"Larry Holmes never cancelled a fight. Larry Holmes didn't care who he fought. Larry Holmes got knocked down several times and everybody would count him out and he would get up and win the fight. And Larry Holmes held the title for 7 ½ years. No one gives him his respect. He is the most disrespected athlete in the boxing business as the reigning heavyweight champion of the world...He said what he wanted to say and when he wanted to say it and sometimes he said it at the wrong time, but as far as a fighter is concerned, I would walk through those ropes with Larry Holmes anytime. The fighters today are not Larry Holmes. They quit on the stool and Larry wouldn't quit," stated promoter Murad Muhammad as he spoke about his experiences working with Larry Holmes, Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali and much more. Check it out!
PC: Any time we see a story, a film or documentary on Muhammad Ali, Angelo Dundee is credited as the chief trainer and is always associated with Ali's success. How much did Bundini Brown play a part in Ali's career?
MM: I took a page out of Bundini Brown's book. Bundini Brown was not a physical trainer and never claimed to be. He didn't teach you how to throw left hooks, right hands and uppercuts. He was a spiritual trainer. He would get into your soul and motivate you to do things that you ordinarily wouldn't do. For instance, when Muhammad would be tired and feel like he wanted to quit on the stool, Bundini used to say, "Do it for the little people champ. The little people need you. You can't lose champ. Don't teach the little people how to lose champ." And that got to Ali and that would make Ali want to get up and win the fight. And then if Ali was throwing the jab and it looked good and was landing, he would tell him, "All night long. You got the stick to win champ." That type of encouragement kept Ali motivated. He would never get rid of Bundini Brown because of his spiritual way of getting into his head. You couldn't hear nobody else's voice, but you could hear Bundini.
But Angelo was a trainer that was smart. Angelo just didn't train the fighter. Angelo would be up at 6 o'clock in the morning checking the ropes, checking the ring mats and the gloves; everything. That's how I learned that from Angelo; to make sure my boxer's gloves are proper, make sure the ring is right and the ropes were okay. Someone said Pacquiao lost to Eric Morales because of the gloves. Well, that's an ignorant man that has no knowledge of boxing. Gloves don't make fights. If you can recollect, before he changed it, Emanuel Steward said on the air, "Regardless of what gloves they pick, if you can fight, the gloves got nothing to do with your performance." Pinklon Thomas went 10 rounds with 2 broken hands; I'm quite sure the gloves didn't help him, but he won the fight. Muhammad Ali went 10 rounds with Kenny Norton with a broken jaw; I guess the gloves couldn't help him. You can't blame any fight on a pair of gloves. Sure, a fighter would like to have a certain pair of gloves, but you're in a major fight. Eric Morales made millions and was the king of the mountain and we didn't care what type of gloves we had on to beat him, so the Reyes gloves compared to the regular gloves had nothing to do with Pacquiao's performance. What had something to do with Pacquiao's performance is Pacquiao, for the first time in his life, went backwards for 3 to 4 rounds until he got headbutted. That headbutt took us out of the fight until we came back in the 11th and 12th. That had nothing to do with gloves. So Angelo was a great trainer that knew referees and knew judges. He had the right complexion for the right protection, so we loved Angelo Dundee.
PC: What fighter do you feel was the most underappreciated and treated the most unfairly in the sport of boxing?
MM: Larry Holmes! Larry Holmes never cancelled a fight. Larry Holmes didn't care who he fought. Larry Holmes got knocked down several times and everybody would count him out and he would get up and win the fight. And Larry Holmes held the title for 7 ½ years. No one gives him his respect. He is the most disrespected athlete in the boxing business as the reigning heavyweight champion of the world. Larry Holmes today has 80% of his money. He has built up Easton, Pennsylvania and Easton treats him just like that. He spent a lot of money, $54 million, in that city. And he owns jails, banks, apartment buildings, restaurants and hotels. They named boulevards after Larry Holmes. So even though he was the most disrespected fighter in the industry, he's the most successful fighter financially, by investing the money that he earned and paying his taxes on time. So I tell athletes today, "Yes, the most disrespected athlete that should have been highly recommended and highly regarded, they chose not to because of his mouth." He said what he wanted to say and when he wanted to say it and sometimes he said it at the wrong time, but as far as a fighter is concerned, I would walk through those ropes with Larry Holmes anytime. The fighters today are not Larry Holmes. They quit on the stool and Larry wouldn't quit. Larry fought Kenny Norton with a messed up thumb, his rotator cuff was tore and he had no sparring. He couldn't spar because of the injuries, but he took the fight and won on a split decision and became the heavyweight champion of the world. Larry Holmes fought Carl "The Truth" Williams with 8 stitches in his rectum because he had hemorrhoid surgery and they bled in the 1st and 2nd. It was the toughest fight of his career, but he didn't quit and he won that decision. Larry Holmes has been hurt many times and walked through those ropes and he would tell you, "Hell, opportunity knocks once and I'm not going to go in there with any excuses." That was the Larry Holmes that I knew prior to him being with me and during the time he was with me. Larry Holmes always stood up and fought whoever you put in that ring with him. So yes, he is one of the most disrespected athletes, but yet a great athlete.
PC: Before we started having conversations I had only heard negative things about you. I always like to form my own opinion and you seem to be a good guy. What do you think is the biggest misperception about Murad Muhammad and do you think boxing has been fair to you?
MM: I never look for a man to give me anything. My father always told me that. He said, "Why do we like people that don't look like us?" And the answer was they give us nothing, so I was taught not to expect anything from anybody; to work for what you get. I remember I was doing business with CBS and they treated me like I was King of Peru. And one of the executives from CBS was riding in my automobile and I was taking him to the train station and I was praising CBS. He was an attorney at law and he turned to me and said, "Don't ever forget this. When you stop delivering, they are gonna forget who you are." And I will never forget that word to the wise and it was sufficient, meaning they don't love you, they love what you produce and that's it. When you stop producing, they will treat you like another piece of meat. However, I built some great friends and you got your ups and your downs and I enjoy the sport of boxing. As a matter of fact, I would go so far to say I love the sport of boxing because you can take that what is insignificant and magnify it to be significant and sell it to the world. These youngsters come out of the projects, poverty and come off of the bench. Larry Holmes
3rd grade education. Joe Frazier
3rd grade education. Muhammad Ali
8th grade education and I could go on and on. But yet, they are an asset to society and not a burden, meaning they have iconic status and financial capability and they didn't have to beg anybody for anything. So boxing is a beautiful sport. It's some of the people that make up the sport is what makes it ugly.
There is nothing wrong with the sport of boxing. It is the oldest sport to where if you're Jewish, you watch it, if you are a Christian, you watch it and if you are a Muslim, you watch it. 85% of this world is Jewish, Christian and Muslim, who have added to society and have molded the shape of society to understand that God is great and they turned us on. It goes into over 200 foreign countries and in 6 continents. How could you hate a sport of that sort? I have nothing against the sport of boxing. Is there racism in boxing? Yes, there is racism in boxing. Are there liars in boxing? Yes, there are liars in boxing. Why do you think they chose to try to kill my good name? It's because 99% of the athletes are minorities. They are not Caucasians; they are minorities. Don King and I are minorities, so if you don't knock us, then you will not be able to come between us; because we walk the walk and talk the talk. When the going gets tough, they don't know what to tell the athlete and that's why boxing is down today because no one is talking to the minorities today. The only one they care for are the Latinos. Why? Because they sell. Latinos are becoming a majority, if not a minority, in America and they back their athletes. They back them in 4-rounders, 6-rounders, 8-rounders, 10-rounders, it doesn't matter. And don't become a world champion, especially from Mexico. So if you have a Latino fighter, you're going to do well at the gate and as far as TV is concerned, but until you cross over to the other side, to the African Americans, then you're just another fighter.
So the African American fighter, when he crosses over, he becomes large. Oh my God. Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Roy Jones Jr., Mayweather, Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier
all of these men crossed over where everybody from the Latinos on up respected the athlete. Today, no one is pushing the African American because they can't draw and most African Americans don't support African Americans. So until you become a significant fighter with a belt around your waist or until you have some great fights at the latter part of your career, then you're just another boxer in the business. It doesn't make it racist, but it makes it competition though and I like competition. That's why I've never fought anybody that convinced a network to give them something that no one else has. I have never sued or complained. I said, "Job well done if you're able to get that out of the network."
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]