‘The Greatest’ in Las Vegas | Nevada Week

Nevada Week | ‘The Greatest’ in Las Vegas

SEASON 4: EPISODE 10 | Airdate: 9/17/2021

Boxing and Las Vegas are intertwined in a remarkable way. From Sonny Liston bouts in the 60s to Floyd Mayweather’s recent reign, Las Vegas and the ‘sweet science’ have worked together. 

Kevin Iole, the boxing reporter for Yahoo Sports, told Nevada Week that boxing became big in Las Vegas when casino operators decided they needed to bring more people into the casino more consistently. The first bouts were held at Cashman Field and the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Casino operators held big fights and brought in their best customers, buying out blocks of tickets for guests.  

Then in the 80s and 90s, individual properties started to hold megafights on their properties featuring superstars like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield and Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.  

Without a doubt, the biggest boxing matches in Las Vegas have included ‘The Greatest’ – Muhammad Ali. The Champ fought seven times in Las Vegas. His last fight was in 1980 against Larry Holmes at Caesars Palace.

Cassandra Cousineau, a writer for lvsportsbiz.com and blogger for the Sportsnista, said Ali was more than just boxing. She said that Ali meant something different for people in the African American community, like her grandfather, who introduced her to boxing and to the Champ.

She said when Ali was covered during his prime he was not revered as ‘The Greatest.’ She said there was a lot of backlash because of what he said about the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement.

Andreas Hale is a combat sports writer for Sporting News. He said Ali paved the way for athletes to stand up for their beliefs. He noted that other athletes, who have been outspoken about their political beliefs, did not have to put everything on the line as Ali did. 

Hale said if he had the chance he would’ve loved to talk boxing with Ali, but what he really wishes he could ask the Champ is about his activism in civil rights and against the Vietnam War.

All panelists agree that boxing paved the way for the Las Vegas sports scene that you see now. Sam Gordon is a sportswriter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He said that when he moved here five years ago Las Vegas didn’t have any of the major sports that it does now. 

Gordon said despite the increased competition there will always be a place in Las Vegas for boxing. 

Cousineau said boxing provided the proof of concept for major sporting events. She said the megafights show that Las Vegas could draw people here to spend time and money on a sporting event. 

Guests

• Sam Gordon, Boxing Reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal
• Cassandra Cousineau, Combat Sports Reporter, Sportsnista
• Andreas Hale, Senior editor of Combat Sports, The Sporting News
• Kevin Iole, Boxing Reporter, Yahoo Sports

Resources

• Muhammad Ali | A New Documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon