A Blast from the Past: Muriqi vs. Ahmad

First there was Nardico-Norkus I in January of 1954. Then there was Moore vs. Durelle. Their first fight in 1958 was arguably the greatest fight of all time. Then Foreman vs. Lyle (1976) and Cooper vs. Moorer (1992).  And then there were the closet classics like Garza-Meza (1984) and Luna vs. Luna in 2010, perhaps the best 4-round fight ever seen on television.

However, on July 23, 2002, a televised fight took place at the ice rink of the New Rock City complex in New Rochelle, NY, that for whatever reasons is seldom talked about. It was one that featured out-and-out savagery. It was real life Rocky Balboa. Elvir “The Kosovo Kid” Muriqi (23-1 at the time, his only loss by disqualification) was set to meet “Slamming” Sam Ahmad (16-2-3 coming in). Ahmad, not known for having heavy hands, had earned his spurs fighting at the Blue Horizon in Philadelphia and was probably taken too lightly by Muriqi’s camp which included noted trainer Teddy Atlas. (All told, the Kid fought under Teddy’s guidance for 27 professional fights and Elvir would always have good things to say about him even though he was as headstrong as Atlas.)

Muriqi had solid amateur credentials and was no slouch but sometimes fought down to the level of his opposition. He lost by DQ in a dreadful fight with the limited Dan Sheehan, and although he avenged it, the rematch was another dull outing. Still, Gil Clancy called him “the best prospect I’ve seen in years.”

Slamming Sammy, a Benny Briscoe lookalike and no slouch himself, had won a MD over the very tough “Iceman” John Scully (who had badly injured his shoulder and fought through the pain during the bout). Ahmad also fought to a draw against the ultra-exciting Julian Letterlough

Within this backdrop, nothing exciting seemed on tap and no one was ready for what was to come. But as soon as the bell rang, mayhem ensued…or, as Russell Crowe said in the movie Gladiator, “At the signal, unleash hell.”

Within seconds, both fighters had hit the deck. Elvir found himself on the deck compliments of an Ahmed numbing right. Almost immediately upon recovering, the Kosovo Kid launched an equally numbing uppercut to the point of Sammy’s chin and dropped him hard. A minute and a half had elapsed. Both fighters had been down and hurt. This had the makings of another Julio Cesar Gonzalez vs. Julian Letterlough fight; this was special and everyone in the arena knew it. There would be more to come. The disbelieving crowd — many rabid Albanians — was up and roaring. They would remain standing until the concussive end.

After the uppercut, Muriqi moved in for the kill and shot a left hook but Slamming Sammy got inside it and unleashed his own rocket in the form of another vicious right. It sent Elvir down for the second time and for all practical purposes the fight seemed over as Muriqi’s eyes literally rolled back into his head. But he did a gut check extraordinaire and got up on jello-like legs ready to be further dismantled. Sammy, however, had gassed and was not up to ending the task. Defenseless, Muriqi somehow hung on and made it to the bell.

Ahmed had let him off the hook.

In the second stanza, Muriqi was once again decked early by a countering right that connected flush. He wobbled up and held on in desperation once more trying to clear out the cobwebs. Sammy then scored his fourth knockdown in what had now become a Norkus-Nardico-type pier six brawl. Four knockdowns in four minutes! Ahmad, smelled blood like a male lion on a wounded hyena and sensed the end. Fact is, everybody did except Muriqi who took the mandatory eight from the referee.

“These two guys are pitching and catching.” — commentator Scott LeDoux

Looking to finally end the mayhem, Ahmad moved in to throw the same malevolent right that had earlier rendered Muriqi near rag-doll-stature, but this time Muriqi got there first with his own right to the side of Sammy’s head. The Philly fighter staggered back. Amazingly, he was visibly hurt. Now it was his turn to clear the cobwebs. Muriqi jumped on him using a jarring uppercut followed by a jackhammer right and then he shoved him to the canvas, but referee Jim Santa ruled a no-knockdown, and rightly so.

Depletion

As the bell to end the second round, Ahmad wearily headed back to his corner with a visibly depleted look on his face that said, “What do I have to do to stop this guy?” It was mindful of Big Roy Williams futile effort to put away Ernie Shavers when he had Shavers totally out on his feet in another classic battle.

Going into the third, it was Muriqi’s turn to smell blood, and he picked up where he had left off, cracking a lethal right to Sammy’s temple to score his second knockdown. When Ahmad got up, Elvir went after him with evil intentions and banged him with a right over the top. Ahmad responded by tackling him and both fighters went down. Again, referee Santa ruled no-knockdown, but this time it was a highly questionable ruling. It was crystal clear that the right started Sammy on his way down. The tackle merely camouflaged the clean hit. It should have been ruled Sammy‘s third trip to the deck and seventh overall in the fight.

The Turnaround

 “He made adjustments after he was hurt”– Teddy Atlas

As the incredible brawl ensued, both fighters alternated landing with heavy-handed rights and an assortment of crunching crosses, hooks and uppercuts, Finally, Muriqi launched a vicious volley banging Ahmad, now on wobbly legs, all over the ring. The Kid moved Ahmad onto the ropes where he sagged helplessly. Referee Santa moved in mercifully and pulled the rampaging Muriqi off him at 2:57 of the third.

Muriqi had snatched victory from almost certain defeat. It was an astonishing turnaround. It had to be seen to be believed.

Muriqi later said, “That was the first time I had ever been down and I was like, ‘oh, I’m on the floor.’ It was a place I had never been before so I said, ‘get up, get up fast.’ I got up and I never thought about giving up or losing the fight. I knew I had to get up and win……When I dropped him I thought I had him and I was going to finish him….Trainer Teddy [Atlas] was banging on the floor for me to look at him, but I didn’t, and I forgot that the guy could hit me back again.”

The Kid had overcome four hard knockdowns to score at least two of his own (it should have been three). Seven knockdowns in fight that didn’t quite go three full rounds! Not exactly the kind of win that keeps a fighter as a contender, but Muriqi eventually competed for a fringe title at 175 pounds, losing a close and somewhat controversial decision to Antonio Tarver in 2007. He retired in June 2014 with a 40-7 mark.

Sam Ahmad would retire after one more bout, but in this fight he exhibited what Philadelphia fighters are all about.

An observation by a poster at an Internet forum said it best, “All of us can identify with these guys because like the rest of us they are imperfect and vulnerable…”.

Ted Sares is one of the oldest active full power lifters in the world. A member of Ring 10, and Ring 4’s Boxing Hall of Fame, he was recently cited by Hannibal Boxing as one of three “Must-Read” boxing writers.

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