After his pathetic performance against Larry Holmes in October of 1980, Muhammad Ali took a much needed rest. He turned 39 years old on January 17, 1981, and later in the year made a decision to fight again. Since no state in the country would sanction a bout with him involved, he searched for an opponent and a venue outside of the States.
Trevor Berbick was picked as his opponent, a top ranked fighter who had just gone 15 rounds with Larry Holmes. Nassau, the Bahamas was picked as the site, and in October, an official press conference in Los Angeles announced December 11th as the date. Ali seemed lucid and sharp in the press conference, fielded all the questions he was asked, and said he had been training in preparation for his last shot at the brass ring. I was excited to see the 3-time champ for the first time live as a full-fledged boxing fan. Even though I watched him recapture the title on September 15, 1978 at home on television, my love for the sport had just began.
To see the card live, you had to order something called WHT, The Wohetco Home Theatre company, which for $50 came to our house and installed a small antenna on our roof to get the signal. Living in south Jersey, I was fortunate enough to do it, since only a few places in the country broadcast the pay event.
It was a cold, clear evening that Friday night, and I counted the minutes until the show began. It included a good undercard, with Thomas Hearns and Greg Page boxing first. I watched it on my mom’s 19 inch color tv in my parent’s bedroom, since I had that tv connected to the roof antenna. My dad asked if he could watch it with me, and I told him “Of course dad!” We both had to sit on the side of the bed, since there were no chairs in the room, but I was just glad to be able to see Ali live.
The ex-champ had trained wisely, didn’t lose too much weight, and did very little sparring if any. He weighed in at 236 lbs., and looked fairly fit when the first round began. Ali was able to throw jabs and right hands, and was dramatically more active than in the Holmes bout. I yelled at the tv urging him on, telling him to throw more punches and stuff. After 5 rounds, I really thought he had won 2 of them, which was not too bad. Even though he tired and lost a unanimous decision, he didn’t embarrass himself by any means. Ali was gracious in defeat announcing “Father time caught up with me. I’m done.” I was glad he went out this way rather than with the Holmes fiasco, on his feet and going the distance.
As long as I live, I’ll forever remember that cold Friday night in December, when I got a chance to see Ali fight one last time live at home on tv with my dad. The Kenny Rogers’ hit “‘The Gambler” has a line in it with best describes Ali that night. “The Gambler, he broke even.” I’m just grateful I got to see it.
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