The Thrilla in Manila marked, irrevocably, the output stage from the proscenium to Joe Frazier in boxing, although for the truth, our dispute, again, A further meeting with George Foreman in the following year at Nassau Coliseum in New York where he introduced himself, even in overweight closing as well, bitterly, his brilliant career after the texano, parimenti pallida controfigura di sè stesso oramai, gli ebbe rifilato altri due knock-out nel corso della quinta ripresa il che indusse l'arbitro a decretarne la sconfitta per K.O.T.
Va anche detto che Frazier tentò un improbabile ritorno cinque anni dopo, nel 1981 alla veneranda età di trentasette anni quindi, disputando il suo ultimo incontro contro Floyd Cummings chiudendo con un pareggio in un match allestito per consentirgli di raggranellare una borsa cospicua e chiudere, anche sotto un profilo meramente statistico, definitivamente la sua carriera nel mondo del pugilato.
Il 1976 vide, invece, una fervida attività agonistica di Muhammad Ali, after the victory against Frazier, he faced over seven months, Jean-Pierre Coopman - knock-out shot in the fifth - Jimmy Young - victory points to the fifteenth recovery - Richard Dunn - technical knock-out the fifth - and, finally, even Ken Norton in a kind of beautiful where our it was right, again, points to the fifteenth and recovery.
But more than a meeting with Norton remember, however, that the poor against Jimmy Young, a boxer unlucky, he has left us no later than six years ago of a heart attack.
Young was a gifted boxer in one respect exquisitely Technical and its mode of combat remembered in many ways, just to Ali so when the two faced each other at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, began his fast in the anguish our that at one point sent him , blatantly, as in the sedan, unable to frame it in any way, it seemed that Young almost rifugisse by the collision that forced Ali, who introduces himself with a few extra pounds and under conditions of form to say little precarious, to chase throughout the square.
The following year, however, is the our began experimenting with the Spaniard Alfredo Evangelista and Earnie Shavers with the U.S. getting two wins by unanimous decision at the fifteenth shot without, however, very charmed against opponents, definitely, definitely not up to those against whom in the past and had experimented that, nevertheless, were leading in rating boxistici continental obvious sign, this, a progressive decline proscenium boxing and trying to snatch the reasons we have to take a step back and contextualize the American socio-economic scenario, first , and the world of the other square.
The category of the greatest athletes boasted a minimum weight 175 pounds was equal, so to speak, to 79.38 kilograms for which the proscenium in this category was clear, as the preserve of African-American boxer, in their favor, playing the kind of constitution typical of athletes color that could put a significant amount of muscle mass rather than their colleagues whites who, conversely, to reach the fateful threshold of 175 pounds above were forced to forfeit body fat at the expense, of course, power and, above all of agility in the ring and it is no coincidence, in fact, that the category in which the boxers white if the pair were playing , so to speak, was that of the average weights - think, just for a moment, or Welcome to our immense Carlos Monzon - in which the range allowed to interpose, in the ring, athletes, weight and muscle mass perfectly superimposed.
But in the highest category, on the contrary, it was the minimum range above that determined, in fact, the predominance of athletes of color and, moreover, if we exclude any boxer Rocky Marciano white - with the partial exception of Primo Carnera and Max Schmelling - is never going to converge indelible pages in this category where the world champions of color, vice versa, wasting unless you look at boxing the beginning, but where the swarms of blank samples was undisputed balanced by the foreclosure reserved for boxers to the ring color scale of America.
same time, however, even if we take a look at ' registry of the greatest of the 60s and 70s we can notice that all of them, being born at the turn of the '40s, when he looked out into the world of boxing - with the sole exception of Holmes and Lyle who landed in old age - they did in the late '50s and '60s in a period in which, therefore, the segregationist model was yet to be supplanted by the sport and where as a few others for that matter, was indeed a veicolo di emancipazione sociale come nessun'altra coeva disciplina.
Ma, adesso, Ali cominciava a cimentarsi con una nuova generazione di pugili nati, almeno, dieci anni dopo di lui per cui quando costoro si affacciarono sul proscenio del quadrato lo fecero proprio a ridosso di quegli anni '70 nei quali si consolidarono quelle basi della palingenesi socioeconomica statunitense di cui abbiamo, dianzi, ampiamente disquisito e che stava soppiantando il modello segregazionista di cui sopra per cui contestualmente ad un benessere sociale che andava diffondendosi anche nei ceti, tradizionalmente, meno abbienti il richiamo della boxe esercitava, ora, una influenza assai più flebile tant'è che molti di coloro che avrebbero, potenzialmente , potuto calcare i ring prefrivano cimentarsi in discipline parimenti remunerative ed assai meno cruente e lesive.
Questa progressiva disaffezione , per così dire, recherà i suoi frutti solamente dagli anni '90 in poi quando i quadrati statunitensi cominiciarono ad esser preda di un numero sempre maggiore di pugili latinoamericani visto e considerato che la comunità afroamericana aveva cominciato ad integrarsi nel nuovo modello sociale che porterà molte persone di colore a rivestire ruoli sempre più importanti in ambito finanziario, economico e politico lasciando, quindi, room for the new poor from disparate latitutidini the American continent with a general decline of quality in the broad sense that when Tyson was born in 1966, climbed into the ring he faced antagonists of the second floor of which he did, literally , havoc without a fight so much so that at some point, managers boxistico that revolved around the business, noted that had remained practically sine inimicis, induced even Larry Holmes - who was at the time On the threshold of forty two years and that he had hung up his gloves nail - to schedule a unlikely return to the ring and grapple with their Iron Mike - younger than seventeen years - ending up, of course, in a bad way to experience this improvident its fourth round.
And if we, extremely, to realize that the same Holmes will return to the ring in 1991 football, alternating, until 2002 - when he, then, fifty-three years! - Follow, however, many victories to knock-out or knock-out technical we become, in effect, on behalf of the U.S. boxing is gone, gradually running out as well and credibility by virtue of an indiscriminate proliferation of federations of securities and belts that have led many sponsors to abandon questa disciplina ed a dirottare i loro investimenti verso altri business.
Inoltre l'avvento della tecnologia digitale è stato alquanto nefasto per questo sport perchè ne ha palesato, oltremodo, la effettiva rudezza che, viceversa, in passato veniva, in qualche maniera, edulcorata proprio dalla qualità più bassa della definizione delle immagini la quale ne stemperava la portata e, d'altro canto, un primo piano su un volto devastato dai pugni non è, certamente, un bello spettacolo da proporre, in prima serata, ad una platea comodamente seduta in poltrona nel salotto di casa propria nè, tantomeno, consona ad invogliare un inserzionista a frapporvici an advertisement.
Gradually, therefore, boxing has suffered a shortage of prestige - and economic weight , of \u200b\u200bcourse - and proselytizing to the African American community for which the rings have got to try boxers from other ethnic groups less well-off - the Latin American above - which, however, by virtue of a constitution not fit the category have resulted in an increasing deterioration in the quality and, on the other hand, the only two schools that would, somehow, could bring new life to this sport were, in those years, out of the international circuits for reasons purely political speficico with reference to the Soviets and Cuban.
The Soviet Union, Cuba and even more, have always had a great boxing tradition - typically, perhaps, of many totalitarian regimes including our and the National - and two of the schools the world's most but as it was in force, then, the iron discipline imposed by the party which provided the sport in the broadest sense, the mere and rigid as professional not have been able to grapple with the American school only in the editions of the Olympic Games.
And if, now, we focus our attention on the outcomes in one of the highest category and facciamo un raffronto possiamo notare come gli score di queste due realtà - quella professionistica statunitense, da un lato, e quella dilettanistica sovietica e cubana, dall'altro - siano, sostanzialmente, sovrapponibili fino alla metà degli anni '80 a testimonianza della vivacità di un movimento assai radicato in tutte e tre le realtà sociali.
Partirei, coerentemente con l'economia della nostra disamina, a dare una rapida scorsa dal 1960 in poi anno nel quale, rammentiamocene, si impose all'attenzione del mondo boxistico statunitense il nostro Clay anche se, ad ogni modo, nella categoria che a noi interessa proprio Clay non rientrava in quanto si fregiò of bay Olympic, true, but under the light heavyweight where in the upper affirmed the Italian Francesco De Piccoli in, then you are lost tracks - racing, of course - because his approach to professionalism lasted, just six seasons, after which the boxer decided to retire from the proscenium to, just, ventottoanni without, however, written important pages on continental and global levels.
the games in Tokyo, however, four years after it imposed a Joe Frazier of which, I think, we made occasional mention above and the Soviet Union Vadim Emelyanov rubbed bronze where the games in Mexico City, we are in 1968, the Olympic gold was the prerogative of another American, this George Foreman, of which, I would also be wrong, I think we said a little something here and there. Foreman won the Olympic gold in his own way later, that is, having crushed the Soviet Ionas Chepulis - reduced, after a few minutes, to a bloody mask - in just two rounds. games Monaco, however, mark the entrance of the school bully Cuban boxer's largest ever - at least at the Olympic level - namely the immense Theophilus Stevenson put the line in Romanian and Swedish Alex Ion Alexe Thomsen repeating the same outcome in the Games of Montreal, four years later, and those of Moscow in 1980 although, to be fair, it should be noted that while Americans were present at the games of '76 - where the American John Tate won the Olympic bronze - in the Soviet Union hiding known for the boycott to protest the invasion of the Red Army in Afghanistan.
From the XXIII edition, however, the Olympic Committee introduced a variant, which is still in force, whereby the maximum weights were divided, as it were, into two subcategories or that of the maximum - which contained a range from 81 to 91 kilograms - and that of supermassimi who had a minimum threshold of over 91 kilograms so, to try to keep our sample as homogeneous as possible, we will do a double response, covering the results in both categories. In that edition, held in Los Angeles, he imposed two African-American or Henry Tillman - the highest - and Tyrell Biggs - in supermassimi - in an edition where, however, for nemesis, there was the bociottaggio throughout the communist bloc , including Cuba.
the Games of the XXIV Olympiad - we are in 1988 - held in Seoul, however, the American Ray Mercer was awarded the gold in the category of the greatest African-American and Canadian Lennox Lewis - will be, Likewise, while world champion among professionals of the highest - in one of supermassimi.
Games in Barcelona in 1992, but saw the return of the school bully Cuban who won two golds with, respectively, Felix Savon - the highest - and Roberto Balado - supermassimi - where, in 1996, subsequent to Atlanta Savon saw the encore - the highest - and the assertion Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in supermassimi.
the XXVII edition, however, was held in Sydney, Australia, and, once again, saw the bear Cuban Savon Olympic gold in the maximum and the Brit Audley Harrison in supermassimi. The games of 2004, however, there were ad Atene e videro l'ennesima affermazione di un cubano nella categoria dei massimi - Odlanier Solis Fonte - e del russo Alexander Povetkin nei supermassimi laddove gli ultimi, in ordine cronologico, disputati a Pechino videro, nell'ordine, l'affermazione del russo Rachim Čakchiev nei massimi e dell'italiano Roberto Cammarelle nei supermassimi un pugile, il nostro, che però non è mai voluto approdare al professionismo.
Questo breve excursus non era un vuoto esercizio statistico fine a sè stesso ma teso ad evidenziare come gli statunitensi, dopo il 1988, spariscano , sic et simpliciter, dal proscenio pugilistico olimpico. Non che non vi partecipino più, evidentemente, ma, parimenti, non riescono più a conseguire uno straccio di risultato segno palese, questo, di una fortissima crisi di vocazione alla noble art in quanto i giochi olimpici sono sempre stati una fervida fucina di talenti.
E, ritornando al cuore della nostra disamina, di questa crisi c'era già qualche sentore alla fine degli anni '70 perchè il movimento pugilistico statunitense cominciava a palesare la carenza di un ricambio generazionale all'altezza di quella precedente e, in ogni caso, di una grossissima crisi che sarà, in qualche modo, offuscata a cavallo degli anni '80 proprio dall'astro nascente Tyson la cui figura, ironia della sorte, occulterà, for a decade, the lack of concern throughout the industry abyss and if we are, debating all this begins with a perspective drawn primarily mirrors the one just now.
The ethnic admixture present in Cuba, however, is a hotbed ideal for the recruitment of new talent and the Castro regime - for a variety of reasons easy to intuition - cultivating and preserving this specificity also because, whatever they say, poverty is a strong motivation to encourage those who have the ability - physical, I mean - to tread the ring and, equally, the simultaneous reaffirmation in key Olympic boxers of the Russian and Ukrainian - whose school rammentiamocene, was that, glorious, Soviet Union - is a further validation to what I have tried to illustrate above. In any case, you should also remember that, just riding on the mid-70s, the simultaneous departure of Frazier and Foreman Ali left practically without opponents and not coincidentally, in those years, they took the body entries a possible meeting between us and the star Cuban Theophilus Stevenson.
Stevenson was born in 1952 and had, therefore, ten years younger than Muhammad Ali that, in 1976, sailed for the twenty-four years and was at the height of his maturity and competitive people like the writer, had way to monitor the dish is well aware agonisitica che il cubano univa ad una potenza non comune una rapidità di braccia ed una mobilità sul quadrato che ne faceva un antagonista davvero temibile per chiunque - Ali incluso ! - e che gli consentì di dominare, incontrastato, i ring olimpionici per un lasso di tempo enorme - ben dodici anni - senza che, invero, si palesasse all'orizzonte chi potesse, realmente, nutrire qualche chanche per giocarsela, quanto meno, alla pari per cui, sotto un profilo tecnico, un confronto con Ali sarebbe stato, certamente, auspicabile anche se, naturalmente, l'incontro non ebbe mai luogo per tutta una serie di motivazioni che con la boxe avevano poco o nulla a che fare.
Sotto un aspetto squisitamente tecnico la difficoltà di fondo era quella di traghettare Stevenson verso le quindici riprese perchè in ambito olimpionico gli incontri di boxe si svolgono sulla distanza, appena, delle tre riprese per cui, laddove ci fossero stati dei reali presuposti per l'allestimento del match, il cubano avrebbe dovuto cambiare, radicalmente, la sua preparazione fisica ed avvezzarsi ad una durata molto più lunga di quella nella quale era solito cimentarsi per cui ritengo che avrebbe necessitato di, almeno, un anno di praticantato prima di poter essere in condizioni idonee per affrontare Ali e, d'altro canto, un incontro disegnato nell'arco di soli tre rounds era del tutto improponibile.
Ma, in ogni caso, ci sarebbero state delle pressioni enormi - politiche, evidentemente ! - sui due che avrebbero snaturato completamente una eventuale kermesse e, tutto sommato, chi aveva, davvero, tutto da perdere era proprio Muhammad Ali in quanto una sconfitta lo avrebbe esposto al biasimo generale e sarebbe stato spunto felice - ovvero infelice - per rivangare tutto il suo presunto antiamericanismo laddove, viceversa, una affermazione sul quadrato gli avrebbe alienato quel prestigio, immenso, di cui godeva presso i paesi terzi proprio in virtù del suo filoterzomondismo per cui tutta quella ridda di voci, artatamente allestite per aumentare le tirature di qualche foglio, non avrebbe mai potuto esser foriera di un qualche thing, really, real.
also a defeat for Stevenson would have caused a loss of prestige, enormous, the Castro regime - then in its full political force - so do not even dare think about the consequences, dire, which would face the Cuban boxer event of its defeat.
Unfortunately Stevenson was born in Cuba and his figure Accustomed - still is - an icon of revolution and icons, as you can imagine, as a few other things contribute to the preservation of species of power, then, if the power in question is purely and totalitarian knew a little something even our Primo Carnera, Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, which, against their will, to the emblems also assursero winning Fascist and Fascist Italy during the two decades.
The real-politik, therefore, has denied us - forever - the ability to see to try themselves against each other, two of the greatest boxers of all time and, on the other hand, are convinced that the physiological fall of the Castro regime will herald a revival of the sport because, at that point, many Cuban boxers will free groped of luck Trampling the ring of the United States which was also closed to Stevenson whether, in all honesty, I think the Cuban boxer, if anything, had this possibility, never would have left the island because that was more loyal to fidelio Cuban spirit transnational sport.
and those ' inspiration, as well as a wonderful match that was never played, I dedicated this little short film on the fringes.
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