Muhammad Ali's unnecessary last two fights

A great career that ended unexpectedly shamefully

There is hardly any dispute that Muhammad Ali is, if not the greatest, then at least among the greatest boxers we have ever seen in the ring. The only thing people who don't like him can argue about is Ali's last two fights. Matches that prove to be the sad and unnecessary end of a titanic competitor.

If it had all ended with the rematch against Leon Spinks, which Ali won in 1978 and became the only man to regain the world title twice, it would have been an epic ending. But one must know when to give up. It turns out that Muhammad Ali is far from that.

The last two losses of the boxer are defined as more than shameful, and even a number of specialists consider the fights unnecessary. On October 2, 1980, Larry Holmes became the first and only competitor to make Ali quit. This happens in the 11th round of the match between them. A little more than a year later, Trevor Berbick defeated the former world champion by unanimous decision after only 10 rounds.

Whether Ali should have stopped earlier turns out to be a question his admirers will always ask themselves. Just two months before the fight with Holmes in 1980, the doctor who recommended giving up the champion said that Ali had already decided that he would use his last chance to get into the professional ring. Although plagued by liver problems and some other health concerns, Muhammad is ready to fight one of his former sparring partners. A match he enters as the undefeated champion. However, Ali's problems deepen and a famous clinic realizes that he has impaired coordination in the communication between muscles and cannot even do the most elementary test, touching his nose with the tip of his index finger. Holmes dominates throughout, and later regrets dealing in such a cruel way with the man who launched his career and who probably shouldn't have been in the ring that fateful night. After the 10th round, the fight is stopped.

After this performance and the clarification of the health problems, there is no way for Ali to get a license from the USA, although he wants to fight at least one more time. There is no way a great champion like him should end with such an embarrassing match, although the reasons for the heavy defeat are clear. However, Muhammad contacted unknown promoter James Cornelius, who arranged for him a $4 million fight with Canadian heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick. A fight that takes place in the Bahamas.

The date is December 11, 1981, and the match will be held under slightly more special rules and will be not 12, but 10 rounds. The truth is that Ali looks a little better physically, but Berbick hardly fights, because for him the money is small. It spoils the show everyone is looking forward to. In the end, the Canadian won by unanimous decision, and without giving the maximum of himself. A match that should already prove to Ali that it's time to stop so he doesn't get more shame.

A great career, a career that will go down in history with record achievements and, perhaps, the most attractive style of boxing, ends very sadly. And the reason is the huge desire for more victories that Muhammad Ali has always demonstrated in and out of the ring.

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