Larry Holmes beat down an aged Muhammad Ali, winning every round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas before the contest was halted in the tenth.
Afterward, Ali was urged by fans and fellow-professionals to hang up his gloves. But ‘The Greatest’ still wasn’t done yet.
Fourteen months later, Ali fought Trevor Berbick. And despite putting on a better performance than the Holmes fight, it was clear the three-time heavyweight champion was overbaked.
Foreman, who lost to Ali in ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’ six years prior, actually told Ali he should stay retired after he avenged a loss to Leon Spinks two years previously.
“Before the Holmes fight, we really talked. (I said) don’t do it Champ!” explained Foreman in regards to Ali accepting the Holmes contract.
“But Muhammad loves his family. He just wanted a little set aside (money). No different than any of us, but he just needed another profession,” added ‘Big’ George.
MUHAMMAD ALI – THE GREATEST
Ali was never the same once his boxing career was over as his health deteriorated year upon year.
Eventually, the man they called ‘The Louisville Lip’ was largely silenced for his remaining spell on earth.
June 2016, Muhammad Ali passed away. The realization of many was that boxing lost the great man many years prior to that day.
Since then, the top division has struggled for big personalities, with only the likes of Mike Tyson and now Tyson Fury, taking outside of the ring activities to new heights.