IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. The one thing that cannot be ignored in all this is that Lee was not a professional fighter. 1,386 663. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Bruce was fighting in Ali's shoes. Even if they were the same size, Id still go for Muhammad Ali, because he actually had competition experience where Bruce Lee did not.. Plus Muhammad Ali was way bigger than Bruce Lee. A wonderful, wonderful man and a great martial artist.". He has a degree in journalism from the University of Montevallo, and is the author of the psychological thriller and time travel novel, "A Man Against the World." Quentin Tarantino responded to criticisms of the arrogant portrayal of Bruce Lee in his latest film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, claiming that it isnt so inaccurate after all. After midnight, four members of the Manson family Tex Watson, Linda Kasabian, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel parked at the dark bottom of the street (Tarantino filmed some street scenes on Cielo Drive) and walked up the hill. If I say Cliff can beat Bruce Lee up, hes a fictional character so he could beat Bruce Lee up. Aside from all those heroics, one of the more memorable scenes from "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" features Pitt's character, stuntman Cliff Booth, recalling an altercation he had with Bruce Lee(Mike Moh) on the set of"The Green Hornet"that got him fired. "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. Real reason BBC axed Ken Bruce's Radio 2 show weeks before he was due to leave. Tate then introduced Lee to her husband, director Roman Polanski, who trained with him as well. And the UFC, meanwhile, might still be a barely-regulated promotion with fighters specializing in only one style, as opposed to the mixed martial arts (emphasis on mixed) juggernaut it is today. The documentary showed Ali in several of his fights. 4 If people are saying, Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali, well yeah, he did. If you're a fan of 1960s pop culture, Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is a must-watch. Muhammad Ali's Bodyguard Challenged Bruce Lee to a Fight Then This Happened BruceLeeRealFight 1.2M views 2 years ago Life is really short- Muhammad Ali Deepak Shastri 102K views 4. 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. Muhammad Ali = Boxer Bruce Lee = Martial artist He can only fight in a He can fight according to the given situation "Bruce Lee was kind of an arrogant guy," Tarantino said. Critics, including Inosanto, took umbrage with the scenes depiction of a stuntman holding his own against the Enter the Dragon actor, at one point catching Lees kick and throwing him into a car. Ali fought outside of boxing rules only once and it was an unmitigated disaster. . Quentin Tarantino broke his silence on the backlash to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood during the films recent Moscow press conference. All Rights Reserved. The documentary Bruce Lee30 for 30, Be Water airs on ESPN tonight (June 7) at 9.00 p.m. If Bruce Lee truly believed that Ali could defeat him, that would be reason enough for Lee to take inspiration from him. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Norton didnt. But again, that's just my take: everyone will have their own opinions on this, and it's absolutely fair to think that the intention of the scene wasn't translated well in the execution. Tarantino also defended that decision. Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Alis image from the screen. Muhammad Ali would win, because Bruce Lee was an actor and not actually an athlete. The scene was highly controversial as members of Lees family were outraged of how he was portrayed in the film, saying he would never act that way. Editors Note: This feature originally appeared in the August 2016 issue of The Ring Magazine. Have you seen kickboxing? In fact, he was into boxing more so than martial arts,". Published Jun 15, 2021. Related: How Bruce Lee's One-Inch Punch Really Works. He likely has more accurate strikes, and is significantly more durable. The real Lee was a big fan of boxing and "worshipped" Ali. What was Muhammad Ali's weight advantage? Not sure if this was intentional, but apparently Bruce Lee was known to carry a gun at all times, in case some crazy fan decided to pick a fight. "That doesn't give him a free pass for how he's portrayed in movies." Tyson made his professional boxing debut in 1985, while Ali fought his last professional fight in 1981. The story actually comes from the 1987 book,The Making of Enter the Dragon, and it features Enter the Dragondirector Robert Clause talking about what Bruce Lee told him once while the two were filming their 1973 movie. If I say Cliff can beat Bruce Lee up, he's a fictional character, so he could beat Bruce Lee up.". Lee stood at 1.7 meters and weighed 61 kg. If you ask me the question, Who would win in a fight: Bruce Lee or Dracula? Its the same question. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing, GET THE LATEST ISSUE AT . 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. Assuming Polly is correct, Tarantino may have either misread the passage originally or be misremembering Lee's description. . Like bigjeffoh, I quickly thought of Super Chicken. One of the biggest points of controversy surrounding the film is the scene in which Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) fight each other on the set of The Green Hornet. Bruce Lees daughter, Shannon, condemned Tarantino for portraying the martial arts legend as an arrogant asshole who was full of hot air, while Lees protg Dan Inosanto said the film did not accurately portray the late action star. Thats a little Chinese hand. Bruce Lee, the GOAT of martial arts, has no ties to Florida. A closer look at the early rise of the beloved iconic three-time boxing champion. Did Ali fight Tyson? "Ali was world heavyweight champion at the time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all. Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywoodfeatures Lee in a small role (played by actor Mike Moh), and after the film was released,Lee's daughter objected to the way her father was depicted on screen. The documentary showed Ali in several of his fights. That logic echoes what I personally believe to be the point of including Lee in this film at all: what stunt coordinator Robert Alonzo described asthe purpose of the scene, which was to "explain to the audience the level at which Cliff was [operating]." . The reality of the situation is this: Cliff is a Green Beret. 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. I'm getting to know how he thinks and moves. With his crazy kicks and lightning-fast speed, the man went from TV sidekick to blockbuster star in just a few years. "Bruce Lee was kind of an arrogant guy," Tarantino said at a recent press junket in Moscow. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Search. If i want to learn how to punch jabs, uppercuts, cross, etc., i would ask Ali to teach me that. One has to wonder if this will come up when the new Bruce Lee documentary airs on ESPN on June 7. . Finding oneself is . One Winner will receive $500 in FREE authentic, licensed, Rock Music Merchandise from RockMerch. She absolutely said that, the director continued. Speaking to Lee on the set of the 1973 film Enter the Dragon, director Robert Clause recalls the actor stating, "Everybody says . But if Cliff and Bruce Lee were fighting in the jungles of the Philippines in a hand-to-hand combat fight, Cliff would kill him.". Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is now playing in theaters. At that time, there were many people who debated about what would happen if Ali crossed paths with Lee. Muhammed Ali passed away this evening: For Lee to reference Ali in these unique writings speaks volumes about his appreciation of the eventual three-time heavyweight champion. Another time Yeung, aka [Bolo] went to see Bruce at Golden Harvest Studios. Ali changed what he called his "slave name" to his new Muslim name in 1964. Bruce was screening a Cassius Clay [Muhammad Ali] documentary. The 41-year-old Williams has said she did not retire and will likely return to the game. Naturally, were talking about Bruce Lee. 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). "Everybody says I must fight Ali some day." Post Jun 04, 2016 #2 2016-06-04T05:37. Is what he admires are warriors. He has killed many men in World War II in hand to hand combat. Bruce said, 'I'm studying every move he makes. The tale unfolds during the turbulent summer of 1969, when Tate's horrifying murder dominated headlines. I suspect Lee would have empathized with Ali's political stances as well. And if youre not accustomed to that you will lose. Tarantino tapped into this bravado, but the author says the screen depiction goes too far. Lee studied his fights intensely with the intention of getting to know how he thinks and moves. 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. He achieved tremendous success in the sport, becoming the first and only three-time lineal heavyweight champion. Bruce was fighting in Alis shoes. In fact, Complex reported that Lee once said that Ali would kill him if the two ever fought. 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 fighting in Alis shoes. Bruce Lee was 5'8 130lbs while Ali was 6'3 215lbs. One of the most famous fighters of this generation once gave her thoughts on the matter of Bruce Lee vs. Muhammad Ali. Did Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee ever meet? Nicholas' love for telling stories is inspired by his love for film noir, westerns, superhero movies, classic films, and ancient history. Bruce set up a wide full-length mirror to reflect Ali's image from the screen. YOU GET TO CHOOSE your own prize! I played Pookie (in New Jack City). Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Well, the problem with (them) is that they are the John L. Sullivans of the feet. Muhammad Ali eats Bruce Lee for breakfast. Watch Lee in any of his movies and youll get frequent glimpses of swift lateral movement. I heard him say things like that to that effect. I heard him say things like that, to that effect. One fan previously caused quite a stir online after asking who would win in a fight between Lee and Mike Tyson. June 3, 2016, 9:38 PM. (Muhammad) Alis theory is to picture hitting a fly with a swatter.. The KO technique Muhammad Ali learned from a taekwondo master, who learned it from Bruce Lee Muhammad Ali's head coach for the bout in which he earned his last KO was The Father of American Taekwondo, Jhoon Rhee, who taught him a punch he learned from Bruce Lee. 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.. He comes across as an arrogant (expletive) who was full of hot air, she told The Wrap. Bruce said, "I'm studying every move he makes. Whenever an iconic person dies, a wealth of stories inevitably pour out and help us as we attempt to create a lasting image of that person. Ali was world heavyweight champion at the time and Bruce saw him as the greatest fighter of them all. This bravado, but the author says the screen what did muhammad ali say about bruce lee happen if Ali paths. Into boxing more so than martial arts, & quot ; Tarantino said at a recent junket. One of the Ring Magazine crazy kicks and lightning-fast speed, the problem (. 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