If people are saying, Well he never said he could beat up Mohammad Ali, well yeah he did. At the young age of 22, Ali became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world after defeating Sonny Liston in 1964. Lee was referring to Alis dancing legs and the Ali shuffle, which he became known for in the ring. According to Clause, Lee considered both sides of the argument and even practiced fighting Ali by using a full-length mirror. When it came to kung fu, Lee taught against sticking to traditional stances and forms and wholeheartedly believed that martial artists should be willing to adapt and learn from other sources. Post Jun 04, 2016 #2 2016-06-04T05:37. Bruce Lee was 57 and never weighed more than 145 pounds while Muhammad Ali was 63 and weighed anywhere from 210 to 240 pounds in his fighting days. Many people have said throughout the years that Bruce Lee had a lot of respect for Muhammad Ali. . Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Ali's image from the screen. So it looks like Lee has settled this debate long ago. Bruce was screening a Cassius Clay [Muhammad Ali] documentary. Could Cliff beat up Bruce Lee? The documentary showed Ali in several of his fights. Bruce was screening a Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) documentary. Lee passed away in 1973 at the age of 32 from cerebral edema, which could have been caused by a reaction to prescription painkillers. Bruce Lee fans have also taken Tarantino to task for the outcome of the fight scene. What would Ali have made of Lee? Cliff is not part of the sport that is like combat, he is a warrior. I heard him say things like that to that effect. If I say Cliff can beat Bruce Lee up, hes a fictional character so he could beat Bruce Lee up. One can understand where Lee was coming from but while Sullivan didnt impress him, the likes of Muhammad Ali and Jersey Joe Walcott most certainly did. Nicholas Raymond is a staff movies & TV features writer for Screen Rant. Muhammad Ali, without a doubt, falls into that "iconic" category, so there have been tons of stories about him circulating since his death on Friday. The way he was talking, I didnt just make a lot of that up. But on a set, hes not gonna show off. He added, Bruce Lee would have never said anything derogatory about Muhammad Ali because he worshiped the ground Muhammad Ali walked on., Shannon told Variety, He was continuously marginalized and treated like kind of a nuisance of a human being by white Hollywood, which is how hes treated in the film by Quentin Tarantino.. Bruce was looking into the mirror, alongside Ali. Because while he may lay more hits on Tyson, one hit from. If people are saying, Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali, well yeah, he did. The film depicts Lee (played by Mike Moh) swaggering around the set of Green Hornet, denigrating boxer Muhammad Ali and picking a street fight with the evenly matched stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Ali was also a part of the famous simulated fight with Rocky Marciano. Published Oct 3, 2021 Bruce Lee, who always had great confidence in his kung fu skills, admitted there was one fighter he knew he couldn't beat - Muhammad Ali. They broke into the home and committed the grisly ritualistic killings after midnight (Steve Parent, a fifth victim, isn't depicted in the film). The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. "That's a little Chinese hand. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. Brad [Pitt] would not be able to beat up Bruce Lee, but Cliff maybe could, said Tarantino. "[Chuck Norris] could'. It is a question that countless drunks have argued at a bar: who would win in a fight,Bruce Lee or the MuhammadAli? There just happens to be a difference between those types of encounters and a showdown against a combat athlete. During the 1960s, Lee also wrote a series of volumes and notes that would be assembled and released after his death in a book titled Tao of Jeet Kune Do. This was the fighting system that Lee himself founded a lethal blend of effective techniques from any and all forms of unarmed combat. Schuler says the classic Hollywood eatery (Tarantino is a frequent diner) shut down for the first time for five days to allow Pitt, DiCaprio and Al Pacino (as agent Marvin Schwarzs) to shoot in the middle of tourist season last July. ET and will be broadcast in the U.K. on BT Sport 2 tomorrow (June 8) at 9.00 p.m. Tom Gray is Associate Editor for Ring Magazine. The lead jab is a feeler, wrote Lee in a chapter of the book entitled Tools. It is the basis of all other blows, a loose, easy stinger. Ali, who famously had a crossover fight with Antonio Inoki in 1976, suffered a long battle with Parkinson's disease before he passed away in 2016 at the age of 74. But fans have long asked what would have happened if the martial arts legend, real name Lee Jun-fan, fought Ali in a blockbuster dream clash. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! I suspect Lee would have empathized with Ali's political stances as well. Prior to the bout, a ludicrous set of rules were put in place that prevented Inoki from attempting takedowns, submissions or kicks above the waist. Plus Muhammad Ali was way bigger than Bruce Lee. "That doesn't give him a free pass for how he's portrayed in movies." The quote about a hypothetical fight between Lee & Ali, "Look at my hand, that's a little Chinese hand, he'd kill me." Did Bruce Lee really say this? Ahh, a test of skills, than I shall say Ali, Ali is as described by *I've handcuffed lightning *Thrown thunder in jail *Murdered a rock, Tyson respected him, Foreman did, Holyfield . The list goes on and on. Enter the Dragon director Clouse, who worked closely with Lee for the 1973 cult classic, revealed that the Hong Kong-American former actor opened up about the outcome of the fight. Polanksi and Tate were renting a home on Cielo Drive, a dead-end street in Benedict Canyon near Beverly Hills. 'Look at my hand,' he said. Ali was world heavyweight champion at the time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all. Some people thought Lee would be able to dominate Ali in a fight, while others argued Ali would knock Lee out easily. He has killed many men in WWII in hand-to-hand combat. Related: How Bruce Lee's One-Inch Punch Really Works. Bruce was fighting in Ali's shoes. In the past, Lee claimed that if he ever met Ali, he would be assassinated. Look at my hand, he said. Inosanto pointed to a line in Tarantino's script where Bruce Lee makes a dig at Muhammad Ali and said Lee "would have never said anything derogatory about Muhammad Ali because he worshiped the . Laila Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have told a couple of excellent stories about Ali thus far, but one of our favorites comes to us courtesy ofMass Appeal, which dug up an old Ali tale from the 1970s. The documentary showed Ali in several of his fights. Did he fade when the going got tough? At that time, many people were wondering what would happen if Ali crossed paths with Lee. During the chat, Lee can be heard referencing boxers for the first and, as far as this reporter is aware, only time in terms of available audio. Many people have said throughout the years that Bruce Lee had a lot of respect for Muhammad Ali. Ali retired in the early 1980s and died in 2016, but remains the biggest boxing icon ever. And it was apparently a conversation that Lee himself had with one of his directors. Lees widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, recalls The Dragon diligently studying Ali, as well as countless other boxing champions, on 8-millimeter film. How Bruce Lee's Fighting Style Was Inspired By Muhammad Ali (& Why), How Bruce Lee's One-Inch Punch Really Works, Every Actor Bruce Lee Trained In Hollywood, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish Set Up Shrek 5 Entirely By Accident, Why Obi-Wan Didnt Use Force Speed To Save Qui-Gon Jinn From Darth Maul. "That was a must-have and we showed quintessential Hollywood locations that have survived. In December 1939, his parents went to Chinatown, San Francisco in California for an international opera tour. This Article is related to: Film and tagged Bruce Lee, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino. It also has a soundtrack packed with decade-appropriate big hits and deep cuts, with none of those present-day covers designed to make old music sound hip and modern to younger listeners. OP did say he based this on the Superman vs Muhammad Ali comic. Bruce Lee admired Muhammad Ali and had immense respect for him. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. His conclusion? Personally, I feel that Benny Urquidez, a legendary multi-weight world champion in full-contact martial arts, would have been too much for Lee. 'Mandalorian' star Pedro Pascal, creators on new Grogu revelations and 'Last of Us' comparisons, Saved by the bell: Contestant ordered to keep mask on, in historic 'Masked Singer' first, Chris Pine admits 'it does look' like Harry Styles spit on him but this is what actually happened, Rebel Wilson 'collapsed' after Ramona Agruma proposal: 'I was so overwhelmed', Amy Grant recalls being 'so scared' to return to touring following serious bike accident. 1,386 663. What was Muhammad Ali's weight advantage? Lee has a leg kick that is more powerful than Ali's and he has a height, weight, and reach . With his crazy kicks and lightning-fast speed, the man went from TV sidekick to blockbuster star in just a few years. A cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) had claimed the life of this extraordinarily gifted 32-year-old, who would achieve posthumous superstardom when his seminal movie Enter the Dragon was released in U. S. theaters the following month. "Bruce Lee was mainly Wing Chun, combined with Muhammad Ali-style boxing," Chan said. Bruce Lee's father Lee Hoi-chuen was a famous Cantonese opera singer based in Hong Kong. "I went and worked out with [Lee] at his school," LeBell was quoted as saying. She absolutely said that, the director continued. He admires combat, and boxing is a closer approximation of combat as a sport. Ali was world heavyweight champion at the time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all. The reality of the situation is this: Cliff is a Green Beret. For Lee to reference Ali in these unique writings speaks volumes about his appreciation of the eventual three-time heavyweight champion. It's worth pointing out that author Matthew Polly, who wrote the biographyBruce Lee: A Life, disputes Tarantino's claim about Linda Lee's comment: WRONG: Linda was quoting a TV critic. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Once Upon A Time in Hollywood': What's truth, what's pulp fiction? Had Lee lived, it is almost certain that the pair would have crossed paths, but his untimely demise meant that their acquaintanceship, much like this fan-fueled superfight, would be confined to fantasy. Alright? When both were at the peak of their careers, there was a lot of talk about who would win if Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali ever got into a fight. "Bruce revered Cassius Clay; he never claimed he could beat the champ," says Polly. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. While fighting, Ali constantly moved his feet around, making it difficult to determine what he was going to do next. Search. I'm getting to know how he thinks and moves." Because he was a brilliant and seasoned professional who took hits for a living. In fact, Complex reported that Lee once said that Ali would kill him if the two ever fought. He takes to hunting, cooking and fathering more children, but is haunted by . A sidekick to the knee is longer than any punch you care to mention and a boxer has no way of defending against it. Lee set up a wide mirror so that he could follow along with Alis movements as they occurred on screen. Quentin Tarantino Responds To 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Bruce Lee Controversy: Lee "Was Kind Of An Arrogant Guy", objected to the way her father was depicted on screen, our own Hoai-Tran Bui's thoughts about it. In the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bruce Lee predicted that he would beat Muhammad Ali. The story of Ali was unearthed in the 1970s by Mass Appeal. But if Cliff and Bruce were fighting in the jungles of the Philippines in a hand-to-hand combat fight Cliff would kill him.. Similarly, Basketball Hall ofFamer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote a piece for The Hollywood Reporter that blasted Tarantino for his "sloppy and somewhat racist" depiction of Lee. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved. One punch from Ali could potentially break his neck and no rational person would claim otherwise. Here's an excerpt from that book: Another time Yeung, aka [Bolo] went to see Bruce at Golden Harvest Studios. YOU GET TO CHOOSE your own prize! 4 NEW YORK (AP) Sunday studio estimates say the gonzo R-rated horror comedy "Cocaine Bear" sniffed up $23.1 million in its opening weekend, while Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp . In the Season 4 episode "Smoke," Mike chimes in to the break room discussion about who would beat whom in a fight, Bruce Lee or Muhammad Ali, by asking whether Bruce Lee had a gun. She absolutely said that.. Tarantino also defended that decision. 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