Drama in Bahama

Drama in Bahama was a ten-round boxing match that took place between Muhammad Ali and Trevor Berbick in Nassau, Bahamas on December 11, 1981. Ali was 39 years old at this time, and Berbick was 27 years old. The fight went the distance with Berbick winning through a unanimous decision on points. This was Ali's last boxing match.[1][2][3]

Background

Prior to the fight, Ali claimed that he had been declared fit by "even the best white doctors."[2] Nevertheless, the venue for the fight—Nassau in the Bahamas—was chosen because no American state would grant Ali a boxing license after his performance in the match with Larry Holmes.[2]

The promoter of this fight was James Cornelius, a convicted felon with links to the Nation of Islam. However, a problem arose since Don King had signed up Berbick for a three-fight deal. When King arrived in Nassau to demand his share of the profits from this fight, he was greeted by two friends of Cornelius who administered a sound beating to King.[2]

Farce

Ali's weight just before and during the fight was 236 pounds. One reporter described him as Michelin Man. Ticket sales for the fight were so slow that the promoters ended up offering them at a heavy discount. Ultimately, fewer than 7,500 people witnessed this fight. There was no pay-per-view television; no American network had even made a bid. However, ONTV aired the fight, with it airing at least in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2]

The fight took place in the unfinished Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre. When people arrived to see the fight they found they could not get in because the key to the main gate had been misplaced. When the key was found, it was discovered that there were no boxing gloves at the venue. There was also no bell to signal the end of a round; ultimately a hastily procured cowbell had to be used for this purpose. Because of the paucity of paying spectators Berbick refused to fight unless he was paid upfront. The fight started more than two hours behind schedule.[2]

The fight

In the early rounds Ali tried putting together some combinations, but these proved ineffectual and he was pushed back on the ropes. In the fifth round, Ali landed some solid jabs and then a right-left-right combination on Berbick, but by the sixth round Ali had tired and started getting hit. By the last round, Ali was completely exhausted.[2] Sportswriter Hugh McIlvanney, who witnessed the fight, wrote:

Berbick is the kind of lumbering, slow-armed swinger [Ali] would have first embarrassed and then demolished in his dazzling prime...To see [Ali] lose to such a moderate fighter in such a grubby context was like watching a king riding into permanent exile on the back of a garbage truck. The one blessing was that he was steadily exhausted rather than violently hurt by the experience.[3]

gollark: <@534472180273119253> I do not.
gollark: Why not "every homosexual being"?
gollark: The orbital gender spy satellites would alert all your social contacts if you violate gender roles.
gollark: > Afaik the gender identity is impossible to detect by any person but themselvesIdea: orbital gender monitoring spy satellites.
gollark: Our electoral system *is* very awful.

References
  1. "Drama in Bahama: Muhammad Ali v Trevor Berbick - in pictures". The Guardian. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  2. Felix Dennis & Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. p. 264.
  3. Hugh McIlvanney (1982). McIlvanney on Boxing. Beaufort books. p. 186.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.