Joe Rogan Pulls the Curtain on Boxing Match Muhammad Ali ‘Cheated’ In To Save Face From Humiliating KO Loss

Whenever you hear the term boxing, the name of Muhammad Ali comes up without a doubt. He is widely considered the greatest boxer of all time owing to his domination of the boxing world for two decades. In his career, he won an Olympic gold medal and became a three-time heavyweight champion of the world. So, there are enough receipts to prove why he is widely considered the best boxer even by boxing legends like Mike Tyson. However, one incident might change your outlook. Ali might have ‘cheated’ a tiny bit in 1963, where the fight against Henry Cooper sticks out like a sore thumb against all of Ali’s other achievements.

Joe Rogan could not help but recall this incident while speaking to Bert Sorin about ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. The UFC color commentator mentioned Tyson in JRE #2242 while speaking about his childhood fanboy moments being heavily into combat sports. The podcaster compared Tyson’s power to Ali’s and said that Tyson was better in that regard. While doing so he also mentioned how ‘The People’s Champion’ had allegedly cheated in the fight against Cooper. According to reports, Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee carved a 2.5mm rip in the glove. This tweak to the fight gear gave the Lousiville native a window of extra time to recover after being knocked down in the 4th round.

Rogan said the following, “Henry Cooper dropped Ali when he was – back when he was Cassius Clay – with a left hook and they cheated to get him out of the round. Cus D’Amato cut his gloves so they had to take his gloves off and replace the gloves. They gave him all this recovery time. Have you ever seen that Henry Cooper fight? Henry Cooper was a bad man. He was a British boxer, this guy from England who had a nasty left hook.”

For the unversed, in the 1963 fight where Ali allegedly cheated, he had questioned Cooper’s worthiness as an opponent. However, in the early rounds, the tables turned as Cooper dominated the fight ultimately knocking Ali down in the 4th round with his classic left hook known as the ‘Enry’s Ammer’. Unfortunately for the Brit, Cooper lost in round 5 as Clay fought back with revived determination.

When it came to the fight against Muhammad Ali, he and his coach were prepared to face the danger that Cooper posed. The alleged tweak to the gloves gave Ali the time to recuperate but the win, did not stop fans from questioning the victory. Nevertheless, given his legendary status, this same glove was in auction for almost $401,190 to $668,650 according to Stuart Bull of Stuart Bull Auctions. Yet, there is still one question left to be answered, would Muhammad Ali be able to defeat Mike Tyson?

Joe Rogan narrows down on who would hypothetically win between Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali

One of the only other boxers who has a similar star power to Ali is ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. He transcends the sport and this is why this hypothetical question was raised by Rogan. The Ali-Tyson clash is a never-ending speculation in the combat sports world. Joe Rogan decided to add his answer to the ongoing debate and praised Tyson for his red-hot ‘Iron’ energy.

“He [Mike Tyson] was a freak, he was a very unusual thing because every other heavyweight was kind of slow and even if they could hit hard, they were lumbering. He was bobbing and weaving and moving, and he was a small heavyweight. Wasn’t even six feet tall, so he’s built like a brick s**t house, he’s got a twenty-inch neck. He’s 220 pounds and moves like a guy who’s 150. And he’s throwing lightning bolts at your central nervous system. He’s hitting you to the body and **ing legs are shutting off. He was a monster,”, a mesmerized Rogan said in the same podcast with Bert Sorin.

So clearly, Rogan thinks Tyson would win against Ali. But what about Larry Holmes who fought both of them? Holmes who reigned as world heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1983 had discussed this with Sky Sports Boxing in the past. He had said that Tyson would not have lasted in the seventies and picked Ali as a clear winner in a fantasy match-up. He said, “I ain’t knocking Mike Tyson. No [he couldn’t survive in that era]. Ali? He’d slap him all day with the jab.”

Who do you agree with? Larry Holmes of Joe Rogan? Do let us know in the comments down below.