I was always curious who Ali's trainer was. Did he develop this style on his own or was he taught? Does anyone still fight like this and if not, why not? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhpZoPOfZI&feature=related"]Muhammad Ali - Amazing Speed - YouTube[/ame]
Angelo Dundee coached him for 21 years. Dundee came from the oldschool... the legendary gym of the late 1940s... Stillman's gym in NYC. The place is deeply ingrained in boxing history even though the place was a dump. He coached Carmen Basilio to the welterweight and middleweight titles. Dundee was also lead trainer at the world famous 5th Street boxing gym in Miami Beach. Other fighters that Dundee was instrumental in building as boxers were Jimmy Ellis, Luis Rodriguez, Sugar Ramos, Ralph Dupas, Willie Pastrano, George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard... Those names don't mean much to non boxing fans except maybe the last two. As for anyone still fighting like Ali - no not really. Each fighter is unique so there are still good fighters out there... but carbon copies of Ali? Nope.
As slip said there are no carbon copies of Ali though folks rightly say that Anderson Silva is the modern Muhammed Ali and you can see why. Great footwork, head movement, range, practically no need to ever even have the hands up. So defensively I'd say he does. Hands are a different story but in my mind what Ali stands out for is his defense.
Yeah all of his head movement to avoid punches is absolutely amazing. You would think that strategy would be a given. Is Ali the progenitor of this level of stick and move or do other students of this coach fight like this as well?
He was using the boxing range very cleverly, there must be other boxers who make their opponents feel like they're trapped in a, well, um, er, box! Remember this guy?: (music becomes less annoying and muddled) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGyfH-9l460"]Prince Naseem Hamed - YouTube[/ame] ...I heard a rumour that he practiced JKD? There's footage somewhere of him, clearly, using a straightblast with dropped elbows and vertical fists in a boxing match somewhere... I was looking for something where he wasn't just knocking people out, but the youtubers clearly aren't interested in the way he moved.
One thing that helped Ali be able to do the things he did was his chin. Man that man could take a punch. So even when he did get tagged he could still carry on. When he takes Frazier's left hook dead on and then gets up like it was no big thing! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZCvCxirJic"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZCvCxirJic[/ame] Serious toughness there.
