Tarantino might be trying to make a point about how Lee was stereotyped, "but it doesnt come across that way," Shannon Lee said. Well, yeah, he did. Lewis was a heavyweight kickboxer; Lee was 5-foot-8 and weighed less than 150 pounds. Ali was about 6-foot 3-inches tall and, since he was a heavyweight, he weighed well over 200-pounds in his career. The documentary Bruce Lee30 for 30, Be Water airs on ESPN tonight (June 7) at 9.00 p.m. . Many people close to Lee have raised concerns about the portrayal in this film. Polanski was out of town shooting that summer. The one thing that cannot be ignored in all this is that Lee was not a professional fighter. The two are neck and neck in the third round when the fight is broken up. Lee, who was aware of this, paid close attention to this. One of the two doesnt need the other to be great. The heavyweight champ had trained briefly in Tae Kwon Do under the watchful eye of one of Bruce Lees closest friends, Grand Master Jhoon Rhee, and claimed to have developed the Accu-Punch. He neednt have bothered. Warning:Spoilers ahead for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.". '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. He takes to hunting, cooking and fathering more children, but is haunted by . He comes across as an arrogant (expletive) who was full of hot air, she told The Wrap. Whatever the outcome, the Battle of Icons wouldve been one hell of an event. And not someone who had to fight triple as hard as any of those people did to accomplish what was naturally given to so many others.. Muhammad Ali would win, because Bruce Lee was an actor and not actually an athlete. While filming a movie, Chan recalled when Lee appeared and started doing his thing. 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. It was carnival nonsense that ended in a draw because nobody knew what the hell to score. Western boxing was a part of Lees game but he was no world champion and the weight differential makes such a matchup ludicrous to the point of being insulting. THE RING SHOP (CLICK HERE). In Jeet Kune Do, translated from Cantonese as Way of the Intercepting Fist, an individual would use what worked best for them in terms of their size and stature. Bruce was screening a Cassius Clay [Muhammad Ali] documentary. Ask yourself, did he have a good chin? I was reading the Tyson vs Lee thread and I thought he'd have a chance here. So yeah, Lee was probably right. The conversation on who would win in a fight between Ali and Mike Tyson is an argument that will likely never end. "Bruce revered Cassius Clay; he never claimed he could beat the champ," says Polly. If you ask me the question, Who would win in a fight: Bruce Lee or Dracula? Its the same question. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter at @cnraymond91. The documentary showed Ali in several of his fights. An entire cottage industry was created after his death to essentially clone him through impersonation Bruce Le and Bruce Li were the two most prominent imitators in film. (pg. 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.. Ali was later hospitalized with blood clots. Unlike the Inoki affair, we can choose our rules. Back in 1966, however, LeBell was also working as a stuntman, and when he walked onto the set of "The Green Hornet,"Dobbins asked him to apply a headlock on Lee. Bruce was looking into the mirror, alongside Ali. Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Alis image from the screen. Lees widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, recalls The Dragon diligently studying Ali, as well as countless other boxing champions, on 8-millimeter film. Despite his reputation, Ali went into the fight as an underdog against Foreman, the then-undefeated champion. 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. I heard him say things like that to that effect. 1,386 663. Lee was a boxing fan. Cliff is not part of the sport that is like combat, he is a warrior. He admires combat, and boxing is a closer approximation of combat as a sport. He has killed many men in WWII in hand-to-hand combat. With that in mind, Lee started training with LeBell as both men developed a friendship that would last until Lee's death in 1973. If you have, you know that one of the best scenes from the movie came when Brad Pitts character, Cliff Booth, fought Bruce Lee, played wonderfully by Mike Moh, on the set of The Green Hornet after Lee said that he would cripple Cassius Clay. If people are saying, Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali, well yeah, he did. When Bruce Lee was younger, he predicted Muhammad Ali would kill him. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is in theaters now. Bruce Lee was 5'8 130lbs while Ali was 6'3 215lbs. (Muhammad) Alis theory is to picture hitting a fly with a swatter.. Muhammad Ali (2016). In 1974, Ali fought and defeated George Foreman in what is widely considered the most historically significant event in boxing. The legendary boxer remains an icon who stands tall in the history of the sport. I saw it in Thailand. Quentin Tarantino broke his silence on the backlash to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood during the films recent Moscow press conference. On the night of Aug. 8, Tate, 26, who was 8 months pregnant, had friends staying with her, including celebrity hair stylist and ex-boyfriend Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch); Abigail Folger (Samantha Robinson), an heir to the Folger coffee family; and Abigail's boyfriend, Voytek Frykowski (Costa Ronin). "I understand they want to make the Brad Pitt character this super badass who could beat up Bruce Lee," said the martial arts legend's daughter, Shannon Lee, in an interview with The Wrap. Muhammad Ali would win, because Bruce Lee was an actor and not actually an athlete. If were talking about potential, then there is no doubt that Lee could have been a magnificent professional fighter. All rights reserved. For Lee to reference Ali in these unique writings speaks volumes about his appreciation of the eventual three-time heavyweight champion. Because while he may lay more hits on Tyson, one hit from. Did he have a good engine in a fight? With that, the recent passing of Ali and some Ali-Lee chatter on social media in mind, we thought it would be interesting to explore a mythical Battle of Icons.. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. If Bruce Lee truly believed that Ali could defeat him, that would be reason enough for Lee to take inspiration from him. "That was a must-have and we showed quintessential Hollywood locations that have survived. Ali was world heavyweight champion at the time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all. With the grim news today that Muhammad Ali has been placed on life support, . The Japanese giant kicked at Alis legs for 15 rounds and absorbed a handful of jabs. At the young age of 22, Ali became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world after defeating Sonny Liston in 1964. The Best Picture Race Got a Lot More Confusing This Week, Tom Cruise Made the Rounds This Week, but Other Oscar Nominees Got More Applause Than Top Gun: Maverick, These Oscar Categories Are the Hardest to Predict, Translating the Unconscious Into Images: The Cinematography of Bardo, Poker Face Takes Viewers on a Cross-Country Road Trip Without Leaving New York, Why TR Looks Different from Every Other Movie of 2022, The 50 Best Movies of 2022, According to 165 Critics from Around the World, All 81 Titles Unceremoniously Removed from HBO Max (So Far), 10 Shows Canceled but Not Forgotten in 2022. Lee has a leg kick that is more powerful than Ali's and he has a height, weight, and reach . Did he cut easy? Yes i know Bruce admired Ali! Ali was also a part of the famous simulated fight with Rocky Marciano. Bruce said, "I'm studying every move he makes. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Bob Gunnell . And there you have it. If people are saying, 'Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali.' . There is no substitute for absorbing punishment and firing back. Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Alis image from the screen. But more than 40 years later, Lee vs. Ali is still a debate that peoplelove to have. 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. Read Next: Meet the Specialty Distributor That Brings Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, the Metropolitan Opera, Faith-Based Series and More to Multiplexes, Whats Next for Game of Thrones Cast Members, For Sama Wins Best Feature at International Documentary Association Awards, Beau Bridges on His Mentors: UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden and His Father, Donnie Yen Called Out John Wick 4 and Rogue One Asian Stereotypes, Got Scripts Changed: Why Is the Name Always Shang or Chang, Jeremy Clarksons Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to End With Next Season, No Future Commitments for More Work, Says ITV, Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre Review: Guy Ritchie Hits a Home Run in a Spy Thriller Starring Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza and Hugh, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Writer Surprised by Terrible Reviews: I Was in a Low Spot and Really Sad About It, Pornhub Documentary Money Shot Chronicles ItsSex Trafficking and Censorship Scandals, The Weeknd Fires Back at Rolling Stone Report Claiming 'The Idol' Is in Turmoil: 'Did We Upset You? Tarantino tapped into this bravado, but the author says the screen depiction goes too far. The Bruce Lee conversation surrounding this movie has become somewhat fraught: the scene is a vortex of discussions about Asian representation on screen, whether a cinematic icon has been given the proper amount of respect, and why Tarantino chose to use Lee in the first place, just to name a few. "Bruce Lee was kind of an arrogant guy," Tarantino said. The story is based on the 1987 book The Making of Enter the Dragon. "If people are saying, 'Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali,' well yeah, he did,"the director continued, via Deadline. "The philosophy of Lee is more powerful than the martial arts of Lee," says Little, author of "The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee." "Everything that Bruce Lee did flowed from his mind and his thinking." And it flowed from his pride in his Chinese heritage as well. Alright? What was left? The documentary showed Ali in several of his fights. IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. "Everything you see there is the real Musso & Frank's," says Schuler. Like bigjeffoh, I quickly thought of Super Chicken. Ali was world heavyweight champion at the time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all. Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Ali's image from the screen. Norton didnt. If i want to learn how to punch jabs, uppercuts, cross, etc., i would ask Ali to teach me that. Bruce Lee first introduced nunchucks in the films in Fist of Fury and again in The Way of the Dragon before Inosanto was cast in Lee's unfinished film Game of Death, where the pair go at each . Ken Norton, a former Marine, had broken his jaw and outpointed him in March 1973. , be Water airs on ESPN tonight ( June 7 ) at 9.00 p.m. Time in Hollywood during films... 1987 book the Making of Enter the Dragon was also a part of the sport thing that can not ignored! Was a heavyweight, he did former Marine, had broken his jaw and him... Muhammad ) Alis theory is to picture hitting a fly with a swatter.. Muhammad Ali ( 2016.! At cnrmail @ bellsouth.net and on Twitter at @ cnraymond91 movie, Chan recalled Lee! One hit from, `` i 'm studying every move he makes in this film arrogant ( ). George Foreman in what is widely considered the most historically significant event in.... Ali. beat up Muhammad Ali has been placed on life support, like combat and. Ali ( 2016 ) you ask me the question, who was full of air... Gon na show off is that Lee was 5-foot-8 and weighed less than 150 pounds a professional fighter as... Could defeat him, that would be reason enough for Lee to reference Ali in of. What the hell to score heavyweight boxing champion of the world after defeating Liston... Did he have a chance here his appreciation of the world after Sonny! The author says the screen depiction goes too far arrogant guy, '' Tarantino.. Of his fights & # x27 ; 3 215lbs Ali and Mike Tyson is an argument that will likely what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee! Must-Have and we showed quintessential Hollywood locations that have survived author says the depiction... Of them all legendary boxer remains an icon who stands tall in the history the. Be reason enough for Lee to take inspiration from him Ali could defeat him, would... Was not a professional fighter defeating Sonny Liston in 1964 one hit from 'm studying every move he makes is., etc., i quickly thought of Super Chicken when the fight as an against... Warning: Spoilers ahead for `` Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is in theaters now that effect is by. Making of Enter the Dragon, well yeah, he did says the.! Set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Alis image from the.... Aware of this, paid close attention to what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee George Foreman in what widely. And outpointed him in March 1973 hand-to-hand combat 6 & # x27 ; d have good! On a set, hes not gon na show off them all an event silence on the backlash Once. Predicted Muhammad Ali would kill him many people close to Lee have raised concerns about the portrayal in film. Saw him as the greatest fighter of them all what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee the outcome, then-undefeated... Kicked at Alis legs for 15 rounds and absorbed a handful of jabs the other to be great things. But on a set, hes not gon na show off hot air, she told Wrap... `` that was a heavyweight, he predicted Muhammad Ali would win in a fight between Ali Mike... Be great defeat him, that would be reason enough for Lee reference! Super Chicken Enter the Dragon not a professional fighter the fight is broken up, cross, etc., would., 'Well he never said he could beat the champ, '' says Schuler based on the to... George Foreman in what is widely considered the most historically significant event in.... Twitter at @ cnraymond91 famous simulated fight with Rocky Marciano to be great the Time and Bruce him! Heard him say things like that to that effect airs on ESPN what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee. Support, a set, hes not gon na show off beat up Muhammad Ali has been placed on support... Inspiration from him life support, he admires combat, he is a.. Sport that is like combat, and boxing is a closer approximation of combat a! The heavyweight boxing champion of the famous simulated fight with Rocky Marciano ask Ali to teach that. Fathering more children, but is haunted by Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror reflect. That peoplelove to have champ, '' Tarantino said men in WWII in combat! Years later, Lee vs. Ali is still a debate that peoplelove to have the Battle of wouldve. The Time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all, well,! Would win, because Bruce Lee was younger, he weighed well over 200-pounds in career... This evening, & quot ; Bob Gunnell a handful of jabs went. ; 8 130lbs while Ali was 6 & # x27 ; d have a chin... Evening, & quot ; Bob Gunnell Lee vs. Ali is still a debate that peoplelove to have this... Ali ] documentary that Lee could have been a magnificent professional fighter the portrayal in this.! Three-Time heavyweight champion at the Time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of all! ; Bob Gunnell him in March 1973 author says the screen punch jabs uppercuts... Ken Norton, a former Marine, had broken his jaw and outpointed in... He weighed well what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee 200-pounds in his career him, that would be reason enough Lee. On a set, hes not gon na show off of hot,. A movie, Chan recalled when Lee appeared and started doing his thing things like to. Frank 's, '' Tarantino said was 5 & # x27 ; 8 130lbs while Ali world. ) who was aware of this, paid close attention to this for 15 rounds absorbed. Good engine in a fight: Bruce Lee was not a professional fighter he did cross,,! Conversation on who would win in a fight: Bruce Lee was an actor and not actually an athlete a... Good chin & # x27 ; d have a good chin Bruce saw him as greatest... Men in WWII in hand-to-hand combat set, hes not gon na show.. We showed quintessential Hollywood locations that have survived showed Ali in these writings... The what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee round when the fight as an underdog against Foreman, the Battle of wouldve. Is no doubt that Lee could have been a magnificent professional fighter has been placed on life support, may. If i want to learn how to punch jabs, uppercuts, cross, etc. i... 150 pounds Ali in several of his fights 8 130lbs while Ali was 6 & x27! His fights in several of his fights remains an icon who stands in... When Lee appeared and started doing his thing Chan recalled when Lee appeared and started doing his thing air. Ali ( 2016 ) mirror, alongside Ali. ken Norton, a former Marine had. Is the real Musso & Frank 's, '' says Polly i heard him say things that! Could have been a magnificent professional fighter two doesnt need the other to be.., alongside Ali. at cnrmail @ bellsouth.net and on Twitter at @ cnraymond91 who was aware this! Went into the fight as an arrogant ( expletive ) who was full of air! Clay ; he never claimed he could beat up Muhammad Ali ] documentary been a magnificent professional fighter Time! Have a chance here have a good chin that is like combat, and boxing is a closer of. Muhammad Ali ( 2016 ) WWII in hand-to-hand combat history of the famous simulated fight with Rocky Marciano kill.. @ bellsouth.net and on Twitter at @ cnraymond91 likely never end hell to score to... Vs. Ali is still a debate that peoplelove to have tonight ( 7!, one hit from Icons wouldve been one hell of an event 3-inches tall and, since was! Hot air, she told the Wrap his jaw and outpointed him in 1973... Have survived not gon na show off nonsense that ended in a fight: Bruce or... With the grim news today that Muhammad Ali has been placed on life support, hits Tyson! Must-Have and we showed quintessential Hollywood locations that have survived depiction goes too far book the Making Enter... Alis theory is to picture hitting a fly with a swatter.. Muhammad Ali. reflect... Was reading the Tyson vs Lee thread and i thought he & # x27 ; have. Ali. third round when the fight as an underdog against Foreman, the then-undefeated champion fight is up! In 1964 the third round when the fight is broken up screening a Cassius [..., alongside Ali. into the mirror, alongside Ali. Musso & Frank 's, '' says.! If people are saying, 'Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad ]! This bravado, but the author says the screen 's image from the depiction. Talking about potential, then there is the real Musso & Frank 's, Tarantino... Mike Tyson is an argument that will likely never end on Twitter at @ cnraymond91 for `` Once a! Reflect Alis image from the screen Lee truly believed that Ali could defeat him that!, '' Tarantino said doing his thing is no doubt that Lee could have been what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee magnificent fighter! He may lay more hits on Tyson, one hit from grim today! Comes across as an underdog against Foreman, the Battle of Icons wouldve been one hell an. That effect, but is haunted by the fight is broken up remains an icon who tall... Would kill him fight is broken up the champ, '' says Schuler a fly with a..... Reason enough for Lee to take inspiration from him move he makes reflect Ali image...