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Mythical matchup three: Muhammad Ali versus Lennox Lewis

Allan Cerf imagines what would have happened if Muhammad Ali fought Lennox Lewis

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Lewis vs. Ali
Lewis vs. Ali

One of the fun things in boxing is “what if?” scenarios. What if Jimmy Wilde was around today, would he beat Chocolatito? What would really happen if Sam Langford and Roy Jones, Jr. threw hands? Could Manny Pacquiao have defeated Robert Duran? Who wouldn’t want to find out?

 

If you like these “What If’s,” holler. Tell us which mythical bouts you’d like to see. We’ll do our best to write about them. Also – tell us what you think, are we on the money, or miles off course in our judgements about these fantasy fights?

 

Final word: Each mythical matchup assumes all fighters have equal access to today’s nutritional and training advantages. It also imagines that each fighter was about the same age as his opponent. If Jack Johnson, in other words, fought today, he would of course have today’s advantages – advantages that didn’t exist in his long-ago era.

 

In the case of our third mythical match-up, we’re going back in time, imagining the night Muhammad Ali met Lennox Lewis in Ali’s 1960’s prime.

 

Date: Saturday, August 20, 1966. 15 rounds for a unified and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Site: Houston Astrodome. 46,000 attendance (sellout).

Prize money: 1.5 million each, about $11,975,000 per boxer in 2020 money.

Network: 125 closed circuit locations around USA. Re-broadcast, ABC TV, Howard Cosell, broadcaster. Short, Round-by-round recreations, many radio stations, at the end of every round.


Round 1: The kingly Lewis answers the bell with supreme confidence and a touch of the arrogance all great fighters must have.

 

Ali, faced with a taller opponent, for him rare, starts his ceaseless, graceful circling to his left.

After a long 90 seconds, Ali stops moving left and takes two very fast steps right and feints a check hook. Lewis whiffs with a straight right lead. Ali throws a cheeky straight right lead, which lands hard, embarrassing the Brit by way of Jamaica and Canada.

 

“We’ve only seen that lead-off right twice before that I recall" says ABC’s Howard Cosell. Meanwhile, in a brief clinch, Ali looks out at Football great, Jimmy Brown and hockey ace, Bobby Hull, in front row seats and yells: “Football and hockey are too dangerous! I’m stickin’ to boxing!” The crowd knew he said something funny and roar.

 

Lewis can’t lose Ali’s respect and is firing all manner of beautiful punches in this first round, including his dreaded uppercut. Ali, meanwhile, has rammed his jab home 4-5 times. Finally, Lewis lands two jabs. Clear Ali round.

 

Between rounds, Ace coach Emanuel Steward, a harsh disciplinarian, is already on Lewis’ case: "Lewis if you don’t land the f_cking jab more often, we may as well pack up and go home!” Lewis nods solemnly.

Round 2: Lewis is that rare breed of fighters who can actually carry out corner instructions precisely. In a fury that surprises Ali, Lewis whips off four very heavy jabs. Two land flush. Ali knows Lewis has hidden the deadly right behind the jabs; one of two Lewis KO punches. Ali steps aside and the right misses by inches; Ali then lands his own very hard right uppercut! Lewis is buzzed. The myth is Ali can’t punch. Lewis now knows differently.

 

Ali fires 20 blindingly fast punches and avoids return fire, when Lewis in return, punches with him. Bell. Huge Ali round. Cosell says, "I would advise our viewers we’ve witnessed that rare thing, a 10-8 round without knockdowns.” The judges however, don’t agree.

 

Rounds 3-5: Lewis, who has unlimited courage, holds it together while Ali, on Angelo Dundee’s advice, dances the next three rounds, popping jabs and choice right hands. Ali doesn’t know it, but Lewis won two of the three rounds, and Ali is up by just a round.

 

Before the start of the sixth, Steward says cuttingly: "Lewis, you CANNOT OUTSPEED HIM, you must get him to the ropes." ’’Or,” Steward adds "Let’s just pack up the whole goddamned show and I mean it. I’ll pull you out."

 

Round 6: Lewis lays his huge weight on Ali in what looks like a harmless clinch. The Ali camp had feared such a thing and before the fight, begged referee Arthur Mercante Sr. to penalize Lewis when he did. Mercante has warned Lewis, but he can’t stop all infractions.

 

As an angry Ali yells, "get off me, man" in the clench, Lewis brings his big dome upward, inflicting a deep and serious cut over the Ali’s right eye. It’s the first time he’s been cut. Ali paws at the blood, but his legs and amazing punch ‘radar’ as he would term it years later in Zaire, Africa in his 1974 bout against George Foreman keep him safe – just. Lewis wins the round on two of three cards. Even fight.

 

Between rounds, Dundee Ali’s trainer, and assistant, flamboyant Drew Bundini Brown, remind the champ he’s got all the talent in the world to survive this catastrophe. Cut man Chuck Bodax does his best on the gash. He’s stopped the bleeding for now.

 

Referee Mercante pops his head in to Ali’s corner. “I’m, okay.” Ali insists.

 

‘Doc?” Mercante asks ringside physician Alexander Robbins to examine the cut. Robbins glances only briefly at the cut before growling "Clear."

 

The bell rings to start the 7th round.

 

Lewis is a terrific four-punch combination puncher and excels when starting with two shots to the body, two to the dome. Ali, whose eye is bleeding again, obscuring vision, takes the body shots but with his unmatched timing, pulls out and back (a “no-no” he gets away with) to avoid the head shots.

 

But the round goes to Lewis on activity. And the eighth as well.

 

“Suddenly, Lewis is likely up by two rounds. Muhammad Ali is losing this fight!” Cosell bellows.

 

Between the eighth and ninth rounds, Steward tells Lewis: “Put your God dam_ weight on him Lewis, tire that sucker out!” “I can’t, ref’s stopping me,” his fighter replies. “Then, rough him up – this isn’t a tea party. You can’t try to coast home Lewis, IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK! There’s seven more f__king rounds to go! Go out there and bring some closure so we can GO HOME!”

 

“Folks, Cosell muses, “Emanuel Steward is a man and trainer who is never going to be pleased. His man is doing well despite the Ali reflexes which allow the champ to avoid punches in a way Lewis has never seen. But Steward is infuriated with his fighter, just the same.”

 

The ninth is looking like a very good Lewis round. Lewis is jabbing and though Ali escapes every right Lewis hides behind the jab, as well as his homerun uppercut, Lewis’s strong body attack is winning the round.

 

Also, Lewis’s head is everywhere, as he shoves his dreads into and around Ali’s cut. Ali rabbit punches Lewis in return. The fight is getting out of hand, but Mercante, whom both fighters respect greatly, gets things back under control. Ali can’t pull Lewis in by the neck as he will one day against shorter Joe Frazier, so he pushes Lewis off instead, by the neck.

 

Then, feeling the fight slipping away, Ali uses his go to punch, the lead right hand. Two shots score. Ali moves left to avoid a return hook, but Lewis clips him with an uppercut. As Lewis gets ready with another right uppercut, Ali’s thick elbow accidentally smashes into Lewis’ face, opening what else – an enormous cut over Lewis’s right eye. He then lashes Lewis without mercy. Ali round. Lewis up by a round.

 

In his corner Dundee says this is the break they’d been waiting for. “Show no mercy, kid.”

 

Ali understands. Steward, showing expert psychology, calmly explains to Lewis that cut man Al Gavin will patch his eye together. “Be careful champ,” Steward says. “He’s probably going to keep moving and jabbing, nothing more. But- if he opens up, you’ve got to retaliate- or they’ll give Ali the round.”

 

Lewis, breathing heavily, nods.

 

In the 1oth round fans are treated to an awesome, all-time display of jab artistry from both men, but Ali’s is an even-better stick and cuts Lewis’ right eye to ribbons. Before the start of the eleventh, physician Robbins declares Lewis OK to continue.

 

In round 12, both fighters bleeding from cuts empty the tank, but Ali’s sublime movement give hims the edge. Lewis who has a superb side-to-side defense, seldom noticed, is able to dodge many blows as no other Ali opponent ever has.

 

Ali never attacks the body goes the legend, but just as he would eight years later against Foreman in Zaire, he surprises Lewis with two big jabs to the solar plexus. Lewis, caught off guard but not hurt, lets up for an instant. This is all Ali needs. He throws 14 unanswered punches, what he calls “whuppin’ up on him.” Many connect and tear Lewis’ right eye to shreds.

 

Between rounds, Robbins, the doctor, says the cut is now too horrendous.

 

Lewis protests but it is trainer Steward who says, “That’s enough. Great fight, everyone’s proud of you.”

 

The blood-thirsty crowd pelts the rings with boos, Pepsi and beer, but that passes and the bleeding fighters trudge over for their interviews with Cosell.

 

Ali, who Lewis has patterned himself after in many ways, tells Cosell and the world his opponent is, “The greatest, just after me.”

 

Outcome: Ali TKO Lewis 13

 

 

Next matchup: Pernell Whitaker fights Roberto Duran

 

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