Ali v Forman in Zaire. Fight was at 4 AM local time so it'd be on prime time in the US.

I begged my dad to take me to the pay per view at the Dallas Convention Center, but the $20 a ticket was way too rich for him.

When boxing was great. Ali KO's in the 8th. Ali lets Forman punch himself out and then attacks in the last 30 seconds of the 8th.

It's hard to believe that boxing used to matter. Ali was one of the biggest stars (forget "athletes") in the world.

EDIT - And the greatest talker *ever*

dabo man said:

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It's hard to believe that boxing used to matter. Ali was one of the biggest stars (forget "athletes") in the world.

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At one point, boxing, baseball and horse racing were the 3 biggest sports in America.

BoxingAg84 said:

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dabo man said:

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It's hard to believe that boxing used to matter. Ali was one of the biggest stars (forget "athletes") in the world.

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At one point, boxing, baseball and horse racing were the 3 biggest sports in America.

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Well, username checks ALL the way out

BoxingAg84 said:

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dabo man said:

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It's hard to believe that boxing used to matter. Ali was one of the biggest stars (forget "athletes") in the world.

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At one point, boxing, baseball and horse racing were the 3 biggest sports in America.

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Don't forget bowling...which everyone has forgotten lol

BoxingAg84 said:

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dabo man said:

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It's hard to believe that boxing used to matter. Ali was one of the biggest stars (forget "athletes") in the world.

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At one point, boxing, baseball and horse racing were the 3 biggest sports in America.

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I blame the combination of Don King and Pay-Per-View.

javajaws said:

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Don't forget bowling...which everyone has forgotten lol

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That's not a sport. It's a recreational activity.

Never forget:

Slicer97 said:

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BoxingAg84 said:

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dabo man said:

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It's hard to believe that boxing used to matter. Ali was one of the biggest stars (forget "athletes") in the world.

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At one point, boxing, baseball and horse racing were the 3 biggest sports in America.

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I blame the combination of Don King and Pay-Per-View.

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I wouldn't place all the blame on King, but i agree that putting the sport behind a paywall ultimately caused its demise. It almost like the NBA and NFL putting a the playoffs on PPV.

Every boxing event is treated as going out of business money grab and nothing is ever invested back into the sport.

Cornhole!

As a point of comparison, the present heavy weight champ is a dude named Oleksandr Usyk. I've never heard of him.

I went back and Deontay Wilder is the first name I recognize (2015-2020). Then it's all the way back to Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield (who I literally ran into - as in bumped chest to chest with - coming around a corner at a Braves game) in the early 2000's.

fc2112 said:

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As a point of comparison, the present heavy weight champ is a dude named Oleksandr Usyk. I've never heard of him.

I went back and Deontay Wilder is the first name I recognize (2015-2020). Then it's all the way back to Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield (who I literally ran into - as in bumped chest to chest with - coming around a corner at a Braves game) in the early 2000's.

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That was Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.

Claude! said:

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fc2112 said:

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As a point of comparison, the present heavy weight champ is a dude named Oleksandr Usyk. I've never heard of him.

I went back and Deontay Wilder is the first name I recognize (2015-2020). Then it's all the way back to Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield (who I literally ran into - as in bumped chest to chest with - coming around a corner at a Braves game) in the early 2000's.

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That was Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.

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King hit him in the chest, he fell on the ground. King looked at him and said "Oops I thought you were somebody else"

javajaws said:

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BoxingAg84 said:

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dabo man said:

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It's hard to believe that boxing used to matter. Ali was one of the biggest stars (forget "athletes") in the world.

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At one point, boxing, baseball and horse racing were the 3 biggest sports in America.

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Don't forget bowling...which everyone has forgotten lol

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67 million people bowl at least once a year. Basketball has just over 30 million participants.