Howard Cosell to Muhammad Ali 9/20/72 in the ring after Ali stopped former heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson in their rematch:
Cosell: Muhammad, you couldn’t put Floyd down, is there anything left of your punch?
Ali: No Howard, I can’t punch, I only punch hard enough to win.
As most know, former heavyweight champ Muhammad Ali wasn’t known for his knockout power. Ali may perhaps be the greatest overall heavyweight fighter/boxer in history, but he certainly wasn’t a life-taker like Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers. Incidentally, in eight fights against those feared killers, Ali went 7-1 (5). Former champs Larry Holmes and Gene Tunney also weren’t known as punchers, yet they convincingly beat beasts named Shavers and Dempsey.
When Ali fought Foreman in 1974 for the title, the prevailing thought was he couldn’t tickle George with his punch, therefore George should just walk right through him on his way to a spectacular knockout win. Ali knocked Foreman out. When Sugar Ray Leonard fought Marvin Hagler in 1987, Hagler was known for having a titanium chin and it was inconceivable to think Leonard could hurt Hagler, let alone beat him. Yet despite Leonard not being able to hurt Marvin, Hagler couldn’t just go to him as though Ray were handcuffed and rip his head off. Leonard went on to score the upset and make history. When Pernell Whitaker fought Julio Cesar Chavez in 1993, Chavez was known for having a cast-iron chin and a debilitating left-hook to the body, and everyone knew Whitaker couldn’t bust a grape when it came to punching power. So how in the world could he keep Chavez from tearing through him on his way to a stoppage victory? For the record, Whitaker boxed circles around Chavez and should’ve been awarded the decision instead of getting hosed when the fight was scored a draw.
Before the third bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez earlier this month, it was said that Marquez didn’t have the power to really hurt Pacquiao. Thus there was nothing for Manny to worry about fighting Marquez above 140 pounds, he should just blitz through him and win inside of five rounds just as his trainer Freddie Roach predicted he would. And you know what, they were half right. Marquez never hurt Pacquiao once over the course of 12-rounds. However, an overwhelming majority of the writers and fans who attended the bout thought Marquez won the fight and should’ve won the majority decision that went against him.
