Ali Always at Best When He Had to Be

In his book, “In The Corner,” New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson writes about boxing’s greatest trainers, a group that includes Angelo Dundee, the longtime cornerman and confidant of Muhammad Ali.

Dundee said Ali’s greatest moment occurred Oct. 1, 1975 in Manila, when he scored a 14th-round TKO of Joe Frazier to retain his world heavyweight title. It was far from an easy victory for Ali, Dundee reaffirmed.

“When he finally came out to the press conference almost an hour after the fight, one of the newspaper guys asked him what the fight had been like,” Dundee said. “Muhammad said, ‘It was next to death.’

“Muhammad had won the fight by sucking it up when he had to. That’s the mark of a great fighter . . . and to me, he’s the greatest fighter of all time.

“The shame is that we never saw Muhammad at his best. He would’ve been at his peak sometime during the 3 1/2 years he was exiled for refusing induction into the service.”

Ali did not fight from March 22, 1967, when he knocked out Zora Folley in the seventh round in a title fight, until Oct. 26, 1970, when he returned with a third-round knockout of Jerry Quarry.

Add Ali: Dundee said there will never be another fighter like Ali. “Before Mike Tyson got licked by Buster Douglas, people were telling me, ‘Tyson’s going to be considered the greatest fighter of all time.’ I said, ‘Please, you can’t compare anybody to Muhammad.’ Not only for what he did as a fighter, but from his availability as a superstar to the way he attracted people other than fight fans.”

Last add Ali: Dundee said he was responsible for the access the public and the media had to Ali. Of the media people, Dundee said, “I told him, ‘These are your friends. This is what it’s all about. They want to talk to you. Always respect that. Because when they stop talking to you, then you’re a dead issue.’ ”

Trivia Time: Among active players with at least seven at-bats against Nolan Ryan, what hitter has Ryan never been able to strike out?

Ahead at the mike: Dodger shortstop Alfredo Griffin has played more games at shortstop than Phil Rizzuto. Please, don’t say, “Especially lately.”

Yankee broadcaster Rizzuto played 1,661 games in 13 years and retired in 1956. Griffin stands at 1,749 and counting.

It’s too late now: Do you suppose the Mets knew before they traded for Vince Coleman that his lifetime batting average at Shea Stadium is .233, or that the Royals knew Kirk Gibson’s lifetime average at Royals Stadium is .190?

What a hazard: Author Jim Bartlett has written a golfing novel called “Death Is a Two-Stroke Penalty.”

Add golf: As Atlanta Hawk assistant coach Kevin Loughery watched, team play-by-play announcer Steve Holman hit a drive that sailed far off the fairway toward a house bordering the Atlanta Country Club. Said Loughery: “That ball is gonna be watching ‘Days of Our Lives.’ ”

Trivia answer: Boston’s Ellis Burks, with no strikeouts in seven at-bats against Ryan. Fernando Valenzuela had nine at-bats against Ryan with no strikeouts.

Quotebook: Golden State Warrior Coach Don Nelson, who was passed passed over in favor of the Detroit Pistons’ Chuck Daly as coach of the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team: “I just want to be involved. If it means washing the jocks, I’d do that, too.”