The combination of sports is always fun and on July 14, 1979 there was a spectacular confrontation among the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, and Broncos and Raiders defensive end Lyle Alzado, in the stadium of Denver, the Mile High Stadium.
By then, the boxer from Louisville, Kentucky was 37 years old and acknowledged being out of shape prior to the fight against the two-time Pro Bowl pick, however, confident said that fighting an NFL player didn’t scare him.
“I am very overweight, I have run a little, But I have enough to beat any soccer player in the ring. It took me 25 years to throw a left jab, learn to dance the moves to keep up. There ain’t no man who can get out of football and jump on my field and dominate Muhammad Ali“proudly expressed ‘The Greatest’.
Raised, although he was not a professional boxer, he had amateur experience during her college years and came to be in the Semifinals of the ‘Midwest Golden Gloves’ in 1969, a regional boxing tournament that takes place in the United States. Even in the previous confrontation it became compared to rocky’s character.
“Rocky was crazy too. If I didn’t think I could get it right and have a chance to beat him, I wouldn’t be stepping into the ring.. You know, I’m fighting the man who has probably done more than any athlete in the ring in this century, but at the same time, I am not afraid of anyone physically“Alzado said confidently before the fight.
How was the combat agreed?
One month before the fight, Ali had announced his retirement and had an exhibition match against former world champion Jimmy EllisHowever, for various reasons, he could not appear for the engagement, so Ali asked for a new rival. So it was that the promoter Lyle Pederson contacted Alzado, who was a Broncos player at the time and He was famous for his brutality on the grating.
“Lyle Pederson called me and said: Would you like to fight Muhammad Ali? I thought it was a joke but it wasn’t, we were going to fight, “said Alzado in an interview, who posted a weight of 250 pounds on the scale, while Ali was 20 pounds less.
How was the fight?
The combat began with a Muhammad Ali relaxed and smiling, While Alzado wanted to make it clear that for him it was not an exhibition, so he launched the attack against ‘The Greatest’ and even landed a few punches, while the narrators of the event said: “He is the first man to capture Joe Namath and beat Muhammad Ali“.
After taking some hits, Cassius Clay reacted and had no mercy on the NFL player, because from that moment the fight took place under the terms of the boxing idol. The fight agreed to eight rounds concluded without a scoreboard, but the announcers confirmed Ali’s victory before the 20 thousand fans who gathered at the Mile High Stadium.
Although Alzado lived a moment of fame after the fight, it wasn’t enough to get him a new contract with the Broncos and in that same year He was sent to the Browns. After two years in Cleveland, defensive end continued his career with the Raiders, to whom helped win the Super Bowl XVIIIand He was known as ‘Darth Raider’.
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