In October of 1980 Muhammad Ali was preparing to fight for an unprecedented fourth heavyweight title against his friend and former sparring partner Larry Holmes. To say that the great Ali was in the twilight of his career would be generous; most of his admiring fans, friends and fight scribes considered his bravado delusional. What was left for him to prove? In the weeks of training before the fight, documentarians Albert and David Maysles took an intimate look at Ali trying to convince the world and perhaps himself, that he was still “The Greatest.” At the same time, they documented the mild-mannered and undervalued champion Holmes as he confidently prepared to put an end to the career of a man for whom he had an abiding and deep affection
Muhammad Ali
as Himself
Drew Bundini Brown
as Himself
Angelo Dundee
as Himself
Larry Holmes
as Himself
Jerry Izenberg
as Self
Gene Kilroy
as Self
John Schulian
as Self
Leon Spinks
as Himself (archive footage)
Ken Norton
as Himself (archive footage)
Thomas Hauser
as Himself
Howard Cosell
as Himself (archive footage)
