Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick - The Last Hurrah - Drama in Bahama

Rating:
Summary: Watch all the drama surronding Ali's last fight.
Review: Ali vs. Berbick was not a great fight inside the ring, but all the surrondings made it tremendously dramatic. The tape shows you the prefight press conference, in a hotel in the Bahamas, recorded with not great tecnical expertise, besides a very slurred-peaker and slow Ali, trying to convince boxing experts that he still had a shot of being the first four time heavyweight champion ever. While it was still fun to hear what he had to say, it is kind of sad, because he had so much class and that's how his carrer came to an end. IN the end of the press conference, he talks abot his licensing troubles in the US and that he was in good health and everything.

The second part of the video is the fight itself, and it is sadly clear from the moment he entered the ring that Ali was incredibly somber, almost depressed, with that feeling of "what am I doing here?" But there he was, and he stood for 10 rounds against an inept Berbick, but had absolutely no shot of really winning. His jab worked ocasionally, but he had no power neither speed on his punches. Berbick rocked him a couple of times, but was not able to go further than that.

After the decision was announced, Ali was interviewed, and you can't understand what he says. Anyway, it is an almost bizarre scene when you see Berbick crazily approaching him saying: "Man, I would be nothing if not for you! You made me, man! You made me!"

"The Drama in Bahama" shows you a lot about boxing and its way. It is sad, it is dramatic, but it is real. You can see how sick was Ali at the end of his career, and that he should never have been allowed to fight one more time. You will see that the attendance in the fight is very low, and that there is no real bell to end rounds, but a cowbell found near the stadium a couple of hours before the fight. But Ali wanted to do it. Nobody did it for him. He did it, and, as it turned out, Berbick was just a man who would now be part of history.

Rating:
Summary: A SAD ENDING TO A GREAT CAREER
Review: It's sad to watch an ali with no reflexes,no timing and no speed lose to a journeyman fighter.It's a shame he couldn't have stayed retired after beating leon spinks.His last 2 fights against holmes and berbick really tarnish a great career.

Rating:
Summary: A sad and final chapter to a colorful boxing career.
Review: Muhammad Ali was a shell of his former self when he stepped into the ring for his final fight against Trevor Berbick. You can see that even in 1981, he had that frozen, Parkinson's look on his face. Like the last reviewer said, you were afraid to watch the fight. But at the same time, you couldn't turn away, either.

But the fight really wasn't that bad. And after eight rounds, the fight was pretty darn close. But in rounds nine and ten. Berbick pounded on Ali, who was looking pretty old and tired and beat up.

It was sad because you could see that Ali knew what to do. But that he didn't hav the speed or the reflexes to pull the trigger at the right time. He would have creamed Berbick ten years earlier. And he would have gotten the decision even five years earlier.

But on this night, we saw an Ali who had been conquered by Father Time. Buy this video if you want to own the last chapter of a storied career. The video comes with a second video of a long, cumbersome, and boring one hour press conference.

Rating:
Summary: The Farewell Fight
Review: One year after after almost getting killed by Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali decided to fight again because, like most great champions, he couldnt accept being finished. When asked in the press conference why hes fighting a top rated fighter like Berbick he replies ''Because what if I fight some bum instead and he whups me? That'll make me look bad!''. He also talks about the then rumors of him having brain damage and he asks ''Do I look like someone who has brain damage?''. Sadly, I dont think he would have liked what the honest answer wouldve been. The fight itself starts out with Ali dancing around as he said he would and flicking his once awesome jab at Berbick. For just a little while, he looks like the Ali of old but by around the 3rd round his age and shape really begin to show. He begins just pawing with his punches and tries to pull away from Berbicks punches but still gets tagged with many of them. Still, he fought gamely as always. Alot of times going toe to toe with Berbick and holding his own. The decision really could have gone either way but Berbick got the decision. That was probably the best thing that could have happened in the circumstances because even though you could have arguably said that Ali won the fight, he was far from the Ali of old and would have boxed circles around Berbick and stopped him early in his prime. After the fight they interview Ali and you can tell that the punches he absorbed in this fight didnt make his condition any better. You can barely understand what hes saying. The only thing that I picked out was when he said ''Father time has finally caught up with me and Im gonna retire. And I dont think Im gonna wake up next week and change my mind.'' That was a good decision, but obviously it was a little too late.

Rating:
Summary: Ali was surprisingly good
Review: This fight would have been a media circus today, but when it happened nobody paid much attention. We're lucky to have this film.

I had always assumed Ali put in a pathetic performance, as he did against Holmes, but viewing this video I was surprised to see that he fought Berbick pretty evenly. You could even argue that he deserved the decision.

I will say, though, that Berbick seemed to refrain from following up on a couple of occasions when he had Ali flinching and potentially helpless. And that, of course, an Ali victory would not have been a good thing for Ali.

Rating:
Summary: Count Your Blessings Trevor...
Review: Trevor Berbick was mauled by Mike Tyson in 1986, however, had Berbick met a 29 year old Muhammad Ali rather then a 39 year old Parkinsonian Muhammad Ali, he would have gotten beat up much worse. Ali at 39 with his slowed reflexes, slowed combinations, and slowed leg movements, puts up an amazing fight nevertheless. If you've seen clips of the Larry Holmes fight and not of this fight, don't be fooled, Ali could still put up a fight (Ali had thyroid problems in the Holmes fight, not that he would have won, but he would have atleast landed more then just 10 punches on Holmes.) I actually thought Ali would win at one point in the fight, but Berbick won the last 2 rounds, so I had to give it to Berbick. Ali's last punches in a professional fight were a jab jab right, a combination thrown countless time's in his career. Ali shows no loss of heart, while Berbick shows very clearly that he has no heart. Berbick fought like a moron in this fight, and had he done something like this against Ali just 4 years earlier, Ali would have had a picnic.

Make no mistake about it, Ali may have 5 losses on his record, but only 2 of them count, just like only 3 of Ray Robinsons 19 losses count, just as only 1 of Joe Louis' 3 losses count, just as today 40 year old Evander Holyfield may have something like 7 losses, but only 4 of them count. Fighters get old, they can't give up the sport, and they end up hurting their records. Had Marciano made some kind of comeback, that undefeated record would be gone.

Muhammad Ali in his prime was the greatest Heavyweight Champion of all time, and at 39 years old, you can still see why. This is theoretically a very sad fight, seeing Ali so old and so physically tarnished, and you cant really make out what he says at the post fight interview, but the heart he shows in this fight kind of make's you feel that he may have lost, but he's still a winner. As for Trevor, Mike Tyson should get an extra 100 million just for beating up Berbick the way he did.

(If you want to see the Real Muhammad Ali, get Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight's, Ali was the best.)

Rating:
Summary: Count your blessings Trevor...
Review: Trevor Berbick was mauled by Mike Tyson in 1986, however, had Berbick met a 29 year old Muhammad Ali rather then a 39 year old Parkinsonian Muhammad Ali,he would have gotten beat up much worse. Ali at 39 with his slowed reflexes, slowed combinations, and slowed leg movements, puts up an amazing fight nevertheless. If you've seen clips of the Larry Holmes fight and not of this fight, don't be fooled, Ali could still put up a fight (Ali had thyroid problems in the Holmes fight, not that he would have won, but he would have atleast landed more then just 10 punches on Holmes.) I actually thought Ali would win at one point in the fight, but Berbick won the last 2 rounds, so I had to give it to Berbick. Ali's last punches in a professional fight were a jab jab right, a combination thrown countless time's in his career. Ali shows no loss of heart, while Berbick shows very clearly that he has no heart. Berbick fought like a moron in this fight, and had he done something like this against Ali just 4 years earlier, Ali would have had a picnic.

Make no mistake about it, Ali may have 5 losses on his record, but only 2 of them count, just like only 3 of Ray Robinsons 19 losses count, just as only 1 of Joe Louis' 3 losses count, just as today 40 year old Evander Holyfield may have something like 7 losses, but only 4 of them count. Fighters get old, they can't give up the sport, and they end up hurting their records. Had Marciano made some kind of comeback, that undefeated record would be gone.

Muhammad Ali in his prime was the greatest Heavyweight Champion of all time, and at 39 years old, you can still see why. This is theoretically a very sad fight, seeing Ali so old and so physically tarnished, and you cant really make out what he says at the post fight interview, but the heart he shows in this fight kind of make's you feel that he may have lost, but he's still a winner. As for Trevor, Mike Tyson should get an extra 100 million just for beating up Berbick the way he did.

(If you want to see the Real Muhammad Ali, get Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight's, Ali was the best.)

Rating:
Summary: Guilty Pleasure
Review: Watching this video is like viewing a traffic accident. You don't want to watch and you know you shouldn't, but you can't help yourself. This film is like the flip side to Will Smith's film "Ali," which showed Muhammad at the top of his game. In the "Last Hurrah," we get to see the older Ali, long past his prime and for all accounts and purposes, a "shot" fighter. He's got nothing left as a boxer and sadly, he's a shadow of his former public persona. During the press conference, Ali is hard to understand and his face shows little emotion.

The fight itself is good, bad and ugly. The actual bout is a lot better than I'd thought it be. Ali isn't the flat footed, motionless fighter from the Holmes fight. He actually is quite animated, punching and jabbing and trying hard to contain Berbick. The bad is that Ali puts on a sad imitation of the fighter he used to be. Desperately attempting to rope a dope, motion Berbick forward and dance around the ring. None of it works and Ali ends up looking foolish. The ugly is the sheer physical beating that the young, very strong Berbick gives Ali. To look at Trevor, only 27 at the time, it makes you fear that he might kill Ali. And a lot of his head punches are quite scary. Even more so in hindsight, knowing about Ali's brain injuries.

Even so, this Rhino video is an indispensable document. One that shows a different Ali. One about to enter the darkest period in his life. Post-boxing and pre-Parkinson's. Luckily, Muhammad rebounded and has become a great peacemaker worldwide and lit the Olympic torch. He continues to be a hero to millions. And this video, while difficult to watch, is an essential chapter to the Muhammad Ali story.