The Greatest Easton Assassin Boxing Boxing | 6' 3" 6' 3" Date 2 October 1980 | |
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Venue Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Title(s) on the line Heavyweight championship Location Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | ||
The Last Hurrah was a boxing match that took place between Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes in Las Vegas on October 2, 1980 for the World Boxing Council version of the Heavyweight title. Holmes won the fight through a technical knockout after Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee stopped the fight after the tenth round.
Criticism
According to the Telegraph:
It was also revealed after the fight that Ali had been examined at the Mayo Clinic, and the results were shocking. He had admitted to tingling in his hands, and slurring of his speech. With the conclusiveness of Ali's loss to Holmes, and Ali's worrying medical condition, it seemed incredible that he fought again.
According to Ferdie Pacheco, Ali's former ring doctor, "All the people involved in this fight should've been arrested. This fight was an abomination, a crime." Pacheco had earlier quit Ali's camp, in 1977, after Ali's fight with Earnie Shavers. Pacheco claims he had sent Ali's medical results to Angelo Dundee, Jabir Herbert Muhammad, Ali, and Veronica Porché Ali noting that "This is what's happening to you. If you want to continue, you have no shot at a normal life." Pacheco says he never received any response to his warning. In 2012, Ali met Pacheco for the last time and told him "you was right", something he had said to Pacheco several times before. According to Pacheco:
The unnecessary punches he took wouldn't have stopped the Parkinson's. But I think it would not have compounded it as it has. Who knows, Ali may not have passed away now if he'd stopped when I asked. He may not have been trapped in a shell like he was for so many years.
