| |
| |
Ali went to Dublin where he had agreed to fight a near-225
pound Al "Blue" Lewis of Detroit. Only Ali's mother, whom he
took along to see Ireland and the English crown jewels, seemed
at all excited by the arrangement, apart from the Irish boxing
fans who were to see their first major world heavyweight match
in 64 years. Ali had a cold and confessed he had grown weary of
too many fights in too many cities. The only time he cheered up
was when Peter O'Toole knocked on his hotel door ("Hiya,
Lawrence, come on in").
But for a protracted "Irish Count" which annoyed Ali, "Blue"
would have been back in his dressing room long before he
actually was. After the fifth, Ali settled for punching practice
until referee Lew Erskine stopped the fight in the 11th. "Thank
you," said the relieved Lewis. Ali collected his standard
$250,000 paycheck (for exhibitions he charged $6,000, with
opponents thrown in) and returned to New York to meet another
old foe, Floyd Patterson. |
|
| |
Felix Dennis & Don Atyeo
Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years
|
|
|
|
|
a.JPG)
