Requiem for a Champ
Muhammad Ali passed away this past Friday after being treated for respiratory complications. Ali was one of the most iconic figures of the…
Muhammad Ali passed away this past Friday after being treated for respiratory complications. Ali was one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century in American history, not just in sport, but in culture as a whole. There will be others who do a much better job of assessing the impact Ali had for African-Americans, for those that opposed the Vietnam War, the concept of the conscientious objector and a myriad of other socio-political-cultural issues that are too vast for me to consider here. I’d like to talk about his sublime fighting.
The Anchor Punch
Ali’s anchor punch has found renewed love in recent years, particularly amongst fans of Anderson Silva. To be honest, what Anderson does with boxing simply isn’t near Ali’s level, but I’ll leave that aside. The concept is beautifully simple. One induces an opponent to lead, perhaps with a jab, perhaps with a jab-cross, you lean back, weight on your back foot, pull your head out of the way of the strike, and then return a looping (from a lowered hand position) cross while transferring some of your weight from your back foot the the front. Due to your opponent leaning forward, the impact of the punch is felt exponentially more because his own weight and forward momentum is adding to the momentum. When Forrest Griffin had his lights put out by Anderson Silva, it looked like a nothing punch put him out, but it was his own body movement. Beautiful.
Footwork and Speed
Ali’s movement, particularly for a heavyweight, was incredible. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” is a phrase Ali popularized, but was also one he took seriously.
His speed was excellent, but the technical mastery of footwork is more impressive to me. He was bouncy, light on his feet and circling away from his opponents strikes. In the clip above, you’ll notice that he at times will move straight back (technically a no-no) but when he runs out of real estate or feels the need, he ducks and moves out at an angle.
One example of Ali’s footwork is his use of the crouching position. BJJ Scout broke this down looking at Dominick Cruz, but he stole it from the master, Ali (and maybe a little Willie Pep). You’ll have to see BJJ Scout’s analysis on his Facebook page in Breaking Down Cruz Part 1. I do love love this exit strategy from an exchange one doesn’t want to engage in. Essentially, a fighter can crouch and spring backwards, exit to the side or return a strike. This multifunctional approach to the position keeps opponents guessing and gives a fighter multiple options. As Ali crouches, he positions his feet with his weight mostly on his back foot, this allows him those multiple options. The weight on the rear foot allows him to transfer it quickly and keeps his lead foot free to position it anywhere he’d like to go.
The Mental Game
Before there was Mayweather, before there was Chael, before any of the great talkers in combat sports today, there was Ali. He was merciless. He was winsome. He was charismatic. He took it too far at times, as with Joe Frazier, but undeniably his mic skills frustrated and infuriated opponents. An angry fighter is not a clear-headed fighter. Ali would talk to opponents in the ring, which opponents named as extraordinarily discouraging. The most famous example is of course the Rope-a-Dope with George Foreman.
Here, Ali talked so much smack to Foreman, that Foreman punched himself out trying to make the man pay. This led to one of the most historic knockouts in boxing history.
Rest in Peace Champ, you did it the best.