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Originally Posted by CopTHIS
Another legend of the game. I've always been slightly dubious about him though as he was well known for letting Ali take on tough sparring (as he believed it made him tougher in actual fights if sparring partners were encouraged to search for his chin) and was still involved when Ali was fighting on despite already slurring his speach and being a million miles over the hill.
Maybe I'm being unfair though, not sure.
Unfair, IMO, tho you raise valid points. Ali was Ali, he did want he wanted & much of it went against convention. Dundee wisely gave him lots of room to be himself, couldn't have gone any other way.
The only member of Ali's entourage to bail when Ali started to noticeably decline was Ferdie Pacheco in '77, I believe after the Shavers fight. Very hard to leave the most famous man in the world's inner circle, and Angie prolly told himself that he could protect Ali better than anyone else, tho obv he should've stopped the Holmes fight earlier if not prevent it from happening at all. But Ali needed the money and was addicted to the limelight, sadly common among boxers, tho Ali's level of fame will never be approached.
Angelo would've been a HOFer if Ali had never been born, based on his work with Leonard. RIP