39 Quotes by Larry Merchant

Follow the wisdom of the great actor, James Cagney, you hit your mark, you look the other guy in the eye, and you tell the truth.

Neither guy wanted to yield. It was the third fight of their trilogy, and it was that important.

Only fighting each other could have brought that much effort out, at a time in their careers when fighters, given all the punches that had landed on them, generally don't want to go that far,

Frazier was never the same after his first fight with Ali. He fought the best fight of his career in that fight.

He had long ago established he wasn't just another pretty face, but it was a reminder of what was going on inside his body while he was entertaining us.

I think it all depends on how good this fight is. I don't know how to rank it. If this turns out to be a dramatic fight and Roy wins, people will look back at all three (in a fond way). But he has to win in a theatrical way. That would make it a great trilogy, maybe.

Especially for younger generations - this was their Ray Robinson - I think it came as a great shock.

It was the third fight. They had both been beaten. If the fight was as significant as it may seem in hindsight, it wouldn't have been held in Manila. It would have been the Thrilla in Chicago.

Everyone remembers Ali afterwards could hardly get off his stool because of the effort he gave,