The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

What made Muhammad Ali the greatest?

Roar Guru
16th January, 2012
5

The greatest of all-time, Muhammad Ali, turns 70 this week, and returns home to Louisville, Kentucky to celebrate.

On Saturday, 35o guests including Lennox Lewis, Angelo Dundee and the three American hitchhikers whom Ali helped save when kidnapped in Iran will each pay $1000 to attend the private party at the Muhammad Ali Centre. This is the first of five events for the great man’s birthday.

It got me to thinking, what made Ali the self-proclaimed greatest? Was it his boxing ability? The first (and only) man to win three world heavyweight titles, beating Sonny Liston against the odds in 1964, then doing the same to George Foreman 10 years later, then losing and winning the title against Leon Spinks in 1978?

In between that there was a trilogy of fights with the now deceased Joe Frazier, the third of which ranks as the greatest heavyweight fight in modern boxing history. You certainly cant argue with the man’s legendary status in the toughest game in the world, and what he did for boxing.

Wise judges rate Sugar Ray Robinson the greatest ever boxer, whilst those from ‘south of the border’ look to Chazez or Duran for that honour. It’s a matter of opinion, and like in other sports, it’s difficult to compare eras.

Is it what Ali achieved outside the ring, particularly growing up in a time of segregation? His stand against the Vietnam War was seen as treason by some and heroic by others.

Since retiring in 1981 from the ring, Ali has devoted himself to social causes whilst fighting Parkinson’s disease. He has been involved in humanitarian causes around the world, and in 2005 was awarded the President’s Medal of Freedom.

One thing that is for sure, the Athlete of the Century is a man, not a saint; however he is irreplaceable. The mould was forever broken on 17 January 1942 in Louisville.

Advertisement
close