Probably not many boxing fans in this forum, but Norman Mailer wrote a great book on The Fight. And, there is also a great documentary, When We Were Kings, on the Ali-Foreman fight that is well worth watching even if you are not a boxing fan, as it captures the three-ring circus that formed around the fight. Ali is one of the few fighters to truly transcend the sport, and Taschen lavished quite a monograph on him, simply entitled G.O.A.T. for those who want to plunk down 3000 euros.
Whoever it was in 1969 who named the very first Bob Dylan bootleg album “Great White Wonder” may have had a mischievous streak. There are any number of ways you can interpret the title — most boringly, the cover was blank, like the Beatles’ “White Album” — but I like to see a sly allusion to “Moby-Dick.” In the seven years since the release of his first commercial record, Dylan had become the white whale of 20th-century popular song, a wild, unconquerable and often baffling force of musical nature who drove fans and critics Ahab-mad in their efforts to spear him, lash him to the hull and render him merely comprehensible. --- Bruce Handy, NYTimes ____________________________________________ I figured we can start fresh with Bob Dylan. Couldn't resist this photo of him striking a Woody Guthrie pose. Looks like only yesterday. Here is a link to the comments building up to this reading group.
Who can forget Humble {sic} Howard Cossell's call of this epic match?
ReplyDeleteThe Rumble in the Jungle got quite a build up but it proved that Foreman at that time did not have the stamina to last or the jab needed to wear down an opponent. There has been some talk that Trainer Dick Sadler slipped Foreman a mickey and that this is why he lost all pop in the 7th round. Don't know if it's true but Sadler worked for Ali in his next bout.
Foreman recommitted himself to conditioning and re-gained the championship thereafter with the Ol' Mongoose Archie Moore in his corner.
http://www.antekprizering.com/foremanmoore7984.html
I love to read American history books but old time boxing and baseball remain among my favorite reading.
I thought this might pull you back into the forum. Great fight, at least if you were an Ali fan. I just think Foreman was too young and too raw, seriously misjudging the "old man."
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