score a draw between danny garcia and uh um uh jose venavina’s.

You know the worth of uh commissions belts, so in this fight you know everyone was hopeful that didn’t like ali, which was most of the country – that ernie terrell could somehow do this and and rise to the occasion and beat ali, but ali’s skill level was way Up here and terrell’s was way down there and after that it was just.

It was a walk over ali entered the fight uh with a record of 27, and oh and trell entered the fight with a record of 39 and four and as much as the astronomer and everyone else.

There was cheering for tyrell and booing ali ali’s footwork was sublime his hand, speed.

His accuracy was sublime.

You know it may have been ali at his best.

I thought cleveland williams was ali at his best, but this may have been his best fight because this wasn’t remotely closed and after this fight he fights zoro fully.

We stops, i believe, in seven rounds and then that’s it.

They steal his title.

New york state athletic commission withdraws a recognition.

What’S upsetting, is these commissions that withdraw recognition as sanctioning bodies are full of mobsters they’re, full of convicted felons murderers, pedophiles bank robbers, uh uh, car robber, they’re, full of them, but they’re passing judgment? You know on someone who hasn’t broken the law ever so uh.

They have a tournament when they, after they steal ali’s titles and tarellan, just determined.

He thinks well, i’m going to easily win, but he doesn’t win.

Thad spencer beats him easily and trial is bitter about it.

But by that time the mob didn’t care because terrell wasn’t making money and why bother putting money in to him and trying to intimidate other fighters to lose to him when he no longer held any titles and had no hope of winning any other titles.

Uh terrell’s.

Last fight he lost to a fighter named jeff merrick, a knockout early knockout and uh jeff merritt was known as candy slim uh, good fighter, more successful as a uh as a petty thief and uh um drug user.

But uh he did beat early trail ali.

As you know, this was just his first act, ali completely reimagined himself.

He was exonerated by the supreme court as well.

He should be, he wasn’t bitter the thing that always surprises me most about muhammad ali.

When i met him was or when i spoke to him was he was never bitter.

I can’t get over that.

All of us are bitter.

If somebody owes you 50 bucks and they don’t give it to you and they say well, i’m going to give it to you in a week and six months go by you’re bitter these people took hundreds of millions out of ali’s life.

They caused them, misery and grief.

You know the government went after him.

No one.

There were no famous white athletes drafted to go into vietnam.

Pete rose, wasn’t drafted, tom seaver wasn’t drafted, you know, no one from the nfl was drafted, no one for major league baseball.

No other boxers were drafted, no basketball players then went after ali because ali was a threat.

This was a democratic government headed by lyndon johnson that did this so ali, as he said, didn’t he did not burn his draft card.

He did not flee to canada or europe.

He stayed here stayed in north america and the united states fought it legally and won, and so they gave him back his freedom.

They couldn’t give him back his title and, as we know, ali has to come back.

He wins all these fights.

He only had two fights before he fought frazier after being off for four years.

Angelo wanted to have three more but, as ali said, i was destitute.

I had no money and i had to pay lawyers, so he has to fight frazier for two and a half million he loses and then they you know they fight again.

Three years later, he wins loses to norton norton breaks his jaw, ali hadn’t trained for that comes back, beats norton again and then wins the title second time against george foreman in the rumble in the jungle and zaire and one of the greatest upsets of all time.

Um people asked me if ally and tyrell ever became friends after no.

No, they didn’t ally, made peace with floyd patterson, because in vegas alley’s manager, gene kilroy was there in in the uh late 80s early 90s and and when ali walked into the restaurant, where they were patterson said: hey cassius and jin ki roy said come on floyd.

You guys have both retired it’s over give the man a dude, colin muhammad and patterson apologized and ali hugged him and and patterson called him muhammad ali um.

But you know terrell never did that terrell refused to do that and uh.

When i met terrell at the boxing hall of fame, he wasn’t.

He wasn’t not nice, but you know when you say where you from i said: toronto, canada, oh so you like chevelle you’re, probably one of those people to think chavalo bibi, and i said i just came to say hi.

That was all so.

He didn’t end up with much money.

Uh his sister by the way, was gene tyrell, one of the lead singers of the supremes um uh.

It was an exciting fight.

If you get a chance watch the fight, i’m not finishing quite yet watched a fight.

Uh 1967.

I watched it earlier in the week.

I really i’m interested to know of people watching out there.

If, if you can find a round where you thought terrell won, terrell did have some good points in some rounds.

He did lean out with his left hand and tag ali a couple times and he hit ali some good right hands, but ali was so quick.

He just ali would come in.

You know rat-a-tat-tat and then get out of the way, and terrell was really at a loss of how to catch him.

Trell made the mistake that all guys made against ali, which was following him around and if you follow dolly around, especially in a straight line, you had no chance.

You just use your face for his feedback and and he tried cutting the ring off an alley.

And you know trial’s a much bigger man and ali would just hug him when he got close and then spin out, which was one of the reasons you know.

Terrell was getting frustrated and hitting him with rabbit, punches and low blows and forearms and elbows um.

After the fight he said i, you know, he said i don’t hate ernie tyrell and i don’t believe he did.

He just said.

I didn’t appreciate the lack of respect.

I’D, never not respected him before the fight.

I was always kind and generous to him, and ali was with all his opponents, except for frasier, but but tyrell didn’t extend him the same courtesy and, and they said in the newspapers after it was the cruelest performance of muhammad ali’s career, because he really at times Had tyrell out and he could have taken him out, people believe and didn’t.

Let him stay to punish him now.

Only ali knows that, and only tyrell knows that so ali said after no, i didn’t think i could take him out.

I didn’t think i had him hurt enough at any point where i could take him out.

You don’t know, i remember watching george vale fight doug jones and because irv vonderman said that i don’t think you can beat jones.

Chavalo gave jones the beating of his life, and i thought there were times during the fight where chivalro could have taken jones out, but didn’t wanted to punish him more to prove to his cell manager that i’m, the better man i don’t know if that’s true and I’M certain george wouldn’t agree, but that’s the way boxing is sometimes it’s to her business.

It’S a cruel sport um, as ali said after i didn’t foul him.

I’Ve never fouled an opponent.

The only foul i ever saw ali commit was pushing uh foreman’s head down and pushing frazier’s down.

That’S not really a foul, although you’re not allowed to do that, but it’s not like a thumb or an elbow or a headbutt or a low blow or forearm.

You know or palming a guy with your glove.

It’S completely different.

I enjoyed watching the fight, because ali was just so supreme and when you watch him beat tyrell he’s in control of every round, and you can only wonder it brings tears to my eyes.

You can only wonder how much better he would have gotten if he hadn’t been thieved and robbed of recognition as the world heavyweight champion, as ali said, and everyone in boxing knows, you can only lose the title in the ring.

You can’t lose it from some sanctioning body, that’s ridiculous and that’s one of the things that annoys me today is they say now, but you know boxing.

We now have for the first time four undisputed world champions, three or four, but you know it’s not gon na last, because you know those champions.

One of those sanctioning bodies is going to steal one of those bills and say we don’t recognize this guy’s champion and we’re going to have other fights.

It’S all about the money.

It’S about greed and control and the boxing the boxing firmament, the people that control boxing boxing communities.

The word i’m looking for uh was basically controlled by criminals.

It’S always been controlled by criminals for over 300 years and they didn’t like someone like ali coming on saying.

No, i’m not running it that way.

I don’t have to do what you want me to do.

I’M going to keep all of my money and i’m free to be who i want to be under the law and you’re.

Not you don’t have the right to tell me what religion i can worship, what name i can use and and what i can do, and so that was the story.

That was the amazing story of of muhammad ali and, of course, his star shines brighter today than it ever did and june.

3Rd 2022 was the sixth anniversary of his passing, which i still haven’t gotten around to when i say got around to.

I still haven’t emotionally dealt with it because it’s too upsetting to me, ernie tyrell today, isn’t really remembered unless you’re a hardcore fight, fan right and if you’re from chicago you’d, remember him or if you’re, a boxing historian like me, but really he’s just a guy.

Looked upon as another guy ali fought and dominated so from when ali beat listen the first time to when he beat zoro fully and after you know he was the most dominant fighter that ever lived in that time period and in fact, when he came back, he Wasn’T the same as before, he lost a step as the great writer bud.

Schulberg said he he wasn’t super human anymore.

He wasn’t superman now he was just merely brilliant, but he wasn’t.

You know super superman, and you see this in sports.

From 55 to 60, sandy colfax was an average picture from 60 to 66.

He’S the greatest pitcher that ever lived so allie had the same thing, but ali very few fighters can take almost four years off and come back so to come back and win.

The title again twice is incredible: um even more incredible george foreman took ten years off and came back and won the title again and joe lewis took four years off during the war, but he was not the same fighter when he came back.

Ali was smarter than any other fighter that ever lived, and he was able to come back and use the other skills that he had and experience to destroy everyone.

He fought after until the end of his career, when he shouldn’t have fought.

Trell ended up becoming a footnote in boxing um.

He he was a singer.

He had a band called the champions and trail uh lived.

He was born uh april 4th 1939.

He was three years older than ali and he died december.

16.

214 at the age of 75, his cause of death was dementia and, as we all know, muhammad ali died june 3rd uh to 16 from from complications of parkinson’s disease.

Although getting hit in the head, a lot certainly didn’t help, but it was said the cause of death.

Well, the final cause was cardiac arrest, but brought on by by parkinson’s disease.

So these are two um.

Well, i can’t say two really good fighters.

One legend: a social legend ali whose spirit and greatness permeates the entire world.

Today and when people say you know michael jordan’s, the greatest athlete of all time not drew or this person floyd mayweather, you know or or bobby bonds it just very bonds.

Excuse me: it’s not possible.

Sportsman sports illustrated voter ali, the athlete of the century, so that all these other publications espn did too no one had the the penetration that ali had on every city and every planet and every corner, not every planet, every corner, all the continents of the world, as Ali said, i can walk into any house anywhere on earth, iceland, israel, um, uh, iraq, uh, the congo, greenland uh, the yukon anywhere mexico, el salvador – and they would invite me in for dinner and that’s the truth, not only the greatest athlete of all time, but the The most beloved athlete of all time – and that was the story of that particular fight and, as i said, ernie terrell, you know, was doing all right before in terms of victories.

He was making no money, he begged ali for the fight and ali finally relented and then after ali had agreed to help him when terrell you know, starts calling him by the name play the rage in ali’s eyes.

You can see howard purcell’s starting to get concerned.

You know his attitude is boy.

He should not have done that and uh ali.

Let him have it there and he just let him have it in the ring that alley that beat ernie terrell, i think, beats any heavyweight that ever lived.

I think only other heavyweight that would have given him a fight would have been joe lewis, because ali thought guys that were taller than him.

It didn’t make a difference and guys that were his size or smaller didn’t make a difference.

But joe lewis was so supremely skilled and so brilliant that he had to have given ali a good fight if in fact they ever had, you know in your fantasy fights.

Of course, this is one of the reasons why they had a uh ally, loved joe lucas, lewis and sugary robinson were his heroes, and one of the reasons he would get angry at joe lewis is joe lewis would never give ali credit for being a brilliant fighter And someone as great as joe lewis had to know had to know how truly brilliant ali was, but ali was the reason why the money went up in all professional sports baseball players.

Today we hear about trades, you know for shohei, atani or juan soto, or guys signing for three or four hundred million in baseball and basketball.

That’S all ali ali was the reason people started, putting huge money into it.

Ali was the one who said you know if an athlete is colorful and can talk and can promote himself.

He can make himself some good money and he learned that from gorgeous george and, as i said earlier, ali and terrell never really patched over what happened, and i think if they had ever crossed paths when they were older, i don’t think ali would have obviously would Have done anything, he was a man not to be bitter, let bygones be bygones, but you have to remember this is during the 60s and when racial tensions and political tensions and social tensions were very high and the united states was a constant cauldron of change and Aldi was very sensitive about his stance in the world and where he belonged, and that what he was doing is right and so to have another fighter, especially a fellow black fighter, who he was helping out, wasn’t making any money disrespect him on camera and disrespect him In interviews that was just too much for him, ali just could not work that and, and in the ring for 15 straight rounds, he gave ernie terrell the worst meeting, one of the worst beatings had ever seen a fighter take.

Why do i say that? Because if you go into the ring and do what joe lewis did to match smelling in the second fight, it’s more merciful, if ali had knocked him out in a couple rounds, it would have been more merciful.

Ali didn’t want to.

He wanted to punish him for the full 15 rounds.

Alley could have gone 50 rounds that night.

He wanted to show tyrell that he was the best fighter in the world and that tyrell wasn’t anything and that he was going to pay a price for disrespecting him.

As a man and disrespecting his religion and boy did muhammad ali certainly do it that night.

I want to thank you for watching.

I also want to urge you to go on youtube and watch the muhammad ali ernie terrell fight.

It was a wonderful fight to watch.

It’S ali: at its best, i defy anyone to watch it and find a fighter in heavyweight history.

You could beat them.

No one.

People today say uh uh, tyson fury is a scientific fighter and tyson fury’s this and he’s great and he’s a throwback he’s nothing compared to muhammad ali doesn’t have the balance doesn’t have the ring.

Skill doesn’t throw straight shots.

Ali was the best that ever walked the face of the earth period.

End of sentence.

Thank you very much for watching i’m lou eisen, and this has been another episode of rim.

Talk.