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patient and deliberate in his attack, and to concentrate mostly on the body when Ali went into his rope-a-dope strategy so that he would not exhaust himself as
Foreman had done. This proved to be effective to some extent, as it gave Ali hematomas on both hips. However, Ali's strategy of punching Frazier in the head ultimately proved more effective as it closed his one sighted eye, rendering him nearly blind in the ring.
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with persistent body punches. Futch also believed that
Frazier's constant bobbing and weaving would make Ali uncomfortable because he would often have to punch down at Frazier's head (Ali almost never threw body punches), which was something he was not used to doing. Finally, Futch noticed that Ali's uppercuts were thrown sloppily and technically incorrectly (Futch said Ali threw what he
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Futch developed a strategy for the first Ali fight by analysing the opponent's boxing style. Futch noted that Ali often leaned his head away from punches. Ali could not do that with his body, so the boxing proverb 'kill the body and the head dies' became the plan - Futch told
Frazier to wear down Ali
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were uppercuts). He instructed
Frazier to throw a left hook over the top of Ali's right uppercuts, and told his fighter to beat Ali to the punch when doing so. When an exhausted Ali opened the 15th round by throwing a half-hearted uppercut, Frazier feinted a left and then unleashed a huge sweeping
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in 1967. He trained
Frazier to stay low and constantly bob and weave, in order to create a sense of persistent motion and pressure. This also took advantage of Frazier's lack of size to make him an elusive target. It was unique fighting style that enabled him to get inside where his punches could
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Futch's chief concern for the fight was that Ali not be allowed to repeat the illegal tactic of holding
Frazier behind the neck, as Ali had in their 1974 second fight. This had created extended clinches that kept Frazier from throwing punches and allowed Ali to rest. Ali had won the fight with a
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Futch wanted
Frazier to bait Ali into throwing the uppercut again, but Ali did not do this during the fight. Futch thought the key would be for Frazier to constantly attack Ali's body, including punches to the hips when Ali effectively covered up his torso along the ropes. He told Frazier to be
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Following the conclusion of the 14th round, during which
Frazier had been repeatedly hit, Futch asked Padilla to stop. Frazier became bitter at Futch for his decision, as Ali was exhausted and, by his own admission, at the point of quitting. Futch, however, never expressed any regret over his
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Norton recalls in his autobiography that Futch's master plan for his first Ali fight was for Ken to try to out-jab Ali. Although a pressure fighter, Norton had a good jab. Futch reckoned this would play mind games with Ali, who was so proud of his own jab. The plan seemed to work.
306:. He told Filipino authorities that Ali intended to ruin what was to be a great event for their nation by constantly tying up Frazier illegally, and suggested that they assign one of their countrymen as referee. This resulted in the appointment of Filipino
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12th-round decision. Futch claimed that Ali had held
Frazier illegally 133 times in that fight without being penalized. He had also done it against Foreman in his defeat of him in Zaire. Sensing trouble, Futch vetoed as referee (Ali-Foreman ref)
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in grammar school and when a teenager, played semi-professional basketball with the
Moreland YMCA Flashes. He planned to attend the YMCA College School at the University of Chicago, but when the
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Eddie Futch was an outstanding trainer. He prepared fighters to perform at the highest levels of the sport for several decades. Champions who worked under Futch's tutelage include
310:, who sternly warned Ali on multiple occasions throughout the bout that he would be penalized, thus preventing him from doing it as often or effectively as he might have wished.
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their first professional defeats. In Baltimore, Maryland, the Futch Gym boxing gymnasium is named after the trainer. He also trained Ireland’s first ever WBC World Champion,
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happened, he was forced to continue his job at the Wolverine Hotel to support his family. Here is where he met promoter and trainer Don Arnott.
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Frazier won the fight by a unanimous decision and was recognized as the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
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125:. Eddie Futch was married to Eva Marlene Futch from March 21, 1996, until his death. Futch often called her "The love of his life."
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when he was five years old. They lived in the Black Bottom section of the town. Always a talented athlete, he started off running
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Four and a half years after the Fight of the Century, Frazier and Ali met for a third and final time in a fight known as the "
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Eddie Futch was first hired by Frazier, and his chief cornerman and manager Yank Durham to help him prepare for a fight with
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reach his opponents without taking as much punishment as boxing with a more conventional fighting style would.
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In 1932, Futch won the Detroit Athletic Association Lightweight Championship, and in 1935, he won the Detroit
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left hook at Ali's head, which floored him and created one of the most famous knock-downs in boxing history.
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The tactic proved to be highly effective, and Frazier remained undefeated, winning the New York title from
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85:(August 9, 1911 – October 10, 2001) was an American boxing trainer. Among the fighters he trained are
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with devastating knockouts. All of which led to the inevitable showdown with
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prevented Futch from turning professional, and he began training boxers.
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Futch, Eddie (June 1993), "It's Been a Long Road to the Top",
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248:" which took place in March 1971 at New York's
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302:and two others suggested by Ali's promoter,
156:Championship. He trained at the same gym as
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522:People from Scott County, Mississippi
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244:in the bout promoters deemed "The
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101:, four of the five men to defeat
386:. Wm. Morrow & Co. pp.
256:Training Ken Norton to fight Ali
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16:American boxer, boxing trainer
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537:Sportspeople from Detroit
532:American boxing trainers
129:Youth and amateur career
527:Boxers from Mississippi
378:Anderson, Dave (1991).
355:"Eddie Futch - BoxRec"
135:Hillsboro, Mississippi
46:Hillsboro, Mississippi
250:Madison Square Garden
236:, and WBA crown from
105:. Futch also trained
547:American male boxers
433:"Thriller in Manila"
412:"Thriller in Manila"
265:Fight of the century
246:Fight of the Century
226:"Scrap Iron" Johnson
220:Training Joe Frazier
168:Hall of Fame trainer
27:Personal information
542:Boxers from Detroit
462:. 3 September 2005.
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337:Boxing Illustrated
133:Futch was born in
288:Thrilla in Manila
139:Detroit, Michigan
115:Evander Holyfield
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107:Riddick Bowe
103:Muhammad Ali
95:Larry Holmes
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59:(2001-10-10)
517:2001 deaths
512:1911 births
435:. BBC Films
414:. BBC Films
238:Jimmy Ellis
174:Joe Frazier
87:Joe Frazier
83:Eddie Futch
21:Eddie Futch
506:Categories
491:2020-08-09
439:2012-10-13
418:2012-10-13
397:0688094465
364:2020-08-09
359:boxrec.com
322:References
318:decision.
214:Don Jordan
182:Ken Norton
91:Ken Norton
38:1911-08-09
486:0307-1235
294:in 1973.
158:Joe Louis
304:Don King
343:(4): 37
272:thought
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282:Manila
97:, and
75:Boxing
48:, U.S.
143:track
71:Sport
66:Sport
482:ISSN
392:ISBN
117:and
109:and
54:Died
32:Born
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