Only boxers are allowed to give themselves a nickname. It’s a privilege that comes with having the courage, or stupidity to step into that lonely ring.
Anyone else who gives themselves a nickname is a wanker. Fact.
Most boxing monikers aren’t overly inventive. Some rhyme – ‘The Green Machine’, others reference a fighter’s geographic home – ‘The Marrickville Mauler’.
Some simply state the gender of the fighter – ‘The Man’.
Yet, for all of the thousands upon thousands of boxers who have given themselves a nickname only one ever did it perfectly. Muhammad Ali called himself ‘The Greatest’, and he was. He still is. He always will be. Even in death.
Ignore the statistics and pay no heed to the technical analysis of experts. They are irrelevant and nothing but semantics when talking about Ali.
No matter what the trophies say, Ali was greater than Michael Jordan, Pele, Don Bradman, Jack Nicklaus and all the rest of them combined.
How? Why? Firstly, because Ali said he was ‘The Greatest’. Secondly, because he proved he was ‘The Greatest’. Thirdly, and most importantly, because the entire world agreed he was ‘The Greatest’.
There is nothing else.
Others have tried to mimic Ali’s greatness with their nicknames, trash-talk, grandiose claims and inflated egos, but somewhere along the way they’ve all fallen short, been found out, exposed as frauds and copycats.
In the same way that there was only ever one Beatles, Hitler and Mother Teresa, there’s only ever going to be one Muhammad Ali. The others are only cover bands.
Ali is ‘The Greatest’ because what he did transcended sport. Everyone loved him. He became even greater in retirement. The myth grew. This was no sad and lonely old former sportsman, recounting history of a questionable accuracy to an audience of drunks at his local, nor a former great, crying for attention, posting photographs of himself in bed, alone, baring his misery for all to see.
This was a flawed, beautiful and now disabled man who brought joy, hope and happiness to millions and millions of people all around the world. A man who had the power to make people believe, smile and love. ‘The Greatest’ was nothing to do with sport. He was all about people.
I don’t like boxing. I question people who do like it. It sickens me. I’d sooner set myself on fire than watch two people punch each other in the head. But, I used to, until the adolescent anger left me.
As a young boy, I watched Ali’s last two fights, against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick respectively. Both losses. Thankfully, I was too young to understand the dreadful sadness of these fights, but I was old enough to know that this was not how it was meant to be for ‘The Greatest’.
I’ve loved him ever since then. In the 35 years since I have watched and read everything I possibly could about ‘The Greatest’. Before he so monumentally re-entered the public consciousness at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 I purchased a piece of authentic Muhammad Ali memorabilia.
It’s a famous picture of Ali hovering over a beaten Sonny Liston. Ali signed it while his shaking hands allowed him to do so. Beyond my crappy 2000 Toyota, to this day it remains the only possession of any material value that I own, and still its sentimental value is all that matters.
Since I grew old and wise enough to know how tragic boxing is and that having heroes was for little boys, or for big boys who live vicariously, Ali is the only hero I ever kept.
I’ve often wondered why. Beyond the romance, the boxing brilliance, the charm and the charisma, it’s because he’s basically a social progressive at heart, which is something I reckon we all should be. Simply, he cares about people, and fairness and equality for those people.
Ali only ever tried to do for people exactly what Anthony Mundine and Adam Goodes have tried to do for theirs. Yet, Ali is celebrated across the planet while Mundine and Goodes are often maligned.
Is it that Ali was perceived to have challenged authority, rather than the general populace?
Is it all about the delivery of the message and the messenger who delivers it? Or maybe, back then Ali wasn’t as well received either, when he changed his name, called out racism and refused to go to Vietnam.
Maybe, like Mundine and Goodes, what he did at the time was nothing short of supremely courageous.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
You are spot on when you ask why he was the greatest. There really is nothing else. Technically ability means little in the overall scheme of things yet his skill was such that he actually won the titles that mattered in his profession. But just as important was that the world believed he was The Greatest. And whether it was fortune, hard work, divine intervention or any other possible rationale, the fact of the matter was that nothing he did seemed to diminish that label, The Greatest. Ah Ali, rest in peace Champ...
Ken
Guest
Interesting piece. Neatly sidesteps the predictable argument of whether he really was 'The Greatest' by acknowledging that the myth continued to grow after his career and the importance of the man away from the game. Due to the mythology around Ali you might draw some flack for the comparison to Mundine & Goodes. One reason that they could be shown in a different light is that is that Ali simply had more to rebel against, did it with grace and time has been sympathetic to his positions. I think Mundine has very genuine concern for the plight of his community but, in the absence of huge issues happening in his time, his public utterances are far more clearly for self-promotion - history is never likely to warm to him the same way. It doesn't help that he clearly hasn't had the career that Ali had. I don't really know enough about Goodes' to comment on how he will be seen. This line 'nor a former great, crying for attention, posting photographs of himself in bed, alone, baring his misery for all to see.' made me think. Would Ali have had the same aura and mystique if he came through now? We're far from a utopia but civil rights have progressed hugely, we still have controversial wars but there's no draft. In an age of social media and reality TV shows, is it possible 'the Greatest' could be reduced to posting inane selfies to try and garner the sort of attention he craved?