Heavyweight champion “Smokin” Joe Frazier hated Muhammad Ali for calling him “The gorilla in Manila”. Yes, Joe wasn’t the best looking, but a gorilla?
Ali hated Ernie Terrell, who refused to call him Muhammad, not Cassius. He had him face-first on the ropes, dragging his face across the ropes until Terrell lost vision in an eye. Bonavena kept calling him Clay and paid for it.
Larry Holmes stopped “Smokin” Joe Frazier’s son Marvis Frazier in a round and said, “That’s for the whippings your daddy gave me in the gym. Holmes was 44-0 and Frazier 10-0. Holmes 48-0 said, “Rocky (Marciano) couldn’t wear my jock strap after losing to light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, preventing him from equaling Marciano’s 49-0.
Bantamweight and featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera pushed Hamed’s face into the turnbuckle, losing a point in the final round. In the introduction, Hamed grabbed the microphone and claimed, “You will all serve Allah.”
Freddie Roach hated Floyd Mayweather, Jr., respected his ego, but when he beat Pac Man, he called Floyd a fraud and said he was only interested in money.
Trainer Angelo Dundee said Holmes’ fight should not have happened with Ali, who was past his prime, and that Holmes’ cruelty in defeating Ali was evident early in the fight.
When Holmes came back at 48-2 to fight Mike Tyson, Ali was introduced into the ring. He tapped Holmes’s gloves and walked over to Tyson and whispered in his ear, “Kick his ass!” The first punch Tyson landed on Holmes had him on the run. He dropped Holmes three times and out.
Last Updated on 11/24/2025
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