30 for 30 (2009–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Muhammad and Larry - full transcript

I'll knock Holmes out.

You don't stand a chance.

How can you beat a legend?

How can you win against the legend?

Ali's pumping up the crowd. But Holmes'
getting to push away with...

Ali.

Boy. This is gonna be a brawl.

Now this is a Broadway play.

They would review it as a tragedy.

That right. Hurt Ali.

He's taking a pounding.



This fight was an abomination.

It was a crime.

It is sad to see this.

All of the people involved in this fight
should have been arrested.

There was no heart in it,
while it was with a glorious man.

Slowly be chopped down
like a big old tree.

Couple of times Larry
wanted them to stop it.

I mean, they were friends,
you know, close friends.

Legends die hard.

He just didn't want
to do that to his friends.

And Ali is learning,

but even he cannot be forever young.

This was the man that they had invested...

the hope in.



He had meant so much.

He's ready to go.

But he wouldn't go down because he's Ali.

This must be stopped.
It is a sad way to end.

The more years go by,
the less people feel indignant about it.

The left, you know?
Well, it was a fight game,

I mean, I don't know. Well hell.

Well, they took a guy
when he was down on his knees

and pounded him the rest of the way.

There was a lady came up to me
in Las Vegas.

Never forget that lady saying,
"Hi. I hate you."

"Why?"
"You should've beaten Muhammad Ali."

Mark my words.

Take the films
and take exactly what I'm saying.

If I get whooped, play it back
because I'll be a fool.

Everybody said,
"Why don't you tell Muhammad to retire?"

I said, "Well, no.
I'll handle it a different way."

A fighter has a God given right
that say "bye-bye" whenever he wants to.

Because it's the life he lives...
nobody makes him do it.

Just think about it.
One guy's trying to not knock you out.

You're there trying to one on one.

I don't believe to tell a fighter retire.
Because you're not God.

People desire to understand that which
they cannot understand. Get that?

People desire to understand
that which they cannot understand.

Can Dracula meet the wolfman
on a Har Mountain?

Mr. Fair...
meets the wolfman on Har Mountain?

They're not able to see that.
A shark named Jaws eating people up.

Are Star Wars' monsters
finding a rocket ship?

People like to be puzzled.
So I puzzle them.

The last guy to know
that they didn't have it

and he shouldn't do it was Ali himself.

Why? Because he'd always done it.
And he'd always escaped was life.

When you have a history, maybe 20 years,

I've always getting by with it somehow,

somehow getting by with.

Then you can't blame them
for thinking he's going to go to the end.

What an extraordinary career.

What an extraordinary man he is.

Ali.

He's got the young man trouble.

Every time the momentum has shifted

in the right of Muhammad Ali.

He has found the way
to come back to triumph,

that's the mark of the man.

Look at the combination,
as the crowd goes wild.

Why do you think
they took the Holmes fight?

Money.

That's all it was, money, greed?

They came to him with that money
and I said, all right.

They call me saying, "We going to fight
Holmes." "Fight Holmes?"

"You got to be kidding."

He's like, "No, we're going to fight him."
I said, "Alright."

You get the rough atmosphere
united on this hill.

This is a rough bungalow.

Looked like something
in the late Lincoln Day.

The trees, the rocks, the sand hills.

Everything is rugged, so I'm a man
is absorbed in a fight day and night.

SONNY LISTON

We had a lot of camaraderie
in our training outfit.

It was never like a Persian camp.

Everybody was treated fairly and nicely.

Muhammed made him feel real comfortable,
like one of the guys.

There was no higher echelon,
lower echelon.

There was camp we worked together.

You don't know.

- You don't know till that moment.
- A man will do it.

He feels good. If he feels good with one
guy, he keeps going on.

But if he gets bored, I guess,
then give me a next one.

There's the afternoon action,
Muhammad Ali.

Greatest fight of all time.
Can't use the work out.

Big Papa killed with it.

Fixed your eyes. Keep it up.

Still kicking and licking, still kicking.

In and out, in and out.
Bob is doing his job now.

Stand up, Bob.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Turn!

EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA
AUGUST 1980

Hey, girl. Hey, smash, huh?

Feline, hey, stop.
Hold it, hold it, hold it.

What I want to do now is take a nice
shower, get a little rest,

take my wife out to dinner or something.

Whatever many rounds I box today
I feel that I achieved something.

But anyway, thank you for coming.

Angelo Dundee...
told us before the fight...

that why did we think Ali had a chance.

And he said, "Because the mirror tells Ali
he's got a chance."

Ali looks in the mirror,
like it's the fairy tale,

"Who's the bestest of them all?"

And he saw himself with the weight loss
and that beautiful face.

And... he couldn't lose.

I mean, I'm sure Ali in his bones,
never thought he could lose a fight.

Ali waits a beating came and Spahn.

I used to tell him in there, and then
Spahn said, "Why you keep getting hit?"

He said, "I want to get
accustomed to the blows."

Ali got lazy... and Ali was letting
him punch to toughen up his side.

But you don't toughen up kidneys.

Round number six.

Kidneys don't believe in covering up.
It was very delicate, delicate organ.

That was one of the big reasons
that Ali fell apart.

Now four more. Save yourself.

Save yourself, young boy.

Getting hit upside to you...

I wanna both off y'all today.

Getting beat... you know, take effect.

He had to, to be honest.

I know I've found another way,
I've always come through.

I always figured some, now this one
I really have to figure out.

He'd probably go to bed, thinking about
knocking Holmes out, knocking Holmes out.

That's what he's probably doing,
that's 'cause he's into what he's doing.

But me, I'm into having a good time
and enjoying life

because we only go around one time
but be ready when this time comes.

Fans are on their feet.
Holmes' taking the punishing.

Anybody wants to know
he won't take it. Look at this.

Larry Holmes' standing up
to the very best he can.

I'll give Holmes the credit for the fight

and a great fight has come to an end.

For the new WBC heavyweight champion
of the world,

Larry Holmes.

Based upon that early lead,
Holmes has been declared the winner.

I'm thinking of a poem, Kiff,
with Ali mind.

I'm just sitting here,
you know, I was thinking,

okay, now I don't know
how this is going to work,

but, I mean, I'm gonna practice it first.

Okay, on October 2nd,

Ali meets Holmes in the ring. No.

On October 2nd, this is the thing.

Ali meets Holmes in the center
of the ring, Ali swings with the left

he swings with the right.

It's just a matter of time

for the, let me see,
okay, let me feel, let me get it right.

- Because they know how.
- I'm gonna play something.

I'm happy with my life.

I don't need and I'm like, I don't
need to go out in New York City,

walking on Fifth Avenue, telling to better
that way in the world.

Do I need a house in California?
Do I need a house in Chicago?

Do I need a house in Miami?
I got one house.

You know, I had two houses now
but I'm selling one.

I got a home going up. I got to mention

that they only cost me
400,000 dollars a bill.

I got a build-in swimming pool
with a boxing club with a Jacuzzi.

I got a Jacuzzi in the bath, master bath.

I got a steam, I got the red room,
I got two bars, three fireplaces.

I got bath in every room. Nine bathrooms.

Hey, I'm happy with my life, you know?

Larry's lost in Ali's shadow

and Ali's shadow is giant.

He was almost a second class citizen,

even though he, I mean, he's probably
our greatest underrated heavyweight.

He was Larry.

One of the great heavyweights never
appeared on the Johnny Question show.

Now that's unbelievable.

If he had come before Ali,
he would have received more acclaim,

or there have been more time
between Ali's departure from the Ranger.

Hall of Fame is what they gave to me

Now down in history

Come on out We got a new group

There're my championship belts, man.

They're from the old to the new.

They presented to me
the Boxing Hall of Fame.

It's like he fell off
the face of the Earth.

Nobody talks about Larry Holmes

and it's a shame
because he's done so much.

Look how long it took you to get here.
You know, nobody else is here.

That is my first belt they gave me.

The WBC belt, when I fought Ken Norton.

For all his life, all he heard was
he was a shadow of Ali.

It is not what you would
call the successor.

While Ali... he was the next guy around.

Just the next guy around.

But Holmes deserved to be
the next champion after Ali.

Ruggles all Boxing Hall of Fame.

And I got this for the Garlic Festival
that we have in Eastern.

You would like garlic.
I was a champion of the Garlic Festival.

Holmes' in trouble.

Holmes' in trouble.

You know, I got the real work now,

I got something coming for him.

I fight people and I face
the first time I lose on faith.

First means fight or lose.

First is all in fight or lose.

Now... I gotta meet the king bee.

I'm too old. I'm too fat.

I've been off too long.
Now I will shock the world.

Yeah. Hi, ya'll.

Listen, people, I'm Larry Holmes

Let me tell you how I have grown

You're not gonna fight
too many champions like me.

Take for me, there's no better way

Life is short...

I'll tell you like it is. You might not
like it, but it's the truth, it's hurt.

You've been in my face, damn.

Because I'm gonna tell you the truth, man.

Take a picture of me like this.

Dan! Yo, can you do more now?

Let it Holmes.

Holmes!

Anybody hear me? Yeah!

It was one room downstairs.

Three rooms upstairs.

- What did you guys use to do for fun?
- We hang out.

Go up to playground up here.

- Terrace.
- Terrace up there. Hang out.

- Never had to lock our door?
- We had to lock our doors at night.

Everybody know everybody, man.

In this project, we don't have
racism in this project?

No.

No way. No racism.
Because white people like black people.

They're gonna tear it down in a couple
days to get ready for demolition.

Well, you know, I wonder what they could
have remodeled this or fix this.

I think they could have.

My mom always said, "Go get that."

If I say no, if I would talk back,

maybe go down to the wall
to break out switch,

she called it a switch
and beat me with that switch.

It'd better be a nice sized switch,
if I don't, it'll break.

- I got to go back and get another one.
- That's right.

Because I was a troublemaker.

You know, our days in school,
the teachers didn't like me.

The officer used to be here all the time.

That's why I said, I had
to drop out of school.

Either get out or get thrown out.
I had a choice.

When I was 13 years old,
I started working.

I shine shoes, I wipe cars.

I worked in a steel mill, in our box.

So tell me about Larry and the Champ.

He was here for four years.
You must know something about him.

What do you mean? I don't understand
what you're talking about.

What did they think of each other?

Did he like him as a fighter,
like him as a person?

- Larry...
- Did he like Larry?

No, he don't like Larry.
Maybe you like it to better this way.

Champ don't give a damn about Larry.
Larry don't give a damn about the Champ.

- You like that better?
- No, I don't...

- I hope you enjoy yourself.
- I don't have any...

I'm glad you've got a caddies tape
and a darkroom and clip them.

I don't have any disposition to it at all.

I'm just wondering
what the thing was four years ago.

What happened four years ago
when they were together?

Four years ago, Larry Holmes
was his sparring partner.

And Muhammad Ali was his boss
to give him a bread on the table.

When I first went to Muhammad Ali,

Ali said, "Give him the gloves,
give him some shoes."

And Larry went in and he sparred.

Ali give him two quick jab, "Pump, pump."

When they got done and Larry came over,
I said, "Hey, you got a shiner."

You know, I said,
"Let me put some ice on that for you."

"No, I can't wait to get back to Eastern,"

and I want to show all my buddies,
they're not gonna believe this.

"This is my badge of courage."

They all were good to me.

And those things we don't forget.

I'm gonna laid out.
Like I said, Ali was a great guy.

But he wanted to be here.
And you down there.

It's always you stay down there.
And he's up there.

You're the greatest thing
in the world to him.

You get that ring,

you've got your mother there,
your brother there, your sister there.

He will kick your ass.
He ain't gonna play with you.

Blood's gonna come out of your nose,
come out of your eyes.

If you stagger, you're going down.

Could be a lot of people around that he's
gonna want to show them that he's the man.

That's amazing, that he's 38 years old.

Well, it wouldn't be
for a man for Ali's cattle

because he had lived a different life
than average fighter.

His dad is different in way of life,

is different being emotionally,
have different beliefs.

So that age is no age for a Muslim,
you know,

because his life has been,
he had been living a reckless life

all this life, anarchist.
Well, kind of shake it.

But we don't have no doubt
of him at his age.

So you feel he's equivalent to about,
what age?

I'll say a 10 years. Take 10 years old.

- Ten years?
- Yes.

- Deep down inside, what is he really like?
- Like a little boy.

He does have a great sense of self,

a great sense of self-promotion.

He was clever. He was funny.

He has sort of piquant naughtiness to him.

Just knew how to make people laugh.

And you want to be funny.

I'm growing mustache,
you can call me Dark Gable now.

How am I so fast?
Sometimes I get emotional, I cry.

I don't want to do it now but I just...

It was happening every day.

Fun people will come to the gym
and be entertained.

- I promise to knock Holmes out.
- Yeah.

- I gotta get Holmes...
- He has these jokes or little poems.

He ain't nothing but a clown
with my crown.

Childish. So if you look at it, you saying
he ain't get away with saying that.

But all has to do, him say it, it's funny.
You say it, it's childish.

Got him all figured and fat.
Do I look fat, ya'll?

If everybody was like him in the world,

then, we wouldn't have
no problems in the world.

I've never seen Ali
turned down a little bit.

He don't care if he signed 3,000 of them,
he signed 3,000 and more.

Give me a kiss, man.

Alright, Ken, hurry up.
Take a picture shaking his hands.

Yeah, that's right.

- He's gonna take his glasses.
- Take his glasses.

See, like, for instance,
you were complaining, right?

When he finished talking,
about 15 minutes later,

a group of other people come
and he's tired. He's just got to do it.

Why? They had to move in, honey. Move in.

I'm not switch around so the same two
girls are not only...

Switch off a little bit.

I couldn't do it right now.

He had to be really strong to do that,
keep getting up, entertaining people.

- See the card tricks he does?
- Yeah.

He just keeps on getting up.
Let me show you my card tricks.

You know the word trick bag?
Now this is my trick bag.

I will concentrate and the key's
gonna turn on itself. Watch.

Would you believe that?

Didn't I tell you
I had some miracles to show you?

You wanna see more? I have real miracle.

I'm the master of illusion.
Wait till I get home.

- What color is that?
- Red.

Well, let me wave my hand.

And right before for your eyes' a miracle.
A miracle. That was a miracle.

I told you I had some miracles,
didn't I tell you?

I gotta call my wife and let her know
I'm bringing you guys.

Dia. Guess what?

I'm on my way home...

and I got about 3 cars behind me.

And they're bringing
the cameras and everything.

"That's too bad", she said.
Ya'll hear that, don't you?

Listen, I didn't marry her for her money.

I didn't marry her for her looks,
I would marry because she had a Toyota.

That's why I married her.

A red tire. She had a red tire.

I married her because she had
a red tire with a 4th B.

And I thought, I'd like to drive.
I'm like, "Can I drive that?"

She said, "What? Okay." Damn, that was it.

And then he took the money
out the ashtray.

Yeah.

Yup. Take money out the ashtray.

One magical of it.
Man, they all come right back.

Watch carefully, you'll see
one of these is his clown.

Watch carefully.

One of these is his clown.
There's one cut, one cut.

I'm the master of illusion.

Ali is my name and magic is my name.

You all meet my wife.

She was beauty queen, too,
that I took out and trapped to.

It's time to go. Okay, one minute.

You feel trouble dealing with lifestyle?

Well, not really the lifestyle.

Yes, it's part of the lifestyle.

So many people up there all the time.
I like it more peaceful.

We have a bet going

that he doesn't think I can run six miles.

So he made me a bet,

he told me that he'll give me 450 SAR

if I can run six miles.

I'm gonna get home.

So good, goodnight.
I don't see if we're sleeping.

You will put your right, Ali,

because all the nerve and your body

winds up your fear.

He watches the film, tells that I haven't.

He ain't gonna be able to move away.
He fights one way, leaves himself open.

He can't move his head, he's going duck.

See, you don't leave, you don't crown,
there's no troubles.

Stand them. Straight fighter. I have no
trouble in all of that. I'd eat him up.

I met him when he was in the amateurs
in the '58.

I went through rough years.

I was there the other night,
I'm going, "I opened my pie."

He said, "Here, take what you want."
He gave back to me.

We've been good to each other,
he's been good to me and my family.

I got Holmes, I'm going to destroy Holmes.

I saw it, I'm gonna destroy Holmes.

Holmes' in trouble, Holmes 4-time champ.

There's nothing to worry about,
I got it made. I just sat on him.

I just saw it...

Is there any questions of why
Ali fell apart?

Many people around looking at him,

not if you saw him every day
talking slower, walking slower,

moving slower, punching less.
You could see him falling apart.

After the Thrilla in Manila,
I said to him, "That's your last fight."

You keep on fighting and you're going
to go right into the grave.

No, I know I gotta stop.
I don't want to stop.

After every fight,
I see there's another one.

You're walking slower.
You're mumbling now.

And he could see it. And he knew it.

It wasn't that nobody told him.

The flunkies around have been dumped.
Because they need the money.

George... I didn't have a chance.

Spinks didn't have a chance.

Ken Norton...

Angelo said he could
tell it in his speech.

His speech was getting a little slower.

I didn't pay it no mind.
But Angelo said he could dig it.

It's no fun when you're around the guy.

I was pallbearer for his mom and dad.
I'm close to the whole family.

His brother, I'd spend more time
with him than anybody in the world?

You know, when you see
a guy getting hit on,

you know, you start to feel the punches.

Before the Nevada State Athletic
Commission licensed Ali to fight,

they asked him to go to the Mayo Clinic
for a full report.

Said that when Ali
tried to touch his finger

to his nose, there was a slight degree
of missing the target.

He couldn't hop

with the agility
that the doctors expected he would.

He had trouble coordinating the muscles.
He used his speech.

This is before he fought Larry Holmes.

They discovered

there was an abnormality in Ali's brain.

No, they didn't. They said the only thing
that they could find with Ali,

they said he doesn't have recall.

You know, he has short-term deficit.

He doesn't have the recall.

- Short-term memory.
- Short-term memory.

This got slower and older.

It takes a little
longer for me around now.

I noticed that.
You don't think it's quick anymore.

This is a physical exam is given
to a guy who could be an account

that this is a man
who's gonna go and risk his life.

When a boxer steps in the rain,
clearly his life is on the line.

And Nevada State Athletic Commission

licensed him to fight
on the basis of that report...

which the commission never made public.

Went down into it and fight right in,
fight the broken jaws.

Only last 10 seconds always come in this.

Always close the show...

Champ always wants to know who comes in
and no one knows he missed by those.

He always might be close.

When there's trouble, he finds a way to
win. I loving that, Jerry.

- That's right.
- I'm known for finding the way to win.

If God has my tights, I always find a way,

and this is what I have...

Late in the evening,
long after the fight...

long after Sinatra gave a fight eulogy

for him in the showroom
and all the people applauded...

I walked into the men's room
on a first floor Caesar ship,

and there was an old
African American gentlemen

which handing the towers
and everything else.

I said to the guy,
"You mind if I ask you a question?"

"Did you bet on this fight?"
He said, "Yes, I did."

I said, "Do you mind
telling me who you bet on?"

And he looked at me and he said...
"I bet on Muhammad Ali."

"You mind telling me why?"

Cassius Clay was my slave name.
I'm no longer a slave.

He said, "Why?
Because he gave me my dignity."

I never forgot that.

All Holmes' promoters, you understand?

They all came to see me, you understand?

And they saw me looking pretty.

Listen down.

That nigga serious.

Ali perpetuated on us
a wonderful sting we all bought into.

It was part in Parcel Bar, believing.

We all believe this
until another one in there.

He's gotta pull it out of the bag.

He had performed two miracles
against Liston and Foreman.

He was going to do it again.

We don't want to say goodbye
to this great source.

- It was a story. He was a story.
- There's no choices

whether they come around, you know.

Younger fans, I can handle them.

That's why it's was hard
to convince Holmes

that this is the hype.

And I had to keep up on this
that you're going to perform.

This is going to be your day.

When I was getting in the car
to come home,

I heard a noise come out of nowhere.

"I want Holmes. I want Holmes."

"Four times." "I want Holmes."

And this man here,

I think he really knows
deep down inside...

that worry about worst days
he can't whoop me.

But Larry Holmes and
still not taking any chances.

He's probably better than
anybody I ever for you.

- You had this age.
- Yeah.

Rationally, Larry understood

that he should be in charge.

But everywhere he went

there were pictures of Ali,
people shouting for Ali.

But in the back of his mind,
he had to think,

"Well, Sonny Liston is confident, too."

He's a good man, a boxer
with beautiful life, man.

I never had. No, I've never,
I don't have anything bad to say about it.

Never, you know.

You know, I thought I knocked him out,
I'll still be his friend.

Hey. Hey, don't do that shit.

Help! Help! Help! Help! Hey, don't! No!

Come on, man.

He cursed at me, too.

- Did you get that?
- Yeah, start a day with your friend.

- Who's that?
- Larry.

- Is he?
- Yeah.

- Where is he?
- In his new swimming pool.

He's in the house?

Well, he is building it.
The construction's halfway.

I think it's a swimming pool in the shape
of a, boxing glove.

- What he say about?
- He likes you.

I like you.

Larry Holmes is the
WBC heavyweight champion.

He is 35-0, 26 of those wins,
ending by knockout.

His challenger is a living legend.

Mohammed Ali, coming out of retirement
after a 2-year layoff,

is trying to win the title
and unprecedented 4th time.

Ali isn't only trying to beat someone
eight years younger than him,

he's trying to beat
the athletes' toughest foe, time.

He hasn't changed one bit

since he was in my hard hand in
Pennsylvania, still easy.

In Vegas, I said, "Ali, I just
gobbled some money."

I got about $40,000.
I'm going to bet it on you.

It's true that I'm here.

On my mother said, "No, it ain't right,
something's wrong."

There was a man
who had lost £30 who looks slick.

Everybody was caught up
in the fact that it was Ali

and if he looked this good...

- How can he lose?
- Yes.

Two weeks before the fight, a doctor
shows up... he's going to inject him.

"What does this do?
This gives you a lot of strength."

I said, "Ali, we don't need this stuff."

Dr. Charles Williams decided

just on the basis of observing

that Ali was overweight,
that he had a thyroid condition.

So he started prescribing thyroid.

What fighter in the history
of the goddamn world

has ever taking thyroid pills
before a fight?

That's like taking the wheels off

of an Indianapolis Speedway racer
and racing with a tire.

The muscle you used to fight
is burned up by thyroid pills.

Already his kidneys are short.

Now you're giving him stuff
that make his kidneys work harder.

We are the greatest of all time.

And then Ali treated the thyroid tablets
like diet pills,

that instead of taking one a day,
he took three a day.

I used to come in the room and he have
maybe 10, 15, or 25 pills are taken.

I said, "What's all this?"
"It's my vitamin. It's my vitamin."

You know, I let him know I didn't like it,
but he wouldn't, he didn't care.

I see him to blob up every day blob,
you know.

- How are you feeling?
- I'm feeling ready.

I'm down to 218 pounds.

I thought he was taking vitamin.

And it was thyroid pills. I didn't know.

What do you say to people who came to
Pennsylvania taking a job?

Well, that's good. That's because
I'm in better shape.

And sometimes, at 1 o'clock,
wake Ali up to run and he said,

"Just run a mile. I can't go."
I said, "Something's wrong."

I promise you, it's behind
should be mad around now.

They used to come in from Vegas.
They say, "You gotta come see this."

Ali can't walk up the ring stairs to do
for a round. I don't want to see that.

I know that without going there.

Attitude is a big factor. Can I lose?

Can you see me when...

Why a guy who is a shell of himself
was brought here?

Which all to orchestrate the biggest drop

in the history of this city at the tables.

It brought people from
all over the world for this fight.

The high rollers and then
the restaurants have crowded.

The casinos have crowded.
It's Vegas and it was magic.

Ali. Ali. Ali. Ali.

Ali's pumping up the crowd.

Ali didn't run out of miracles this night.
They were not.

The man who is the magician wasn't.

He had a job that didn't.

It was all over the minute, Larry landed
his first opening punch of the fight.

Holmes' come out there, he put a moaning.

Ali's going slow, one punch in two rounds.

We thought Ali may win
but after couple rounds,

I saw it.

We didn't believe that far-gone.

I want Holmes to knock him out, not to
hurt him. Knock him out to end this.

He wanted to knock out Ali early.
He couldn't do it.

And they just ask Ali if he was alright.
Ali said, "Yes."

I just didn't want to hurt Ali...

but to hit him enough to make him quit.

And he still wouldn't quit.

He's ready to go. This must be stop.

At the 9th round when Larry hit him with
that, right-crossed to the stomach.

He yelled. And I said, "Oh, my God!"

Look back at the referee
a couple of times.

You want him to stop it? He wouldn't.

You want me to continue to beat this guy?

You want me to kill him?
Is that what you want?

Who is gonna tell Richard Green
this fight is over?

When Richard Green was in there
with the Great Mohammed Ali,

and he was gonna give him
every chance he could

and pray that nothing happened to him.

So we told Larry,
"Larry, it is time to put him away."

Sad to witness this, isn't it?

That confident judge
go out there and punished Ali.

I realize a legend that this man has been.

I would hope they would stop this fight.

Angelo said to me, "The reason
I'm gonna work with him"

is because I know where I can stop
the fight if he's taking a beating."

I said, "No, you can't.
You ain't got nothing to do with."

Savage.

Sitting on maybe 6, 8 rows back
was the manager, Herbert Mohammed.

His father was the founder
of the Nation of Islam,

colloquially called the Black Muslims.

Herbert's sure enough
and he finally sent word.

And Herbert said, "I'll stop the fight.
I'm stopping the fight. That was it."

Angelo is telling the referee to stop it,
but Dean is arguing with him.

- Checked him out.
- No. Game's over.

- I'm the chief second.
- Alright.

- I stop the fight.
- Alright.

He would not.

He would not give in Angelo Dundee.

He cared about his fighter too much.

That's it. They stopped the fight at TKO.

Larry, I'd like you to explain
why you've been crying?

You know, I really respect a whole lot.
Really respect Ali a whole lot.

It hurts you to punish him
that way, didn't it?

I feel that he fought one of the best of
heavyweights in the world today.

And you cannot take credit from him.

After the fight,

Ali took to his bed
and Holmes came up to visit.

And Holmes goes into the room
and Ali sees him, and he's in bed.

And Ali starts saying,
"Get me, Holmes. Get me, Holmes."

I still remember it, and he said,
"Larry, I thought you loved me."

Then you said, "I did love you." He's
going, "Why you kicked my ass though?"

When I went out of the door,
you know what he said.

- "I will return."
- Yeah, "I'll be back."

Ali otherwise pushed him to the edge.
This one buried him.

This one buried him
and he's never been the same.

And he's not going to be the same.

It should have been.

He should have had a nice, normal life to
80, 90, 100, whatever he could have.

Ali could have lived forever.
He was so strong.

But we didn't get to see it.

He's still venerated and cherished
wherever he goes.

But it's not the same thing
as going on the hero that he was.

Ends like this, man.

Nobody thought anybody
from Eastern Pennsylvania

would be the heavyweight
champion of the world.

People in Eastern didn't think they could
be heavyweight champion of the world.

Some people in my family didn't think

I could be heavyweight
champion of the world.

- Tell them, that you're gonna be a champ.
- I'm gonna be a champ.

Yeah, just like Larry Holmes.

- Just like Larry Holmes.
- Yeah.

- The whole world's gonna know me.
- The whole world's gonna know me.

I may sound bitter,
arrogant a little bit here and there.

But I do respect, I hope you all
respect where I'm coming from

because, man, you know,
I went through it, I've done it.

And I get pissed off
when everybody talked about Ali.

He ain't better than me
because he talked better than me.

Ali ain't better than me
because he could drive better than me.

Nobody's better than me. Nobody.

I'm just me.

I just express a little different
than everybody else.

I used to be good at that.
Do you know that?

My wife like a good husband.

My wife, I'll be there in about
eight minutes.

Yeah, with all the guys.

See ya later, bye.

Yeah, I gotta go home in minutes,
that's why I kept a phone in my ears.

Maybe that's why she kept me,
because I'm a good man.