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.
Bazza
Guest
Ali fought in the golden era of heavyweight boxing. Joe Frazier would have literally killed guys of today such as Bernard Hopkins. That Manila fight was brutal, the way he held off Frazier , the use of quick hands was just brilliant.
Johnno
Guest
Bernard Hopkiins to me is the greatest fighter of all time in my opinion. He won a world title last year at 46 amazing effort. And Evander "the real deal" Holyfield i have always thought was under rated and not given the recognition he deserved. He beat tyson twice, and drew with lewis and lassoed 2nd fight to lennox lewis was unlucky too.
sheek
Guest
Thanks Grafter - it was George Wallace. I could think of the George, but not the Wallace, until I googled him. And he was shot during the 1972 presidential elections, not in 1968.
The Grafter
Guest
Well written Sheek. I watched the documentory Thriller in Manilla (again) last week. Of interest was the comment Larry Holmes made about Ali. Holmes says he was the best boxer, but its what he did for boxing that made him the greatest. Was it George Wallace you were trying to think of? Presidentual candadate in Alabama during the turbulent 60's?
sheek
Guest
I recall reading way back in the mid to late 70s, that Muhammed Ali was the most recognised face & name on the planet. More so than presidents, prime ministers, kings & despots, Ali was known & loved the world over. I think when people say Ali was the greatest, it is perhaps delivered on several levels. Often the most famous sportsmen are people who changed the way their sport was viewed. So firstly, Ali was perhaps the most high profile boxer to use the full width & length of a ring. His foot speed, hand speed & ringcraft was astonishing. The fact he was also a heavyweight boxer made his dancing around the ring even more remrkable. It's been well-documented Ali wasn't the hardest puncher, & he was even reputed to have a bit of a glass jaw if only you managed to catch him! So secondly, while not necesarily the strongest, Ali was the smartest boxer of his time, & arguably of all time. He outwitted physically stronger boxers like George Foreman, Joe Frazier & Ken Norton, but he matched them for physical endurance. I think his ability to sustain punishment over an extended period was often under-estimated. Then of course, Ali could match his in-the-ring deeds with his out-of-ring boasts. So thirdly, not only could he "talk the talk, but also walk the walk". Anthony Mundine for example, has tried the same routine, but it just doesn't work for him. The trick is Ali often said things with a twinkle in his eye, almost being self-deprecating at times. The world had never seen a boxer self-promote himself like Ali. Lastly, its what he did outside the ring that perhaps makes him the greatest of all. Ali refused to be inducted into the US Army to go & fight in Vietnam. He was stripped of his world crown & refused a boxing license for 3 & a half years. It's often forgotten, or not realised, that black Americans only got the vote in 1968. Segregation was also outlawed at this time. Ali fought his court battles in 1967, a full year before these historic changes. Why, he argued, should he go & fight the yellow man in Asia when he, as a black man, was denied the same rights & privileges as his white brethren? "No vietcong ever done me wrong", was his famous mantra. For the white community, it was trying to defend the undefendable. How many of us would have the same moral courage as Ali to stand up for what we believe, against popular, majority opinion (which in fact was wrong at the time)? Or run the risk of going to jail. Or asassinated. The US in 1968 was a violent place. Martin Luther King & Robert Kennedy were both shot & killed. Another presidential candidate (whose name escapes me for the moment) was shot & paralysed from the waist down. This is perhaps what makes him the greatest of all - his moral courage. Okay, there were the women. He probably put Tiger Woods to shame in this particular situation. But unlike Woods, he didn't pretend to be something else. Technically speaking, there have been better boxers than Ali. But there's never been anybody quite like him..........